Tailored Design

April 14, 2017

One of the undoubtedly coolest phenomenons of the Italian architectural scene speaks Neapolitan. Francesco Della Femina, a 51-year-old architect from Capri, is one of the names of the Italian reconquest in the world of art and design.

Having always been fascinated by typical island architecture made by men for men, Della Femina was established on the scene in just a few years through completing projects that are more and more international and tell of an obsessive attention to detail. In regards to this, Della Femina recalls how “the architecture of Capri, and Mediterranean architecture in general, has always fascinated me, an architecture without architects made by farmers and fisherman […] : a way of building that taught me and continues to teach me many things, a sort of archaic root with which you can reinvent the most current projects.”

Even if his clientele is now international, Francesco Della Femina has absolutely not abandoned his Parthenopean roots. Going against the ‘trend’ of wanting a unique design location in the fashion capital of Milan, his design studio is in the heart of the Naples city center, at Via Nilo 34.

They often define his style as “Mediterranean.” However, as he himself points out, “it is about a revisited Mediterranean, with sometimes sophisticated materials and furniture. The Mediterranean spirit of my projects is never demanded or shown off, it is a kind of generic code that evidently is a part of me, having been born and raised right in the middle of the Mediterranean.”

Stone, wood, brass, refined fabrics, and old 18^th century majolicas seem to converse in this space a few steps from Spaccanapoli, and lead visitors and clients towards the world of Della Femina, having been established as an almost new keeper of the Neopolitan tailored art implemented in architecture. In fact, Della Femina says that: “the very fact of conceiving each project as ‘custom-made’ almost always guarantees the opportunity to make something that weds the client’s expectations; in other words, it’s taking on the design of a house or any other space in a “tailored” way, and just like a dress, a custom-made home will fit the client’s expectations like a glove.”

Capri chairs

A concept of Neopolitan ‘tailoring’ that recently merged in one of Della Femina’s latest projects just happened to be one of the symbolic companies of tailored Neopolitan art: the brand Kiton and a new showroom in Bavarian Munich.

The goal wasn’t simple: to make sure that the spaces at Falckenbergstraße number 7 managed to take the client by the hand in the search for tailored suits, custom-made over a journey of more than 1,100 kilometers to the south, in the Gulf of Naples. Here in Germany, then, the idea of recreating an antique artisocratic Neopolitan palace in a main floor apartment came naturally to its creator, and led to a unique atmosphere. Rooms made in the image of historical palaces enabled the planning of an itinerary from room to room, through a powerful alignment of entrances, that leads the client not only in the choice of a suit, but in the satisfaction of a multi-sensorial experience.

Thanks to the wise choices in color, geometric wallpaper by Cole&Son for the ceilings, and attentive light design in collaboration with Gruppo C14, Della Femina has managed to create CASA KITON, commissioned by the Paone family. Above all, it’s a place where the discerning clientele can feel at home and breath in the salt air of a walk along Via Caracciolo, right in the heart of Bavaria.