ULTRAFRAGOLA
The iconic design piece that made a comeback
IRONIC SENSUAL POP
Ettore Sottsass was an iconic figure in design history of the 20th century. The opposition to minimalist aesthetic, with a style defined by bright color choices, statement pieces favoriting shocking designs in unexpected materials – like plastic.
The mirror was released at Milan’s Eurodomus 3 trade show in 1970 as a design piece by Sottsass who was part of the Memphis Milano, an Italian design group. It is still produced by the “radical design” house Poltronova in Florence, Italy.
It’s a translucent white plastic frame of undulating outline, pink internal fluorescent lighting, enclosing a rectangular mirror.
The social return of this piece comes from our psychological side. We’re attracted by glow and warm colors that makes emotions like passion, sensuality and happiness pop. Since history can tell, the same applies to our own image – looking in mirrors reaffirms our sense of self.
The signature wavy design was inspired by a woman’s shape from the hair to the curves. And the name… as Keith Johnson - president and director of Urban Architecture – says: “Ultrafragola translates to ‘ultimate strawberry’ in Italian. If you mention a woman’s strawberry in Italy, everyone knows what you’re talking about.”
”In order to understand a woman, first I look at her eyes, and then how she is dressed. we all have our preferences, they correspond to our conception of life in general. For example, I don’t like diamond jewelry, because I think that life is about other things. Anyway, let’s drop it.” (interview from design boom)
“Quanto poi alle luci che escono fuori dai “Mobili Grigi”, le tombe non hanno sempre delle tremule luci che illuminano la tristezza degli spazi vaganti nella valle polverosa? E i sottomarini non hanno delle luci verdi tremolanti nella loro pancia? Le luci sono pensate per venire fuori dal corpo di fiberglass, come il bianco splendente della pelle bianca dei seni, o il rosso splendente della punta del pene nelle notti pornografiche, qualcosa del genere, voglio dire qualcosa come le lucciole giapponesi che trasformano le notti di maggio in materia solida. Ci può essere qualcosa di più ridicolo?”.
“As for the lights that come out of the “Mobili Grigi”, don't the graves always have flickering lights that illuminate the sadness of the wandering spaces in the dusty valley? And don't submarines have flickering green lights in their bellies? The lights are thought to come out of the fiberglass body, like the bright white of the white skin of the breasts, or the bright red of the tip of the penis on pornographic nights, something like that, I mean something like Japanese fireflies transforming nights of May in solid matter. Could there be anything more ridiculous? ”
Ettore Sottsass talks about Ultrafragola and the other “Gray Furniture” presented at Eurodomus, a space lit only by the neon lights integrated into the furniture.
“I find it very difficult to talk about contemporaneity. The fate of contemporaneity does not stop anyone, but I cannot — with the tiny cells of my brain — adhere completely. I have a vision of it that is not as happy, optimistic, or as hopeful as the industry and tech propaganda want to assert it as being. I have a basic intention, which is to preach calmness. One of the things that scares me the most is this culture of competition. We talk about success, selling, not selling… life is an act of competition. I wonder where this begins and where it ends…”
Monograph series entirely dedicated to Ultrafragola.
One of the most significant and important figures of international architecture and design of the 20th century.