ALPI Unveils New Collections From Global Design Talent + Sottsass Pink Archive Release.

Warp & String collection designed by Piero Lissoni. Photo: Federico Cedrone.

Kasumi Blue designed by Nendo. Photo: Federico Cedrone.

Agreste Prata by Estudio Campana. Photo: Federico Cedrone.

New pink edition of Etore Sottsass collection. Photo: Federico Cedrone.

A pioneering manufacturer and leading producer of timber veneer made of recut wood, ALPI’s 2025 collection, unveiled in Milan, continues to demonstrate how technical wood mastery creates possibilities previously unimaginable in surface design.

This year, ALPI’s presence spanned two venues: a stand at Salone del Mobile.Milano’s S. Project and its Via Solferino showroom in the Brera design district. Here, new collaborations with design luminaries transformed wood veneer into expressive mediums, each collection representing distinct approaches to the craft.

Understanding ALPI’s innovations requires some context into their manufacturing process. ALPIlignum veneer is the result of a unique method where entire tree trunks undergo deconstruction and reassembly. This isn’t printed material—it’s real wood reimagined through precise engineering, allowing infinite pattern repetition, grain and colour customisation.

As Elton Group’s principal supplier and ALPI’s exclusive Australian distributor, this year’s Milan Design Week releases showcased exactly why this partnership remains integral to the local design landscape.

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Warp by Piero Lissoni. Photo: Federico Cedrone.

String by Piero Lissoni. Photo: Federico Cedrone.

Futae Grey by Nendo. Photo: Federico Cedrone.

Agreste Prata by Estudio Campana. Photos: Federico Cedrone.

Piero Lissoni’s Graphic Evolution

ALPI’s Creative Director since 2015, Piero Lissoni, presented String and Warp collections inspired by schoolbook nostalgia. String’s delicate lines translate classroom ruled paper into refined surfaces, available in Khaki and Denim Blue variants. “I imagined the wood just as my pen began tracing a line on a blank sheet,” Lissoni explains, connecting personal memory to the design process.

Warp transforms graph paper’s grid structure into dynamic veneer patterns. The Burgundy and Frosty Grey options create rhythmic visual textures, adding depth to interior applications.

Lissoni’s stand design at Salone del Mobile featured curved panels arranged like theatre sets, emphasising ALPI wood’s flexibility and versatility.

Nendo’s Technical Debut

Nendo’s first ALPI collaboration produced Kasumi and Futae, collections exemplifying Japanese design’s technical finesse. Kasumi, meaning ‘mist’, purity and beauty, achieves soft grain patterns through innovative two-tone veneer layering techniques. Available in Grey and Blue, this collection balances visual harmony with intricate detail.

Futae (“two forms”) combines wood grain scales, creating surprising visual effects. The collection evokes tree bark textures and rock formations, available in White and Grey variants. “Both were designed to show the subtle play between natural and artificial,” Oki Sato notes, highlighting their approach to material manipulation. “From afar, they form a harmonious whole with the surroundings. But from close up, intricate detail comes to the fore.”

The studio’s debut marks a significant technical achievement. Creating these patterns required innovative 3D modelling and layering processes, pushing recut wood technology’s boundaries.

Estúdio Campana’s Upcycling Celebration

Estúdio Campana’s Agreste reflects the research on Caatinga, Brazil’s suggestive landscapes of shrub desert. The collection expresses the profound link between Humberto Campana’s artistic experience and the primordial nature of his land. With a pattern reminiscent of sunbaked earth, Agreste is a quintessentially natural surface with much tactile and visual interest. Available in colour variants, Agreste is made with production scraps, reinterpreted for a new life in a true celebration of upcycling.

Sottsass pink. Photo: Federico Cedrone.

Alpi stand at Salone del Mobile, designed by Piero Lissoni. Photo: Thomas Pagani.

Alpi stand at Salone del Mobile, designed by Pierro Lissoni. Photos: Thomas Pagani.

Archive Activation: Sottsass Pink

Building on the iconic ALPI Sottsass collection—designed in the 1980s and one of ALPI’s best sellers—the new Pink variant emerges from archival research and documentation. Developed from Ettore Sottsass’ preserved notebooks and Pantone swatches kept in ALPI’s company archive, this addition features pink base tones intersected by pale blue veining.

This release showcases ALPI’s unique position—maintaining historical design legacies while expanding its contemporary applications. The audacious colour combination reflects Sottsass’ distinctive approach to materiality, where unconventional palettes challenged architectural conventions.

Innovation Through Collaboration

ALPI’s 2025 collection reinforces their collaborative approach to product development. By partnering with diverse design perspectives—from Lissoni’s graphic sensibilities to Nendo’s technical innovation, Estúdio Campana’s celebration of upcycling and Sottsass’ archival material reactivation—ALPI demonstrates how manufacturer-designer partnerships advance material technology.

For Elton Group, these collaborations provide access to design thinking that transforms material possibilities. Their role in delivering these innovations locally ensures Australian design professionals can specify cutting-edge decorative surfaces crafted from natural materials, with the reliability of consistent reproduction years later.

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[Images courtesy of Elton Group. Photography by Federico Cedrone and Thomas Pagani.]