The Birth of Poltrona Frau Leather
Renzo Frau, a skilled upholsterer born in 1881 in Sardinia, founded Poltrona Frau in the town of Turin, in northern Italy, which was the home of the royal Savoy family and the nation’s bourgeoisie. Among the first models in production was the Chester armchair, a refined padded armchair inspired by English capitonné. In 1930 came the 904 armchair, later named the Vanity Fair. The distinctive element that immediately set them apart was the fine craft and use of luxurious leather.
Out in Public
Poltrona Frau completed the restoration and furnishing of the former church of San Gregorio at the Synagogue of Spoleto (a theater in the Festival dei Due Mondi circuit). The Custom Interiors division was then established to furnish the world’s most famous public spaces, often based on projects by Pritzker Prize-winning architecture studios. Examples include the Strasbourg European Parliament (AS. Architecture Studio) furnished by Poltrona Frau and inaugurated in 1999, and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles (Frank O. Gehry, 2003). To date, the Poltrona Frau Custom Interiors division has handled over 5,000 projects worldwide.
