Vanity Fair XC In Motion: An Italian Design Icon Reimagined

An icon of Italian design takes a distinctly futuristic turn with the Vanity Fair XC In Motion Limited Edition by Poltrona Frau. Created to mark forty years of manufacturing culture, research and innovation within the brand’s In Motion Business Unit, the collectible armchair brings together historic craftsmanship, avant-garde art and a contemporary fascination with movement.

At the heart of the project is the celebrated Vanity Fair armchair, originally designed by Renzo Frau. For this limited edition, its distinctive identity enters into dialogue with the work and vision of Ivo Pannaggi, one of the most intriguing figures of Italy’s Second Futurism.

The result is a piece that looks to the past while maintaining a distinctly forward-facing character.

A dialogue between design and Futurism

Pannaggi was a painter, architect and designer whose multidisciplinary practice reflected the experimental spirit of the Italian avant-garde. He explored everything from painting and sculpture to interiors, theatre design, graphics, objects and photomontage, continually challenging the boundaries between disciplines.

His interest in movement, machines and progress became particularly evident in 1922, when he and fellow Futurist Vinicio Paladini signed the Manifesto of Futurist Mechanical Art. The manifesto embraced the machine and its sense of movement as symbols of a new aesthetic language.

That philosophy provides an intriguing counterpoint to the Vanity Fair armchair. Renzo Frau’s design represents a significant chapter in Italian furniture history, while Pannaggi’s visual language introduces an experimental perspective rooted in the energy of the modern age.

Forty years of innovation

Vanity Fair XC In Motion also reflects Poltrona Frau’s own history of evolution. The limited edition celebrates four decades of the In Motion Business Unit, bringing together the company’s manufacturing expertise with a broader culture of experimentation.

Rather than treating heritage as something static, the project uses it as a starting point for reinterpretation. The familiar silhouette of the Vanity Fair becomes the canvas for a new expression – one that connects craftsmanship with artistic research and the history of Italian design with ideas of movement and progress.

It is this tension between permanence and change that gives the piece its character.

A collectible piece of Italian design

Only 40 individually numbered pieces of the Vanity Fair XC In Motion Limited Edition have been produced, making each armchair part of a highly exclusive series.

The result is both furniture and collectible design: a contemporary interpretation of an established icon, shaped by the meeting of two distinctive creative worlds. Renzo Frau’s historic armchair provides the foundation, while Pannaggi’s Futurist vision introduces a new visual and conceptual dimension.

In this sense, Vanity Fair XC In Motion captures something central to Italian design – the ability to preserve a strong sense of identity while continually finding new ways to express it.

Four decades of research and manufacturing innovation, the legacy of an iconic armchair and the experimental spirit of Italian Futurism converge in a single limited-edition piece. Vanity Fair XC In Motion ultimately becomes a celebration of where design has come from, while keeping its attention firmly on where it could go next.

For more, visit Poltrona Frau.