Bruno Fattorini

Bruno Fattorini (1939–) is an Italian designer and entrepreneur, considered one of the leading proponents of minimalism—an aesthetic he helped successfully establish on the market during his long tenure at the helm of MDF Italia. Trained in economics, he worked for years with major companies such as Boffi (1967–1974) and Joint (1962–1988) before acquiring MDF Italia in 1992, when the brand was virtually unknown, and turning it into a trendsetting name. His key insight was to fully embrace, also in the domestic sphere, a cool and essential material like aluminum, which until then had been used mainly in office-related projects. His hallmark is a rigorous simplicity of form, often defined by sharp, squared edges, and he shaped for MDF Italia a coherent stylistic vision that extends beyond the pieces he designed personally and also involves designers such as Xavier Lust, Patricia Urquiola, and Neuland Industriedesign. From 2008, one of the great Italian furniture-industry dynasties—the Cassina family—joined MDF’s ownership, while Fattorini retained the brand’s art direction until 2013. In parallel, in 2009 he co-founded Studio Metrica with Robin Rizzini (1973–), with whom he designed furniture for other major brands such as Desalto, Paola Lenti, Pianca, and Extremis.