Discover Twiggy & Rope: Paolo Lenti’s Dynamic, Sustainable Duo
Paola and Anna Lenti are passionate artisans who, over the last 30 years, have continuously experimented in yarns and fabrics to create a “special harmony between colors, signs, and shapes.” From rugs, their designs led to their first outdoor furnishing collections, earning them acclaim in Italy and around the world. Sustainability has been a priority from the start; each product and the production process is designed to respect nature, using recyclable or recycled materials, with no toxic substances or chemical treatments. The company’s experimentation on raw materials, research into the performances of yarns, and detailed chromatic research have resulted in a wide range of exclusive indoor and outdoor high-tech fabrics. Today many of Paola Lenti products are immediately recognizable thanks to their distinctive, woven texture and the dazzling range of colors in which they are offered.
Paola Lenti’s signature fabric is Rope, a 100% polyolefin fabric created as upholstery for outdoor seating. Winner of the 2005 Wallpaper Award for best fabric of the year, Rope is recyclable and resistant to water, ultraviolet rays, mold, and bacteria. A high performing synthetic yarn that has the texture of a natural fabric to the touch, Rope is equally at home indoors, a realization that has allowed Paola Lenti to “establish a dialogue between inside and outside, to blur the boundaries between different environments to convey a fluid and harmonious domestic universe.”
A prime example is the Nido lounge chair and pouf, designed by Patricia Urquiola and Eliana Gerotto. With a hand-woven shell made of Rope cord and a satin stainless steel finished base, Nido’s clean, modern look and luxurious feel bring an immediate lift to any outdoor or indoor space.
It was research on Rope that led to a new generation of yarns, fabrics, and materials, including Twiggy, an extremely thin fiber capable of creating textile structures that, when reinforced, can replace a metal tube or a supporting element of a chair. Twiggy’s floss-like threads are less than 2 millimeters thick and can be twisted, shaped, and flattened to create the complex weaves that are Paola Lenti’s stylistic signature.
Designer Francesco Rota’s Filo sofa is a perfect example, featuring Twiggy yarn wound by hand on the steel frame to create a dense vertical weave. Available in a single color or in several colors, with strips arranged to form a multicolored striped surface, the Filo series also includes a matching armchair which comes in both a traditional and swivel style.
