Bentley and Bugatti show furniture game at Milan design week

Bentley and Bugatti brought furniture collections to Milan design week with elegant displays that extend their respective brands into and around the home. Both were stationed at the Palazzo Chiesa, with Bugatti in the courtyard and garden, while Bentley took over the fourth floor, enjoying a penthouse view over the Porta Venezia design district.

Bentley

Bentley is not new to the furniture world. In fact, this is its tenth year of introducing furniture collections. To celebrate that anniversary, Bentley introduced its first line of home office furniture.

Among the highlights of this year’s collection is the Wilton desk, designed by Francesco Forcellini; the Loftus sofa by Federico Peri; and Carlo Colombo’s Chilton line of seating and Langport bed, all with flowing lines, and dynamic forms. A wide range of woods, stone and fabrics are available for each piece.

Chris Cooke, head of Bentley design collaborations, noted, “The new collection for 2024 is characterised by dynamism and a lightness of touch. It is a meeting of design minds — all of whom share a commitment to translating and elevating Bentley’s distinctive design DNA into contemporary furniture.”

Bugatti

Bugatti brought its latest furniture collection to the Salone too, once again collaborating with Luxury Living Group. The collection draws inspiration from Ettore Bugatti’s original Orangerie glasshouse in Molsheim, Alsace. Like the Bentley collection, sinuous curves, sophisticated massing and elegant materials characterise each piece of the collection. A number of desks, coffee and side tables also feature Bugatti’s signature “C-line”.

Some of the shiny pieces – chairs and sofa covered in mylar-type material – seem right out of Studio 54, the famous New York discotheque of the 1970s. Others, more subdued, recall some of the dynamic furniture designs of the late architect (and race car designer) Carlo Molino.

Materials are, predictably, advanced with carbon-fibre frames hand painted with liquid aluminum, sandblasted aluminum, open pore European oak, and a wide variety of fabrics including wool and silk, leathers, and a wide variety of colours, including Bugatti’s bespoke blue.

And to top it all off, the magnificent Bugatti Mistral sat in the Palazzo Chiesa, an introductory element to the collection. We must admit that it was difficult to separate ourselves from the car to view the furniture.

Both Bugatti and Bentley deserve a commendation for letting their furniture be furniture and not resorting to kitschy automotive design tropes overlaid onto furniture designs.

Yes, brand logos are displayed or embossed on certain pieces (mostly throw pillows) but there are no headlights or glorified versions of bucket seats or the like. This is contemporary furniture of the highest level of design and craftsmanship. Naturally this comes at an ultra-premium price. How much? We didn’t ask. As the saying goes, if you have to ask, you can’t afford it.