NICHETTO and infiniti at Milan Design Week
NICHETTO and infiniti will unveil Linnéa, a new monobloc chair, at the upcoming Salone del Mobile during Milan’s Design Week
The announcement was made with a very special presentation near the northern Italian city of Treviso, at OPM Group, infiniti’s production facility, on the very day that the steel mold gave life to the first piece of Linnéa. The chair emerged from a close collaboration: a match between a design studio and a manufacturing company that share a vision and a “feet-on-the-ground” work ethic.
NICHETTO is the internationally known creative house and design brand founded by the eclectic Italian designer Luca Nichetto. His goal is to design objects—mostly in numbered editions—that speak to people emotionally, practically and visually, blending narrative, precision and material beauty.
OPM manufactures seating and furniture components for the office, contract, education and home sectors, supplying major brands internationally since the 1980s. Operating with distinct divisions in plastic, steel and wood, they merge craftsmanship and industrial technology. infiniti is OPM Group’s own line of furniture design, born in 2008 with the purpose of combining design culture with the main company’s solid industrial expertise.
The province of Treviso in the Veneto region has a reputation for being a hardworking, serious and extremely industrious area, where mid-sized companies reach the highest European standards of productivity. It’s a region known for Prosecco sparkling wine but also for design and furniture. OPM Group is right in the heart of that land, not far from Venice, where Luca Nichetto has his creative studio.
Recently, OMP Group & infiniti’s Area Manager & Design Recruiter Stefano L’Abbate hosted a presentation with Luca Nichetto and his creative partner Francesco Dompieri to introduce their collaboration, expressing a strong sense of fine-tuning and teamwork.
“I was impressed with the level of industrialization at infiniti,” said Luca Nichetto, “and the clarity of their brief, which is the defining element of a good project. It’s been years since we last received something so detailed from the start. The document even included a historic review of monobloc chairs.”
The precise intention of infiniti was to reflect on their origins and key principles—including material optimization, stackability and reduced sections—focusing on essentiality, environmental sensitivity and international legal standards. The mission was to create a contemporary product rooted in that typology. The project started in December 2024 and continued for 15 months through long conversations, cross-departmental studies, alternative technology testing and multiple prototypes.
“We were struck by how NICHETTO took every cost factor into consideration for their project: materials, production, shipping, distribution and retail sales—just like designers used to do a long time ago. But we mostly appreciated that the design team stayed true to our original brief,” said L’Abbate. “In turn, it felt important to respect their interpretation as much as possible. Our technical team embraced the challenge, and every aspect of the project had solid feasibility.”
OPM Group and infiniti pride themselves on their annual investment of 2.5 million euros in research and brand development. At the same time, they constantly review their catalog—not just based on sales reports—but with an eye toward optimizing the overall production rhythm through a constant dialogue with their three plants, including the plastic factory where Linnéa is made.
It’s rare to witness production this intimately, especially in its early stages, allowing one to see the first sample coming out of the mold. The result is a monobloc chair available in two variants (with or without armrests), made of polypropylene with glass fiber—a blend that is injected, at a temperature of 350° Fahrenheit, into a single point of the milled steel mold, a sort of “navel” placed at the top of the chair’s back.
Once approved and signed by Nichetto, the first piece appeared in its charming realness: printed in a test color, it immediately conveyed a modern feel, with a touch of 1970s style and a comfortable, slightly inclined seat. It is also practical, stackable, and perfectly suitable for both outdoor and indoor spaces. NICHETTO aimed for elegance while conveying affordability and sustainability.
Aesthetics are as important to NICHETTO and infiniti as function and durability. The chair presents high surface quality and texture definition. Through consistent thickness and a seamless transition between the legs (which are grooved, in line with the monobloc tradition of avoiding material waste), the seat and the backrest, it combines visual clarity with carefully engineered ribbing.
The impression of meticulous care was only reinforced when the first printed chair was checked in every detail and three microscopic defects were reported for mold improvement. The mold was then sent back to its manufacturer for adjustments before the start of mass production. Twenty other chairs were produced and distributed across all relevant company departments for quality checks and production advancement. A few weeks later, Linnéa was ready to be launched in a refined palette that includes warm and neutral hues like Dove Grey, made with 30% post-industrial recycled plastic.
Linnéa is one of several creations that NICHETTO will present this year at Milan’s Design Week (20 to 26 April), including side tables for MDF Italia, a lamp for Barovier & Toso, outdoor tables for Cassina, marble washbasins for Musina and Posso and a tote bag for XL EXTRALIGHT, marking another step in NICHETTO’s ongoing dialogue between craftsmanship and technology.
What are your thoughts?