Gabriella Crespi

Milanese designer and artist Gabriella Crespi (1922–2017) was an extraordinary icon of 20th-century luxury, celebrated for infusing mid-century functionalism with operatic glamor, kinetic ingenuity, and celestial mysticism. Studying architecture at the Politecnico di Milano, Crespi operated outside industrial manufacturing, crafting limited-edition masterworks for private collectors. Crespi is globally revered for her hand-buffed brass, polished steel, and woven cane furniture. Landmarks include the Tavolo Scultura and the transformable Plurimi table series, which folded out like wings via hidden mechanical slides. In 1970, she created the acclaimed Bohemian 72 collection—a curved, lounge furniture family crafted from natural woven rattan and cane, reissued today by Danish house Gubi.