Antonio Aricò is an Italian designer from Calabria whose work bridges vernacular craft and contemporary industry. After studying in Milan, he returned south to collaborate closely with his grandfather, a master carpenter, a formative step that anchors his practice in material intelligence and cultural memory. For Aricò, design is “a serious act of affection”: playful in tone, but built on rigorous research and a precise hand.
He treats materials as partners, glass, wood, terracotta, listening to their rhythm and allowing process to shape form. This material empathy underpins projects ranging from a Calabrian mosaic carpet for Moooi to a terracotta collection for Seletti rooted in Magna Graecia archetypes. His collaboration with Dolce & Gabbana produced a greenhouse influenced by Sicilian Baroque for Milan Design Week, while with Bottega Intreccio he reinterpreted the vernacular rocking chair as Dondolina, balancing tactile wicker, woven metal canes, and sculptural upholstery.
Aricò’s industrial work retains this cultural charge. La Mattutina for Mulino Bianco (Barilla Group) revisits an Italian household icon with a coffee maker that also heats milk, channeling collective nostalgia through a clean, contemporary language. Across studio pieces and brand collaborations, his constants are identity, narrative, irony, and a light touch that never slips into the superficial.
He is also a recipient of the BIG SEE Product Design Award 2024 for La Mattutina
