Gianfranco Frattini was born in Padua on May 15, 1926. He graduated in Architecture from the Politecnico di Milano in 1953.

Frattini opened his own professional practice in Milan after working in the office of his professor and mentor Gio Ponti. Frattini became an industrial designer by chance when he found a lack of suitable lighting and furniture for his interiors. His collaboration with Cesare Cassina for the company that bears his name began in 1954, followed by collaborations with many other manufacturers, such as Bernini, Acerbis, Fantoni, Luci, Knoll, Lema, Artemide (for whom, among other pieces with Livio Castiglioni, he designed the historic “Boalum” lamp, a true masterpiece) and many others. In 1956, he co-founded the ADI – Associazione per il Disegno Industriale – and throughout his career he worked in both industrial design and architecture, focusing primarily on interiors. He was a board member of the Triennale di Milano. A great connoisseur of woodworking, he forged a long and fruitful professional partnership with master craftsman Pierluigi Ghianda.

Frattini won many professional awards and distinctions, including the prestigious Compasso d’Oro.

Gianfranco Frattini passed away in Milan on April 6, 2004.

His products are exhibited in the permanent collections of the world’s leading design and decorative arts museums.

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