ABOUT
COMPANY
Flou was founded in 1978 with the market launch of Nathalie, the first modern padded textile bed with completely removable covers.
The company now offers a range of ‘total living’ products geared to wellness, design excellence and Made in Italy quality.
In over forty years of design research and innovation, and collaboration with illustrious names, including the great Vico Magistretti, Flou has been able to create beds that were (and are) true icons of creativity. And by no coincidence, a must-have fixture in every museum or exhibition dedicated to industrial design. At the time of writing, Flou offers comprehensive collections of total living furnishings, not only for the bedroom but for every domestic ambience.
Elegance, harmony, emotion but above all comfort: the products presented by Flou are the result of research that is reviewed annually in terms of aesthetics and function, wellness and quality, for rooms to be enjoyed in the spirit of beauty and a revitalised desire for harmony with the surroundings.
SUCCESSFUL ACHIEVEMENTS
Flou’s history is marked by continuous and repeated successful achievements, confirmations and commendations, among which two “Compasso d’Oro” awards presented to the company by ADI – Associazione per il Disegno Industriale (The Italian Association for Industrial Design) – in 2004 and 2020 stand out.
In 2004, Flou was presented with the ADI Compasso d’Oro for its career with the following rationale: “A vocation spanning decades of in-depth research focusing on design and comfort, in a specialist area that considers the profound cultural differences between nations, is behind the international consolidation of Flou.
The excellence of its production and its communication campaigns throughout its existence has made an important contribution to enhancing the reputation of Italian design and its products around the world.” In 2020, the bed Natalie, designed by Vico Magistretti in 1978, was awarded the ADI Compasso d’Oro for the career of a Product with the following rationale:.
“Nathalie is synonymous with typological innovation in the textile bed sector; over time this bed has epitomised a perfect example of function and poetry.” In 2021 Flou was presented with the “Premio Leonardo Qualità Italia 2019” award in the presence of the President of the Republic of Italy, Sergio Mattarella, with the following rationale: “To Flou, as the international leader in the production of beds and design furniture for the living quarters.”
HISTORY
THE FOUNDER
“The bed is a special place where the future is born, where couples connect, where families are created, where people think about their tomorrows. That is my opinion today as it was when I founded Flou all those years ago”.
With this phrase, Rosario Messina expresses the very essence of the company he founded in 1978 with partners, and some years later he acquired in its entirety.Flou thrived and developed thanks to his enthusiasm, his intuition and his desire to make the ‘culture of sleep’ his life’s mission. Rosario Messina was born in 1942 in the town of Aci Castello in Sicily. His father died when he was still young and he suddenly found himself as head of the family.
He worked in the Catania branch of the Rinascente department store but this did not prevent him attending night school to study for his High School diploma. He was later employed at the Catania branch of Zanussi-Rex, the most important Italian manufacturer of electrical appliances at that time. He decided to move to the north of the country and was appointed sales manager at B&B and subsequently head of the commercial department at Cinova.
Finally, he arrived at Bassetti, which at the time was the leader in the production of home textiles; an experience that would then lead him to the development of a new concept for the application of upholstery fabrics and in 1978 to a major turning point: the company Flou was founded, and he passionately dedicated the rest of his life to its growth and development.
Resourcefulness, foresight, and an acute ability to blend designs and revolutionary marketing ideas were the special qualities that allowed Sicily-born Messina to make his mark in Lombardy, in an area that concentrated the most important companies of Italian furniture design. His success was so great that the City Council of Meda conferred Honorary Citizenship to him.
FLOU TODAY
Flou is currently being run by Rosario Messina’s three children: Cristiana, Manuela and Massimiliano who is the company President. Cristiana, Massimiliano and Manuela Messina were already integral components of the Flou staff when their father died in 2011 and they stepped up to take over the management of the company, each with individual responsibilities that continue today.
They have proceeded along the pathway of growth, research and development, promoting Flou as an outstanding example of a family-run company that has been able to achieve international leadership and have a strong presence in numerous top furniture showrooms around the world.
A COMPANY THRIVING THANKS TO CONSTANT EVOLUTION
Founded with the explicit objective to create a new sleep culture, Flou has evolved and expanded over the years to develop new proposals for all-round comfort and wellness, in every room in the house. From the beds and everything related to the science of sleep (mattresses, pillows, duvets and bedlinens), Flou has evolved naturally over the years, increasing the goods on offer with a line of accessories and impactful wardrobes, with textured doors inspired by and confirming the textile soul of the company; there is also an exclusive and elegant collection of sofas, armchairs and furnishings designed for the living room. These clearly illustrate the company’s ability to transport to every room in the house the same comfort and wellness that have guaranteed the immediate and unmistakeable recognition of the Flou beds.
A NEW BEGINNING: NATEVO APPEARED IN 2013
From the bedroom to “total living” and beyond: in 2013 Flou founded Natevo, the first Italian company to design, produce and commercialize pieces of furniture with LED lighting integrated in the structure. Natevo emerged from Flou’s history and know-how. It is the first Italian company to produce furniture and accessories that presented a new way of conceiving light, not just as a functional and esthetic element, but as a source of harmony, warmth and emotion.
FLOU AROUND THE WORLD
Thanks to an invaluable network of highly qualified and reliable partners, the Flou and Natevo collections are distributed through the top designer furniture showrooms in Italy and in fifty countries around the world, in addition to their single brand showrooms in Milan and New York.
