Interview with Gianni Bolzan from Stilnovo
The MAG - 01.23
Interview by Cristina Morozzi with the CEO of Stilnovo, a lighting design company
CRISTINA MOROZZI:
STILNOVO is an historic lighting company that boasts prestigious collaborations with the great masters of Italian design – including Joe Colombo, Angelo Mangiarotti, Ettore Sottsass, Gae Aulenti, and De Pas D’Urbino Lomazzi – and numerous awards, including Compasso d’Oro nominations. In 1988, it went on hiatus for two decades before being acquired in 2019 by Linea Light Group. I asked Gianni Bolzan, managing director of Linea Light Group, to which Stilnovo belongs, about the company’s new path.
GIANNI BOLZAN:
More than a new path, it’s seen a real rebirth. The Milanese brand was acquired by Linea Light Group at a particular historical moment: the Bruno Gatta-led ownership had sold it in 1988 and, after some unsuccessful attempts to relaunch it, it had basically shut its doors. That left the company’s historic lamps, which were beautiful but no longer in production, to populate auction sites and antique markets. After those years of oblivion, we seized the opportunity to bring back a brand with a glorious past, which absolutely had to be respected and nurtured, not prevailed on. That is why STILNOVO is an independent brand, in terms of production, communication and commercial policy, from its parent company Linea Light Group. It presents itself and will always present itself on the market as STILNOVO, the great lighting and design brand founded in 1946 in the heart of Milan by Bruno Gatta.
CRISTINA MOROZZI:
Are the historic models still in production?
GIANNI BOLZAN:
Absolutely, a selection is, and it is constantly being expanded on from year to year.
CRISTINA MOROZZI:
All or only some, and which ones?
GIANNI BOLZAN:
As I mentioned, each year we select certain historic models to reissue that, according to our data and research, we judge to be commercially of interest for today’s market. Actually, almost all of the classic STILNOVO models deserve to be reissued, but for obvious reasons this isn’t possible! Not in the short term at least. Our goal is also to gradually place new products alongside the great classics, in line with STILNOVO’s history.
STILNOVO must go back to being what it was: an innovative brand that looks to the future.
CRISTINA MOROZZI:
Collaborations with well-known designers have been a hallmark of the company. Does this policy continue?
GIANNI BOLZAN:
Working with the designers who made STILNOVO great, with their heirs or with foundations that carry on their memory, is an absolute privilege for us, and we will definitely continue on this path. At the same time, we have identified and are still looking for new designers – not necessarily already well known – who will make the STILNOVO of the future great, and whom we can collaborate with to write new pages in this fantastic story that began 76 years ago.
CRISTINA MOROZZI:
Who are the creators of today’s products?
GIANNI BOLZAN:
STILNOVO’s in-house production department employs highly experienced people, including Mirco Crosatto, who boasts important awards including the Compasso d’Oro Honorable Mention, the iF Design Award and several Red Dot Awards. The department collaborates daily with designers of today and the past, but also works independently on many upcoming projects.
CRISTINA MOROZZI:
Alongside the sales department, is there an art director in charge of managing creative collaborations?
GIANNI BOLZAN:
Rather than an art director, we consult with high-profile creative agencies that, together with the marketing department, develop the brand’s communications and image. The latest campaign – called Original for the Originals – is a prime example of the new direction the brand has taken.
CRISTINA MOROZZI:
What are the criteria that led to your choice?
GIANNI BOLZAN:
The choice of creative partners we collaborate with takes into consideration their past experience, but above all their way of approaching the company (with all its dynamics), the market, and STILNOVO’s history and target audience. Keeping well in mind – and this applies to all STILNOVO collaborators, including designers – that nothing must prevail over the brand, which remains the fundamental component and the one true protagonist.
CRISTINA MOROZZI:
How do you reconcile the aesthetics of design with the standards that dictate a reduction in energy consumption?
GIANNI BOLZAN:
In this very important aspect, this is where Linea Light Group’s experience in LED lighting shines. In the early 2000s, our group was among the first companies to specialize in lighting fixtures with LED technology. Today it is a standard, but back then it certainly wasn’t. And the advantage? Know-how with few equals both in Italy and abroad, which is now also transferred to STILNOVO products. At a technological level, STILNOVO lamps are equipped with the best-performing LED sources with very high energy savings; electronics and circuits made in-house and tailor-made for each item (therefore they’re different depending on the product design, and not the other way around); optics designed for the best visual comfort; and quality materials to ensure the best possible dissipation. All this translates into low power consumption, a very long life cycle, and minimal maintenance, without losing sight of the aesthetics of the product.
CRISTINA MOROZZI:
What are your guidelines when choosing materials?
GIANNI BOLZAN:
Quality, quality and more quality. We meticulously select all materials used in our products. For example, for the glass parts of Galassia or Meta we use triplex (with as many as three layers) mouth-blown glass. The brass frames of the 1950s lamps are dipped in a galvanic bath that gives them a golden finish that resists oxidation and signs of aging, so the lamps remain shiny over time. For diffusers of lamps like Diphy or Demì, we use laser micro-engraved PMMA with our Optilight TechnologyTM for absolutely unique light. I could list many other examples, like the care we take in making the joints of Triedro and Topo, which undergo thousands and thousands of repeated movements over time.
CRISTINA MOROZZI:
Is communication – whether to retailers, to the final public, or to the press – entrusted to an internal communications office, or do you rely on an external office?
GIANNI BOLZAN:
Both. We have a marketing department that is dedicated to constantly studying new ways to communicate our products, supported by external partners for both social and press and PR campaign management. Always with the ultimate goal of properly conveying the brand philosophy that sets the brand apart: Original for the Originals.
CRISTINA MOROZZI:
How important is heritage in brand perception, diffusion and commercial success?
GIANNI BOLZAN:
Very much, but it isn’t everything. Undoubtedly, STILNOVO has remained in our hearts because of its many masterpieces in the past. So many people fondly remember these products and are amazed to find them on the market, with even better quality than ever, updated in terms of materials and technology. Today, however, it’s also important to know how to modernize: that is the challenge that will accompany STILNOVO in the coming years.
CRISTINA MOROZZI:
What are the most successful models?
GIANNI BOLZAN:
Definitely Saliscendi by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, recently selected in the ADI Design Index 2022 and officially nominated for the ADI Compasso d’Oro 2024. Then there’s the publicly and critically acclaimed Minibox by Piero Castiglioni and Gae Aulenti; Topo by Joe Colombo; and Fante by De Pas, d’Urbino and Lomazzi. We also have great confidence in new products that are launching, like Gravitino541 and Bugia, both by Antonio Macchi Cassia.
Among more iconic lamps, Ettore Sottass’ Valigia always gets high praise. The contemporary line also boasts successful products like Diphy by Mirco Crosatto, awarded a Compasso d’Oro Honorable Mention and the Red Dot Award; Demì and Reflexio, also by Crosatto, which respectively won the Red Dot Award and iF Design Award; and Oxygen by Pio and Tito Toso, which also won the Red Dot Award.
