Interview | Matteo Nunziati

During Milan Design Week 2026, the window display of the Salvioni Milano Durini showroom hosted a new installation by Flou, centred around Matteo Nunziati’s Gaudì Collection. The exhibition was conceived to reflect the brand’s taste and style through Nunziati’s distinctive aesthetic vision, which guided the entire project.

We spoke with Matteo Nunziati about this collaboration and the project that emerged from it, focusing in particular on the Gaudì Collection, which this year has been renewed and expanded with a selection of new pieces.

The concept behind this window display and its inspirations

This year, together with Salvioni, we designed this window display for Flou on Via Durini, at the heart of Milan Design Week. The inspiration stems from a reflection on the Gaudì bed, itself influenced by the work of Antoni Gaudí, the renowned Catalan architect who drew nature as the primary source of his creative language.

Nature is, in fact, the common thread running not only through the Gaudì bed but throughout the entire collection, which has expanded over the years while preserving its distinctive DNA of trees, rocks, organic forms, and natural landscapes. From this vision emerged a scenography conceived to evoke and reinterpret these defining elements.

We created what is essentially a contemporary landscape, inspired by desert dunes and wind-sculpted rock formations. The soft shapes, enhanced by grazing light, interact with wood that has been deliberately left unfinished, without surface treatments, to emphasize its materiality and the authenticity of its texture.

The installation echoes and amplifies the values expressed by the collection, transforming the display into a truly immersive environment. At its core is a celebration of nature: a nature composed of soft light, welcoming forms, and deeply emotional visual cues, capable of evoking the atmosphere and sensations of a natural landscape.

The Gaudì Collection takes centre stage through its various upholstered pieces, introducing two new additions for 2026: the Gaudì Le Grande bed and the Gaudì modular seating system.

This year, the Gaudì Collection expands with two new interpretations: the Gaudì Le Grande bed and the Gaudì modular sofa. This evolution reflects a fundamental aspect of my creative approach: the constant search for new expressive possibilities. It is not a matter of dissatisfaction in the negative sense of the word, but rather a desire never to consider a project as a definitive end point.

The first Gaudì, launched in 2019, was a great success and became a particularly appreciated product. However, as often happens in my design process, once I see an object take shape and establish itself, I begin to imagine new directions in which it might evolve.

This reflection led to the creation of Gaudì Le Grande. We revisited the defining elements of the original project and reinterpreted them through an entirely new lens. While the first Gaudì was characterised by an essential aesthetic and an almost weightless sense of suspension, this new version embraces a softer and more welcoming language, defined by generous volumes and a more enveloping presence. It is a different product, yet one that remains deeply connected to the same design DNA.

The same principle guided the development of the Gaudì modular sofa. Here too, we translated the collection’s distinctive features into a new furnishing element, creating a system defined by soft forms and substantial volumes. At the heart of the project remains the organic gesture that characterises the entire Gaudì family: a reference to nature, wood, and tree branches—an enduring source of inspiration that derives directly from Antoni Gaudí’s vision and his extraordinary relationship with natural forms.

The collaboration with Flou for Salone 2026

My collaboration with Flou has now spanned many years and, over time, it has become increasingly stimulating and meaningful. When you work with a company for such a long period, you develop a deep understanding not only of its products, but also of its culture, history, and DNA. A genuine synergy emerges, allowing you to interpret the brand’s identity in an increasingly authentic way.

Over the years, we have been able to clearly identify what makes Flou truly distinctive. On one hand, there is the legacy of a company that revolutionised the industry by introducing the concept of the textile bed; on the other, there is its connection to the Brianza region, long renowned for its excellence in solid wood craftsmanship. These two worlds—textiles and wood—have guided much of our design work.

This year, I believe that research has reached one of its most accomplished expressions. The products we are presenting, and the Gaudì Collection in particular, represent the most balanced and mature synthesis of these two elements. The softness, comfort, and sartorial expertise of textiles merge with the expressive strength, craftsmanship, and material richness of solid wood.

From this union emerges the collection’s most authentic identity. It is a fusion that fully expresses Flou’s potential, enhancing its manufacturing heritage and design culture while also reflecting the role of the designer as an interpreter capable of transforming materials, expertise, and traditions into a contemporary and coherent design language.