altreforme whimsical objects share the same production method as a ferrari aluminum body

since its launch in 2008, italian furniture company altreforme has released collections with various unexpected collaborators; from yazbukey, the bold plexiglass accessories brand of turkish designer yaz kurhan, to italian industrial designer antonio aricò, to chupa chups, the confectionary brand from spain, whose logo was famously designed by salvador dali in 1969. the whimsical, colorful objects are produced using aluminum as the main material, tracing back to the company’s origins of luxury car bodies manufacturing.

the metalic disco galaxy at salone del mobile 2017 featuring the galactica collection by antonio aricò

the brainchild of valentina fontana, altreforme was created as a diversification project of the fontana group, a world leader in the design and production of aluminum car bodies for the likes of ferrari, rolls royce, and jaguar since 1956. applying the know-how and the vanguard technologies from the automotive sector to the design world, the brand experiments with different applications of the material in made-to-measure creative projects.

serena confalonieri’s bruto and juno (left), and antonio aricò’s pavone and gallo (right), part of the raw&rainbow collection presented during milan design week 2018

altreforme’s objects are produced in calolziocorte, the headquarters of the fontana group in the province of lecco, where all the company’s activities take place. within the four production plants, the fun, colorful design pieces are manufactured next to the body parts of premium category cars of AUDI and BMW, as well as the luxury niche cars of ferrari, rolls royce and jaguar, for who fontana runs the entire production process, from co-design to the assembly of the car body parts.

detail of antonio aricò’s galactica collection presentation

designboom had the chance to visit the fontana group factory and all its different departments. scroll down to get a closer look of how the two very different applications of aluminum coexist under one roof.

the droid chair from the galactica collection

festa mobile collection by elena cutolo presented at salone del mobile 2014

in the ‘altreforme starring chupa chups collection’, eclectic fashion designer ‘the rodnick band’ dressed pieces of furniture in colorful prints, with references to salvador dali and his original chupa chups logo from 1969