Great together, great apart: Minotti's Dylan and Raphael

Upholstery is at the heart of every living space, providing comfort both physically and visually. It’s the basis for an interior to grow and evolve, setting the tone for a wider 360-degree landscape. To create a truly dynamic foundation, it usually takes a few different sofas or armchairs, but pairing them up to create the desired harmony between colour, texture, form and function can be a challenge without experiencing them side by side in space.

It is wise, therefore, to work with experts in soft furnishings who design their collections with this scenographic vision in mind. Celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, Minotti is renowned for approaching each collection as a heterogeneous, elegant atmosphere. It is a landscape made up of a range of upholstered, complementary yet individual pieces – each distinctly rooted in the culture and identity of their international architects and designers, yet united under the Minotti vision.

This can be seen in the latest 2023 Collection, which balances contemporaneity and classicism, solid volumes and organic lines, rigour and softness across typologies. Two upholstered designs, the Dylan modular seating system by Rodolfo Dordoni and the Raphael family of seats by Italian-Danish duo GamFratesi are at its heart. While different in terms of shape, identity and function, the rational Dylan and the more organic Raphael are aligned in couturier-derived manufacturing techniques, comforting volumes, blended materials and textiles – making them perfect partners as a centrepiece duo for living spaces.

The latest seating system from Minotti, Dylan, brings a solid, rigorous starting point. It comes in three versions – the modern appeal of Dylan, the more traditional feel of Dylan Low and the compact aesthetic of Dylan Small – easily adaptable across scales and styles of interior. The common thread linking the three different souls is represented by sartorial details such as the crafted cushion stitching, which reflect classicism, and the sophisticated construction of the extruded aluminium Bronze or Pewter base, which instead expresses contemporaneity, all making this system a timeless classic, albeit with contemporary flexibility and modularity.

In balance, the sinuous Raphael represents a contrast. In comparison to Dylan’s strong consistency, Raphael’s elements are individual pieces, each with its own personality and silhouette – there are three sofa variants (linear, semi-curved and asymmetrical semi-curved), four armchairs, two dining little armchairs and two footstools. Upholstery is sophisticated and proportions are generous, yet its form with modern feet in die-cast Bronze, polished Pewter aluminium or Licorice-stained ash, is lightweight.

Together Dylan and Raphael work in stylish coherence – a strong anchor with an orbiting family of possibilities catering to many types of social scenarios; relaxation and conviviality, intimacy and hospitality. Resulting combinations are limitless, meeting the demands of smaller domestic contexts such as urban apartments, or larger hospitality settings, such as hotels, while being endlessly expandable and flexible in configuration for ever-changing modern life.

While high-quality craftsmanship unites them, itself a trademark of the Minotti DNA, aesthetically, it is the combination of their strong yet complementary identities that creates that dynamic interior foundation, and makes adding everything else feel easy. There’s no doubt that Dylan and Raphael can reach true relationship goals – we’d better start taking notes.

© Architonic

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