Grazia, the leading 100% Italian fashion brand with 21 editions around the world, edited by Silvia Grilli, is launching a special issue with, for the first time, master of design, Piero Lissoni as guest editor of the magazine.

For more than thirty years Piero Lissoni has produced international architecture, interiors, product design and graphic design projects. In this extraordinary issue of Grazia he imagines, with a positive glance towards the future, new forms of post-pandemic reality and discussions with leading personalities in the search for connections between different worlds.

This special issue of the magazine will be on newsstands for two weeks and focuses on three themes: minimalism, hybridization and contamination, the paths through which Piero Lissoni describes the forms of a new normal.

“When I suggested to architect Piero Lissoni the challenge of being the guest director of this extraordinary issue, I never imagined that he would welcome my proposal with such enthusiasm and dedicate himself to the job with such passion,” said Grazia editor Silvia Grilli. “After more than a year of the pandemic, lockdowns, uncertainty and lifestyle changes I invite you to discover these in extraordinary pages of Grazia a new way to look at our homes, physically rediscover our cities, our villages, our flavours and our art, as we open up again with hope to a new future. You will meet many people and a world of beautiful objects. But in the end, you will discover that the really important things in your life can fit in a single suitcase,” the editor concluded.

 “When Silvia asked me to be the “temporary editor” for this issue of Grazia, on the one hand I was terrified, I didn’t know where to start. But, on the other hand, I was enthusiastic, like a child with a new toy. Then I started playing. And here we are!” declared Piero Lissoni.

This extraordinary issue gives space to great discussions with personalities who have left a mark on the history of this sector and beyond, and whose portraits bear the name of Giovanni Gastel.

From world-famous architects and designers Philippe Starck and Mario Bellini to the mayors of Milan, Beppe Sala, and Paris, Anne Hidalgo. From a meeting with Maria Porro, President of Assarredo to Stefania Lazzaroni, General Manager of Altagamma. As well as Ferruccio Resta, Rector of the Politecnico di Milano who proposes a new model of teaching.

There is space too for the theatre, with Stella Pende who interviews André Ruth Shammah, the soul of the Franco Parenti Theatre in Milan, and screenwriter Antonio Manzini. Readers of Grazia will also find testimonies from the Swiss artist with an American soul Ugo Rondinone and Francesco Dal Co, director of Casabella.

Featured personalities include Giorgio Metta, Scientific Director of the Italian Institute of Technology, the digital art group TeamLab, Giovanna Melandri, President of the Maxxi Foundation, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Rome and theologian Sergio Ubbiali.

Extensive space is given to the Segni di stile (Signs of style) feature: a tribute to timeless design, with a selection of iconic pieces, a symbol of an aesthetic that goes beyond fashion, photographed by Santi Caleca.

Valeria Solarino is the protagonist of the cover and of an exclusive, minimalist and sophisticated fashion shoot, done at the Milan Triennale. Valeria also tells Grazia about her greatest desires in this new phase of life. The Fai heritage site Villa Necchi Campiglio is the location for an extraordinary fashion shoot, dedicated to creative freedom.

And a unique photographic reportage gives form to the contaminations of the metropolis of Milan.

And then many sections: from design with La forma dei desideri (The shape of desire), irresistible pieces for every room in the house, to beauty, an account of a minimal and hybrid beauty. And from the kitchen, with starred Davide Oldani, to travel, with a look at the places of hospitality so common across Italy.

The design concept conceived for Grazia by Lissoni Graphx, the department of the studio that develops graphic design, visual communication and brand identity projects, can be summarised as rigour; white and a hybrid font in line with the themes chosen by Piero Lissoni for this special issue.

And the story continues with a rich programme on Grazia’s social media profiles. Tomorrow, Thursday 15 April at 7.30 pm Silvia Grilli will interview the guest editor Piero Lissoni, Valeria Solarino and Davide Oldani live on the brand’s Instagram channel. And there will be other live shows with the protagonists of the issue over the next two weeks.

On Friday 15 April, the digital entrepreneur Eleonora Carisi will be the protagonist of an Instagram Stories Takeover, with the creation of content created on the set of the feature dedicated to design.

With this initiative, Grazia confirms its role as a brand capable of continuously evolving and becoming a point of reference for over 4 million users (Source: Data Fusion Nielsen Media November 2020) and 1.58 million fans (Source Shareablee + TikTok and Pinterest March 2021).

Also this extraordinary issue, after the G21 issue published in March 18, has attracted a lot of interest in the advertising market with many clients in the furniture sector signing up. The issue sold 107 advertising pages, of which over 30 in the furniture sector. Since the beginning of the year, Grazia has expanded its content to the world of design, which has joined the editorial calendar in a structured way with 10 monthly events during the year, tripling page sales in the sector compared with April 2020.