Paola Lenti Platforms Pioneering Designers at Dedece
Anna Lenti, CEO and general manager of Italian design house Paola Lenti discusses the brand’s incredible history, innovations and long-running relationship with Dedece.
In 1994, Paola Lenti founded her eponymous brand in Meda, Italy’s leading furniture district near Milan. Over 30 years later, the company has become globally renowned for its fearless use of colour, innovation in sustainable materials and flair for impeccable craftsmanship. And driving it all is the powerful partnership of sisters Paola and Anna Lenti.
As CEO and general manager since 2000, Anna has helped transform what began as a small artisanal workshop into an international design house, with a network of flagship stores around the world and a presence in Australia through Dedece since 2010. Her background, however, is far from what you would expect.
Before joining the family business, she studied nuclear engineering at the Polytechnic University of Milan before working in aerospace engineering and project management. That analytical mindset continues to drive the way the company operates today. “My studies led me to a methodology, a disciplined approach to design and a keen focus on processes,” she says, “whereas Paola has always embodied the creative mind and the ability to foresee new possibilities.”
The sisters’ contrasting strengths are, for Anna, the foundation of the company’s success and longevity. “These are two distinct yet deeply complementary approaches,” she explains. “Over time, we have built an organisation able to blend artisanal craftsmanship with an industrial spirit, transforming creativity into a system that could grow without sacrificing authenticity.” As she succinctly puts it: “We are partners in running the company, but first, we are sisters.”
One of the company’s defining moments came at the turn of the millennium, when outdoor furniture was still largely viewed as secondary to interiors. The sisters took a different view – and it was this that set them apart. “We believed that outdoor spaces deserved the same design quality, material research and attention to colour as interiors. At the time, it was a counter-current vision, one that proved pivotal over the years.”
Today, the brand focuses on both indoor and outdoor furniture, with colour as one of its most recognisable signatures. Anna notes that this emerged through decades of experimentation with pigment and materials. “We never treat colour as an afterthought,” she says. “Instead, it takes shape organically, alongside the material that brings it to life.” Fabrics, woven cords, ceramics, lava stone and concrete all absorb and reflect colour differently, creating variations in tone, depth and texture. “This continuous experimentation is what makes our chromatic heritage so rich and unique.”
This has culminated in The Chromatic Alphabet, a new design tool that distils more than 30 years of research into 44 colour families, drawing inspiration from the colours of nature. Rather than prescribing combinations, it gives architects and designers a framework for navigating the company’s extensive palette while retaining complete creative freedom.
A deep relationship between architecture, landscape and colour is one reason Anna believes the brand has found such a natural audience in Australia. “Australia is a market with which we feel a special affinity,” she says. “There is a highly evolved culture of outdoor living: gardens, terraces and poolside areas are not merely supplementary spaces but integral parts of the architecture and daily life.” The company’s pioneering work in sustainable textiles, manufacturing techniques and culture of social responsibility also resonates deeply with local audiences.
Just as important has been the company’s longstanding partnership with Dedece, which has represented Paola Lenti nationally for more than 15 years. “They are a partner that believed in our brand from the very beginning, supporting its growth with expertise and sharing our vision.”
Currently on view at Dedece’s Surry Hills showroom is Paola Lenti’s Ritrovarsi collection, which showcases exclusive re-editions of iconic pieces by trailblazing female designers alongside contemporary works. A stand-out is the Azul lounge chair by the legendary Lina Bo Bardi, as well as the Half Moon cocktail table by Greta Magnusson Grossman alongside a take on the Légère sofa by Angelo Mangiarotti and Chiara Pampo. Complementing these are modern works, including the Miriade armchair by Estúdio Campana and handwoven Lazy chair by Monica Förster.
Anna is delighted to help people discover the work of these designers, giving them the visibility and recognition they may not have received in their own time. “It means making room for a more complete history of design and acknowledging the value of creators who left behind a legacy that remains surprisingly relevant today.” And with two trailblazing women at the head of Paola Lenti, both with profoundly different ways of thinking, the company is set to continue writing its own lasting reputation into the history books.
