Willy Rizzo was a leading figure in international glamour in the latter half of the 20th century. Starting out as a photographer – famous for his portraits of film stars and high society in Paris and Hollywood – in the 1960s, he also made a name for himself as a designer, bringing the same sophisticated and theatrical taste that characterised his photographs to the world of furniture.

His style is immediately recognisable: clean lines, rigorous volumes, precious materials such as chromed steel, brass, glossy lacquers, and exotic woods. His furnishings embody a modern idea of luxury, elegant but never ostentatious, becoming a symbol of the international chic of the 1970s.