QUALITY WITH RESPECT FOR THE PLANET
Flou has always been committed to safeguarding the planet and each year it draws-up new objectives in terms of sustainability, maintaining the very highest standards of quality and constantly reducing the environmental impact of its manufacturing activities. Flou was awarded the quality certificate UNI ES ISO 9001-2015: this is issued by a third-party standardization body and certifies the entrepreneurial input of a company’s operational optimization through efficient management, appropriate structures, the necessary skills and know-how, and guaranteed reliability for customers, suppliers, staff and collaborators.
NATHALIE'S 40 YEARS
THE COMPASSO D’ORO IS AWARDED TO NATHALIE
The bed nathalie, designed by vico magistretti in 1978, has been awarded the xxvi compasso d'oro adi for the product's career as adi (the association for industrial design) and the award’s jury have recognised it as the “indisputable protagonist of italian design culture”.
The prize was presented on September 9th 2020, to Massimiliano, Cristiana and Manuela Messina, during a ceremony in the new ADI Design Museum – Compasso d’Oro, Milan. The official motivation for the prize was: “Typological innovation in the textile bed sector, over the years Nathalie has epitomized functionality and poetry”.
It is the first time ever that the Compasso d’Oro prize has been presented for the Career of a Product, and Flou was rightly proud and extremely honored to receive the award for Nathalie, the original modern textile bed: this bed was an esthetic and functional revolution, a watershed moment in the history of furnishings; and even today, following more than 40 years of successful existence, it remains unique and inimitable.
NATHALIE/40
This commemorative book is dedicated to Nathalie and to Flou and illustrates the 40-year journey taken by the first and most famous textile bed produced by a company that created the "culture of sleep".
The descriptive articles and the images present the evolution in taste and customs over the decades. The book highlights the most important milestones in a partnership that began back in 1978 between designer Vico Magistretti and industrialist Rosario Messina. Their energy burst from a rich and highly stimulating dialogue and the combination of their imaginative forces created something truly original that previously did not exist.
They were driven by a desire to surpass established shapes and esthetic styles, and their ability to observe the everyday with new eyes resulted in the textile bed Nathalie, the very first example of an innovative product. It unquestionably revolutionized how we sleep and marked a ground-breaking moment in the history of contemporary furnishings.
TEAM
BORGONOVO PINUCCIO, DESIGNER
He was born in Giussano (MI) on September 25th 1956. Following his studies at the State Art Institute of Cantù, he acquired considerable experience with the Design Center of one of the main furnishing industries. Here he acquired depth knowledge on the materials, their technological applications, the engineering aspects of the products and the problems associated with industrial design.
CASTAGNA MASSIMO, ARCHITECT & DESIGNER
Massimo Castagna was born in 1957. He graduated from the Milan Polytechnic in 1984 and two years later, in 1986, he founded the design studio AD Architettura. The studio's professional activities include residential and commercial architecture, refurbishment and conservative restoration, interior and product design. He has worked with many of the leading interior design companies as art director, responsible for product philosophy and selection, design team management and corporate image.
COLOMBO CARLOSTAGNA MASSIMO
He was born in 1967 in Carimate (Co) and graduated in architecture from the Milan Polytech in 1993. He then opened a professional studio that specializes in design.
Carlo Colombo has completed a number of restructuring programs for social buildings and private dwellings and has collaborated with a number of companies producing furnishings, illumination technology and accessories.
LEUNG STEVE
Steve Leung is an international renowned architect, interior and product designer born in Hong Kong. He was honoured as the Winner of the Andrew Martin International Interior Designer of the Year Award 2015, the Oscar of Design. Steve's works reflect the projects' unique characters with his contemporary touch, taking inspiration from the Asian culture and arts.
MAGISTRETTI VICO
Vico Magistretti’s work and research have influenced and marked the history of Italian design, of which he is an indisputable protagonist. He was born on October 6th 1920 in Milan; he graduated in architecture in 1945 and then joined his father’s architecture studio. In 1948, he started taking part in the first editions of the Milan Triennial. In 1956, he was a founder member of ADI, the Association of Industrial Design. In 1967, he became a member of the prestigious St. Luke’s Academy in Rome.
MANZONI GIULIO
Giulio Manzoni was born in 1952; following his graduation in Architecture in 1976 from the Milan Polytech, he worked at the Universities of Milan and Pavia, in the Comprensorio 8 (8th District) of Como, the Intercomunale, a cross-city initiative in Pordenone and in Casino, Campione d'Italia.
PRATO VITTORIO
Vittorio Prato was born in Desio in 1946 and by 1965 he was working with other designers in the areas of design and interior architecture.
Following eight years at the Cesare Cassina Center as design director, in 1972 he was appointed director for the Research and Development Center of B&B Italia.
STUDIO CONTROMANO
Stefania Crippa and Marco Gottardi founded Studio Contromano in 2014, following their post-graduate specialization in Industrial Design at the Milan Polytechnic. Stefania qualified in 2005 and Marco in 2010.
VISCARDI ILENIA
Ilenia Viscardi was born in Brianza, an area north of Milan, in the heart of one of Italy’s furniture manufacturing districts. She immediately developed a strong interest for the world of design and architecture, inheriting from her family’s business depth know-how of the tradition of wood and the artistic skills of carpentry.
NUNZIATI MATTEO
Matteo Nunziati opened his studio in Milan in 2000. Studio Nunziati is specialized in interior architecture and design and collaborates with many important companies in the design fields of furniture, illumination and accessories.
