Who we are
The uniqueness of a look: Fede Cheti Eyewear glasses
“I learned to collect stimuli and ideas from observation, to give life to something tasteful.”
So he says Alessia Fugazzola, artist, designer and today owner together with her husband Nicola Zeni of the Fede Cheti brand, a famous Milanese art atelier which for a century has made the gaze on reality its mission of seeking beauty. Today we have chosen to continue researching and looking ahead with the most essential indispensable object: the glasses.
Alessia Fugazzola, who has always been passionate about glasses, found the continuity and harmony of a vision in the Fede Cheti maison. With the Eyewear project we have collected a legacy of intent and spirit which, from the designs and colors of the maison, through the artistic fabrics that revolutionized the world of design, reaches today, enclosed in a prestigious object .
The Fede Cheti Eyewear glasses, in fact, are proposed as design objects that are inspired by the creations of the Milanese Atelier, bringing together in elegant and sinuous shapes, the search for uniqueness that has always characterized the brand.
What has always fascinated us about Federica Cheti has been her ability to bring the public closer to the object of her work, triggering an almost personal dialogue with creation, which is the mission of the Eyewear project.
Glasses, especially if they are prescription glasses, and therefore an ever-present daily object, can become like a dress or a hairstyle, a way to design one's being, an amplifier of the personality of the wearer, a style accessory at the service of the uniqueness of each one.
The way, the guide, the inspiration, she is, Federica What is (Savona 1905 – Sant'Ilario 1979), artist and entrepreneur, one of the first Italian women to hold this role in the fabric and fashion industry, which until then had been a male monopoly.
Disruptive and innovative in its proposals, it quickly established itself as one of the most original signatures, above all for its ability to become a laboratory and launching pad for famous artists (Giò Ponti, Luciano Fontana, Filippo De Pisis, Renè Gruau, Emmanuel Canovas, etc. ) who have the opportunity to experiment with their styles in the famous maison, creating aUnion, that between craftsmanship, industrial product and artistic artefact, which is the figure that still distinguishes the production of Fede Cheti Eyewear glasses today.
The glasses from the Eyewear project of the Fede Cheti maison are today the synthesis of a look and a search for beauty that began at the end of the nineties but which has roots much further back, in the thirties of the twentieth century.
Our challenge is to enhance the artistic baggage of the Atelier and in a continuous dialogue between roots, past and instances of the present, always keep an eye on the beauty, innovation and uniqueness with which Fede Cheti was capable of interpreting reality.
For us, art is first and foremost craftsmanship. Our production is entrusted to the best artisan eyewear producers, the designs are original, and everything is absolutely and rigorously done made in Italy.
We take care of our products thanks to a team of great professionals, to create recognizable models of aesthetics and elegance. We strongly believe that practical can be also beautiful.
Furthermore, just as Federica Cheti intercepted artists by giving them the opportunity to experiment, so today our gaze is turned to the younger generations: this is why we are involving designers from the Polytechnic of Milan in the creation of drawings and proposals.
Our history
Our story begins in Milan. Federica Cheti, originally from Savona, is a young woman in her early twenties who knows how to do one thing well: carpets. Originality and sensitivity led her to create and expand her production to include furnishing fabrics, an activity that led her to inaugurate the company that bears her name in 1936.
The most important houses in Milan began to cover themselves in fabrics produced by Fede Cheti, so much so that it gained an exhibition space at the Triennale. It was precisely the famous exhibition that crowned her the undisputed protagonist in 1954, with a solo exhibition of her works.
The Atelier in via Manzoni in Milan becomes a crossroads for artists that Fede Cheti is skilled at intercepting, giving them space and a way to express themselves and experiment: here he will form friendships and artistic partnerships with artists of the caliber of Giò Ponti and Luciano Fontana . Opens showrooms in London, Vienna, Paris.
In an artistic scene dominated by men, Fede Cheti now established herself as a prestigious signature, when in 1960 she was the only woman and only Italian to exhibit for the celebrations at the Sanderson warehouses in London as a representative of Italian art. International consecration came in 1966 when the New York furniture temple Thorp&Co dedicated a solo exhibition to her.
He died in 1979. At the end of the nineties the designer Alessia Fugazzola together with her husband Nicola Zeni took over the company and the rights to control the Brand, the Original Designs and the Intellectual Property of Fede Cheti's work. The goal is to continue to revive the tradition of the firm, with the same sensitivity and open-mindedness to innovation as one of the most famous designers and artists of the last century.
Furthermore, Alessia and Nicola founded the "Italian Diabetes Foundation ETS" in 2009, which was created with the aim of supporting scientific, clinical and basic research to find a definitive cure for type 1 diabetes. With the support of universities, national and international research bodies and other foundations, they now combine entrepreneurial activity with sustained and committed philanthropic activity. More info on www.fondazionediabete.org
