There’s a beautiful world out there – The prestigious brand introduces furniture and furnishings that enhance a sober, sophisticated en plein air experience, embodying lightness,yet resilient against rain, wind, sun, and the relentless passage of time
by Chiara Risolo
Diamonds, sure. But not only. Van Day Truex, the esteemed 20th-century American designer who, among other things, served as the creative director of Maison Tiffany, firmly believed that a good design object lasts forever.
This said, it would be almost obvious to assume that the key to eternity for a table, a sofa, a chair, an armchair, or any other piece of furniture is the perfect, harmonious, and coherent combination of two crucial factors: form and function. Of course, all solidly based on quality – in both design and materials – which is a necessary prerequisite. Besides these fundamental premises, if you flick through the pages of Molteni&C’s extensive book of history – a black belt in high-end design – it would be just as easy to assume that the brand is a careful observer of Truex’s philosophy. Each collection, in fact, can interpret the contemporary without ever being merely subject to it. In other words, it resists fleeting fashions, market whims, and the clamour of marketing.
SOLEVA SIDE TABLE
The undisputed star of the 2026 collection – lightweight but extremely robust, it becomes the focal point of symposiums. The structure is consistently made of powder-coated aluminium tubing, while the top is available in either stoneware or a more striking lava stone.
And so does the brand’s new 2026 Outdoor collection, which is among the highlight features of Salone del Mobile Milano. It introduces furniture and accessories that engage with the surrounding landscape without ever overpowering it. This appears to echo a statement once made by an authoritative name in yacht design, Bernardo Zuccon, from Zuccon International Project: “A boat, regardless of personal taste, can be defined as beautiful when, as you observe it in the middle of the sea, you don’t feel that the latter fades into the background or suffers from the large size of the boat or, even worse, its excessive opulence”. The subjects differ in our case, as does the context, but the essence remains the same.
«Soleva evokes the warmth of the day, the slow passage of light crossing through spaces and decorating surfaces. My collection for Molteni&C Outdoor speaks of harmony between lightness and solidity, of a silent dialogue between structure and comfort, where every line breathes with the surrounding air».
Vincent Van Duysen, brand’s creative director
SOLEVA SOFA
Available in 2- or 3-seater versions, it features a powder-coated aluminium tubular frame, a backrest with vertical slats in marine plywood, and polyurethane-padded cushions with upholstery in water-resistant polyester fibre. An optional feature of the design is two soft-side cushions for the armrests, available as a pair.
And thus, the 2026 Outdoor collection becomes an essential part of the scenery, seamlessly blending into the surrounding environment, whether enhancing a graceful Italian-style garden in a Liberty villa, the patio of an ancient farmhouse amid the countryside hills, or a sophisticated industrial-style terrace overlooking the city.
«With the Chelsea Outdoor collection, we extended Dordoni’s stylistic imprint to the external landscape, bringing outdoors that sober elegance characteristic of the Chelsea family in its living and dining variants. The concept goes beyond simply transferring the indoor design. It becomes a detailed interpretation: a precise adaptation, crafted with full respect for the original, and capable of imbuing it with a fresh material and perceptual essence. An evolution that refreshes the collection’s identity while preserving its core features». Studio Dordoni
The collection results from a collaboration between industry giants. To design it, the brand’s creative director, Vincent Van Duysen, relied on the expertise of Yabu Pushelberg, a dynamic American firm with offices in New York and Toronto, and Studio Dordoni, founded by Rodolfo Dordoni. This company already boasts several projects with Molteni&C and, for the first time, is working with Spanish VIBIA, particularly on lighting products.
CHELSEA SOFA
Modular, designed for simple and intuitive modularity. It features a powder-coated aluminium tubular structure. Made in a single shade, dust grey, it is characterised by the refined handcrafted polypropylene rope weaving of the armrests and backrest (the cushions of the latter are loose, without fastenings).
But let’s dive right in. There’s Soleva, an authentic tribute to lightness, using a holistic language, an “empirical sun salutation”, even from the colour perspective. It is a complete furniture system comprising a sofa, an armchair, a chair, a sunbed, a stool, and a table. The common thread connecting all these pieces is the powder-coated aluminium tubular frame. The lines are clean and well-defined, yet never sharp-edged, inviting relaxation.
FRONDA BEACH UMBRELLA
Essential for outdoor use. It fulfils its purpose of providing shade without detracting from the surroundings. The umbrella is available in two colours: anthracite grey or pure white. The supporting structure and arm are made of aluminium. It is designed to be fixed to the ground.
An innovative choice was to use vertical slats of marine plywood for the backrests, a recycled, environmentally friendly material that ensures durability and flexibility. Aluminium also plays a central role in Chelsea Outdoor, another highly successful celebration of outdoor living. Elegant, stylish, and understated, with original decorative features, it represents the evolution of the indoor project signed by Studio Dordoni.
DALIA SIDE TABLE
Offered by Molteni&C in two different heights, high or low, it has a square shape with a gres or cement top. It is the perfect side table for pleasant, more intimate, open-air chats with a good drink in hand.
SOLEVA SUNBED
Carrying the warmth of the sun in its name, the Soleva sunbed embodies a lifestyle in full harmony with nature.
The collection is further complemented by Yabu Pushelberg’s versatile Club, a foldable chair with a varnished steel frame and backrest, and a seat in batyline (a highly resistant technical fabric). Additionally, there is the side table Dalia, available in two heights, with a square top in gres or cement; the parasol Fronda – discreet yet essential outdoors – in grey anthracite or pure white, depending on the setting; and two lighting treasures, Meridiano and Out. Two different ways, in shape and size, to light up outdoor environments, but both with one big plus in common: they are, as are all pieces in the collection, forever. Precisely as Van Day Truex would have said.
Opening image –
Club chair – Its biggest asset is dynamism. This foldable chair can easily dialogue with any element in the 2026 Outdoor collection. It features an extremely solid frame in varnished steel, while the backrest and seat are created in linen batyline, both wear- and weather-proof.
(Molteni&C Outdoor 2026 – There’s a beautiful world out there – Barchemagazine.com – Excerpetd from Barche, April 2026)
