Willy Rizzo — Photographer and designer between glamour and modernism
Willy Rizzo (1928–2013)
Willy Rizzo is an extraordinarily original figure in the landscape of 20th-century Italian design and visual culture. A world-renowned photographer even before becoming a designer, Rizzo brought the same sophisticated elegance and aesthetic sense honed over decades of immortalizing the most famous faces of the 20th century to the world of furniture.
The Photographer of Stars
Born in Naples in 1928, Rizzo moved to Paris at a very young age, where he built an extraordinary career as a fashion photographer and portraitist. His images appeared on the covers of Paris Match, Life, Vogue, and Harper's Bazaar. He photographed Marilyn Monroe, Brigitte Bardot, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí, Coco Chanel — a visual archive that is now part of 20th-century culture.
The Shift Towards Design
In the 1970s, Rizzo embarked on a second career as a furniture designer alongside photography. His approach was that of someone who had lived in the most refined environments in the world: his pieces reflect a glamorous and cosmopolitan aesthetic, with a skillful use of industrial materials — chrome steel, glass, brass — combined with a distinctly Mediterranean formal sensibility. In this same decade, designers such as Carlo Bartoli and Riccardo Arbizzoni, with different approaches, contributed to the golden age of Italian design in the 1970s.
Collaboration with Mario Sabot
In Italy, Rizzo collaborated with Mario Sabot, a manufacturer specializing in quality accessories and furnishing complements. Among the most characteristic pieces from this collaboration are the chrome steel wall coat racks — functional objects elevated to domestic sculptures, a perfect synthesis of industrial design and elegant decorativism.
The Style
Rizzo's pieces are recognizable by:
- Chrome steel as the dominant material — shiny, modern, timeless
- Essential geometries with sculptural details
- Declared functionality — each piece is first and foremost a utilitarian object
- Glamorous aura — the unmistakable mark of someone who lived among art, fashion, and high society
The Legacy
Willy Rizzo represents a unique case of double creative excellence: a photographer and designer of equal caliber. His furniture pieces, produced in limited editions, are today highly sought after by international collectors, particularly in the French, British, and American markets.
