MILAN — As a rookie corporate lawyer stationed in China, a lightbulb went off for Federico Palazzari when he met one of the design industry’s most memorable firecrackers: Ernesto Gismondi, founder of Artemide.
“Gismondi had this sparkle about him,” Palazzari recalled of the ebullience and international vision of the late design pioneer who became his former employer. “This sparkle came from the company’s approach. He showed me how successful we were outside of Italy. I carry his sparkle with me and combined it with my love for manufacturing beautiful objects.”
Federico Palazzari founded Omikron in the early 2000s and later acquired Nemo, which was previously part of Cassina in 2012. Over the years, Le Corbusier, Charlotte Perriand, Lina Bo Bardi and Álvaro Siza have been among the global European design names to grace its lineup, as well as collaborations with like-minded friends like Israel-based Ron Gilad.
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But first, why Nemo? “Not the fish,” he joked of the cartoon Disney character endeared by children worldwide. Palazzari said it was called Nemo after Captain Nemo, the fictional explorateaur made famous by French novelist Jules Verne in science-fiction books, “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas” and “The Mysterious Island.”
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Nemo’s bold spirit, his zest for the unknown is very much the ethos that binds all the firms under Palazzari’s newly founded Nemo Group. In October, in a surprise move, Palazzari treaded foreign waters with the purchase of two crown jewels for his growing design hub of brands with the acquisition of lighting-maker FontanaArte and Driade, its first furniture property.
“I was hesitant at first to acquire a furniture brand, but it’s really an interesting company to work with. It’s a little jewel.” With this acquisition, Nemo Group’s workforce rose from about 30 to 280 employees. “We need time but we’re seeing the results in only five months after we completed the deal.”
Nemo Group is fully owned by Palazzari. In 2020, his group acquired ILTI Luce, a historical brand with a strong focus on technical lighting and outdoor solutions. In mid-2023, Nemo Lighting bought Reggiani, a leader in large-scale professional technical and architectural lighting.
FontanaArte, which Palazzari most coveted, traces its origins back to 1881 with Luigi Fontana, who started making float glass or sheets of glass for the construction industry in Milan. In 1931, his firm Luigi Fontana & C. appointed Gio Ponti as its art director. Since the acquisition, its archives alone have served as a fantastic discovery.
The firm officially became FontanaArte in 1932 and today mostly produces lighting, but also some glass furniture. Ponti is credited with FontanaArte’s iconic models: 0024, Bilia, Pirellina and Pirellone lamps, as well as a coffee table called the Tavolino 1932.
The irony, Palazzari reminisces, is that FontanaArte’s Rome headquarters were once located across the street from Palazzari’s childhood home on the historic Via Giulia, a 16th century marvel of urban planning designed by Donato Bramante.
For Design Week, which kicked off Monday, Palazzari has scouted fresh new names to celebrate the formation of his new group. One of those being Belgian designer Bertrand Lejoly, who created the Belle Haleine table lamp for FontanaArte, an evocative model that recalls the brand’s roots, under the art direction of Ponti.
Lejoly founded his studio in 2021 and has worked with brands such as Zanotta, Paola Lenti and Fantini, receiving prestigious awards, and also previously worked under Vincent Van Duysen and Matteo Thun.
Nemo will also showcase Dori, a brand new lamp with emerging designer, Tel Aviv-based Alon Rotman, who graduated in Industrial Design in 2021 from the Shenkar School of Design.
At Driade, Nemo Group will unfurl new collaborations with Swedish design firm Färg & Blanche for a new chair, called F-A-B, French duo Marie Cornil & Alexandre Willaume for the new Coupelle coffee table and new models with longtime collaborator Philippe Starck.
Driade was founded in Milan in 1968 by art director Enrico Astori, designer Antonia Astori and Adelaide Acerbi, who led the brand’s image and communication. The avant garde set including Enzo Mari and Nanda Vigo was crucial at its inception: Mari with the Sof Sof chair and Vigo with her furry Blocco seat.
Achille Castiglioni, Alessandro Mendini and Starck are also among its historic roster of collaborators. Fabio Novembre, who was appointed art director of Driade in 2019, is no longer a fixed figure in the company, he said.
Unlike fashion, Palazzari believes that design brands benefit from relying on the core team and friends of the brand to purvey a sense of good taste. “We do not believe in creative directors. We believe in creative friends, which is something different. Whether they are designers or architects, they can be long or short love stories. So much depends on the strategic approach,” he said, referencing Nemo’s relationship with Rotman and its relationship with Gilad, who famously learned to swim for the first time during a business meeting/boat trip on Palazzari’s boat after a bout of seasickness. “They told me the only way to cure it was to take a dip in the water and regulate my body temperature. So, I did. Sounds silly to say I learned to swim in Portofino, doesn’t it?” Gilad told WWD. Taking risks and scouting designers far afield is what makes Nemo special.
“We are constantly exploring things, the evolution of design and new people, getting to know new people in particular. You bump into people. You look for someone, discover someone. Like Captain Nemo, we’re always exploring,” Palazzari reminisced.
Consolidation has been a major theme in the design world recently. Furnishings, lighting and contract group Dexelance, the first to list its shares on the Milan Stock Exchange, said it continues to eye acquisitions despite market challenges globally. In February, sources close to the situation said Flos B&B Italia Group, which owns vanguard brands B&B Italia, Flos, Louis Poulsen, Maxalto and Arclinea, is entertaining informal offers for parts of the company, on the part of its majority shareholders funds Investindustrial and the Carlyle Group.
In terms of expansion, Palazzari said the company is working on developing things in a financially “healthy” way. “We aren’t a private equity company. This year, he said, is a “complex” year and that one of the firms biggest challenges will be restoring consumer confidence amid difficult economic times. The Middle East, where they have an office, represents a key geographic market both in terms of business to consumer business but also contract and hospitality.
“If you look back five years ago, our group was totally different. So, I mean, the sky’s the limit in one way or another. We don’t need to do a five year plan, we need a one hundred year plan to build the sort of good taste we are looking for. Our worst enemy is bad taste.”