How Formafantasma Liberated Modernism from Tradition With a Theatrical Masterpiece for Cassina.

Staging Modernity
A celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Le Corbusier®, Pierre Jeanneret®, Charlotte Perriand® Collection edited by Cassina.
Featuring a theatrical performance and installation conceived by Formafantasma.
Directed by Fabio Cherstich.
Contributions from Emanuele Coccia, Andrés Jaque and Feifei Zhou (terriStories).
Music and Sound Design Luca Maria Baldini.
Vocal Arrangement Omar Lapo Diagne, Clara Luna Trindade Santos.
Photography: Omar Sartor.

Among the excitement (and disappointment) of the sheer sensory overload of Milan Design Week 2025, I found myself craving something with actual teeth. Sure, there was plenty to see and experience, but ultimately, what I seek out in Milan are encounters that stop me in my tracks and offer a new perspective, whether that’s a product, an idea, an installation, or a brand activation. It’s the deep thinking that always gets me most excited these days, although, call me vain, I’m ultra-keen on great packaging too!

Just when I was about to write off the entire week as a beautiful but often hollow spectacle, there it was—a provocation that floored me, looked and sounded cool AF, and has been living rent-free in my head ever since: Formafantasma’s “Staging Modernity” at Teatro Lirico Giorgio Gaber for Cassina.

This multi-layered theatrical performance offered a new perspective on modernist ideology while celebrating 60 years of Cassina’s production of Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, and Charlotte Perriand’s iconic furniture collection. Understanding the historical context makes this anniversary particularly significant. Back in 1965, Cassina took a gamble by industrialising the famed trio’s handcrafted furniture models, transforming them from artisanal one-offs into mass-produced icons that would define modern interiors worldwide.

For the 60th celebration, Cassina could have simply released special limited-edition versions—which they did, with vivid red, blue, and green frames paired with matching mohair velvet as a nod to the designers’ love of bold colours—and called it a day. Instead, they took the far braver step.

The heart of the performance was a radical reimagining of core modernist principles. Taking the historic 1929 Salon d’Automne floor plan (the Paris exhibition where Le Corbusier, Jeanneret, and Perriand first presented their furniture) as its starting point, Formafantasma fragmented and scattered these architectural elements across the entire theatre. These platforms became mini-stages where the boundaries between human and non-human worlds collided.

50th Anniversary Revamped Cassina LC Collection.

A look back at Cassina's celebration of the 50th anniversary of the LC Collection
from our archives from 10 years ago!

1965 launch of an iconic collection. Photo courtesy of Cassina.

Salon d’automne 1929. Phhoto: Jean-Collas-ArchivesChP, courtesy of Cassina.

Le Corbusier®, Pierre Jeanneret®, Charlotte Perriand® Collection, 60, limited editions in time—Cassina iMaestri Collection. Photo: Luca Merli.

Photo: Omar Sartor.

Photo: Gabriele Milanese.

Photo: Alessandro Celli.

Photo: Omar Sartor.

The most provocative aspect was that animals took centre stage. Performers, dressed in Jil Sander, chanted, “We are the animals, be modern again with us” as a powerful counterpoint to Le Corbusier’s famous concept of “machine à habiter” (machine for living) from his influential 1920s book, “Toward an Architecture.” While Le Corbusier’s vision positioned the home as a shield from the threatening outdoors, Formafantasma proposed something entirely different, speaking to this moment in time.

“In light of the ecological crisis, can we be human without others?” asked Formafantasma’s Simone Farresin in his introduction to the audience. This question established the intellectual foundation for the entire experience. As humans in many parts of the modern world struggle to reconnect with the outdoors, Formafantasma suggested a new modernism that embraces rather than excludes the non-human world. The visual contradiction of wild boars, foxes, and birds inhabiting pristine modernist furniture settings was both jarring and thrilling—exactly what meaningful design should do in 2025.

What strikes me most is that Formafantasma managed to convince Cassina—a major corporation with significant skin in the game—to celebrate one of its most iconic collections through such a critical lens. In an industry where brands typically cling to their heritage with reverent, uncritical nostalgia, this willingness to question modernism’s fundamental assumptions is genuinely groundbreaking.

As Cassina’s CEO, Luca Fuso, explained: “This collection represents modernity and we want to give a different interpretation of modernity today.” I have to give Cassina big credit here, too—how many prominent design brands would dare to subject their crown jewels to this kind of critical examination?

What Formafantasma attempted here—liberating modernism from the weight of its own tradition—is no small feat. In design and architecture circles, modernism is still deeply idolised, almost sacred, serving as a major reference point for contemporary practice. Challenging something so fundamental requires exceptional depth of thinking, which Andrea and Simone possess in spades as two of the greatest critical thinkers of their generation. While others are content to create more beautiful objects for our consumption, Formafantasma is asking why and how we consume in the first place.

The production itself, directed by Fabio Cherstich, was a masterclass in immersive theatre. Based on commissioned texts by philosopher Emanuele Coccia, architect Andrés Jaque, and architect/artist Feifei Zhou, the performance moved beyond static display to create a completely immersive experience that flowed throughout the entire space. The powerful, almost haunting messages echoed through the historic theatre, giving me absolute goosebumps as I watched. What’s more, those who might have simply walked in and enjoyed the show for 10 or 15 minutes without any context would’ve still had an amazing time. That’s how cleverly layered the production was, delivering on multiple levels simultaneously.

Five Revolutionary Principles of Modern Architecture by Le Corbusier.

This animated video demonstrates Le Corbusier's five principles of modern architecture, in an easy to follow 2min recap.

Photo: Gabriele Milanese.

Photo: Omar Sartor.

Photo: Omar Sartor.

Photo: Omar Sartor.

Photo: Gabriele Milanese.

Photo: Gabriele Milanese.

Photo: Alessandro Celli.

Entrance foyer of Teatro Lirico Giorgio Gaber showcased an exhibition showcasing the archives of the 60th anniversary of the Le Corbusier®, Pierre Jeanneret®, Charlotte Perriand® Collection edited by Cassina. Photography: Gabriele Milanese.

“I imagine a performance in which a chorus inhabits the space, interacting with objects in unconventional ways,” explained Cherstich. “Bodies explore their structural limits, adapting and redefining their function, to the point of dissolving any hierarchy between man, object and nature. As a consequence, the theatre, a typically conventional place, becomes a space for poetic sharing where everything can be transformed.”

“Staging Modernity” positioned Cassina’s iconic modernist pieces not as perfect industrial objects, but as something more porous—open to questioning, reimagining, and evolution. The performance critiqued the binary oppositions that have structured modernist discourse: the mechanised, rational, and civilised versus the natural, organic, and wild. In doing so, it asked us to reconsider everything we thought we knew about “good design.”

Cassina’s art director, Patricia Urquiola, captured the moment perfectly when she told the audience that in our current global turmoil, the time has come to ask questions regarding our past to find out where the world is headed. It’s a statement that could easily sound like empty rhetoric coming from most brands, but in the context of this bold project, it rang absolutely true.

Through this exceptional intervention, Formafantasma offered us a fresh lens through which to see modernism, not as some fixed ideology but as an evolving conversation with the present. In a week largely defined by pretty but forgettable installations, this was the one experience that reminded me why I love Design Week so much.

[Images courtesy of Formafantasma and Cassina. Photography by Omar Sartor, Alessandro Celli and Gabriele Milanese. Video by Alessandro Celli.]