MILAN — Marta Ferri is expanding her design range through the launch of a homeware and furniture collection with her longtime friend Cecilia Morelli. Morelli founded the Mumbai-based concept store Le Mill with Julie Leymarie and the collection blends Indian and Italian craftsmanship and aesthetics.
“We always spend our holidays together and we’ve been dreaming of creating a collection together,” explained Ferri at her showroom in Milan, where vintage bamboo furniture, upholstered with the designer’s colorful and exclusive fabrics, is displayed next to antique brass lamps, teak wood trays, star-shaped marble dishes and embroidered table linens.
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The Marta Ferri + Le Mill project stems from the desire of the two friends to breathe new life into vintage and antique pieces.
“We shop at antiques fairs and buy what excites us and inspires us,” said Ferri, wearing bright canary yellow pants under a fuchsia open-front tunic and white top.
Morelli, wearing a sarong-like acid green skirt under a purple knit, also contributed to inject a dose of color in a typically gray Milanese November day.
The joyful colors are reflected in the collection, as the dishes are hand-painted with rainbow hues or show motifs of palms, flowers, pineapples and exotic fruits.
The link to India, however, is not stereotyped.
“The Italian and Indian aesthetics, creativity and craftsmanship meet in this collection,” explained Morelli. “It’s a way to see India through an Italian approach.”
“We respect the artisans, but we wanted a more contemporary take on the items,” said Morelli.
The Marta Ferri + Le Mill collection. LEONARDO MALE
As part of the collection, Ferri designed a ready-to-wear and accessories capsule made with furnishing fabrics.
The collection includes cashmere designs, iron and brass works created in collaboration with the G Lab design brand, and furniture designed by interior decorator Barbara Frua, Ferri’s mother.
The collection will be available on the Marta Ferri and Le Mill online stores starting in early December.
Morelli, who lived in India for 12 years, but moved to London a year-and-a-half ago, is mulling the idea of opening a store in the British capital. In the meantime, she is planning a pop-up in the the next six months in London.
Ferri is the daughter of fashion photographer Fabrizio Ferri. After working as a set designer and assistant photographer on fashion shoots for four years in New York, followed by a stint at Prada as a visual merchandiser and the launch of a jewelry collection during a sojourn in Argentina, Marta presented her first collection of dresses in her hometown of Milan in 2010. They were mostly crafted from fabrics designed for interior projects.
Ferri started collaborating with interior design firm Molteni&C in 2016, developing special textile collections, and over the years has created capsules with Matchesfashion, Sergio Rossi and San Francisco-based shoe company Rothy’s. She has a loyal customer base ranging from Beatrice Borromeo, the sister of Ferri’s husband Carlo Ludovico Borromeo and wife of Pierre Casiraghi, Charlotte Casiraghi and Margherita Missoni.