17 April 2013
Fabio Novembre was born in Lecce in 1966. In 1984 he moved to Milan, where he graduated in Architecture from the Polytechnic. In 1992 he went to New York and attended a filmmaking course at New York University. During his stay in America he met Anna Molinari, who in 1994 commissioned from him his first work of interior design: the Anna Molinari Blumarine store in Hong Kong. The same year he returned to Milan and opened a studio of his own, embarking on collaborations with important companies operating in the field of design, including Driade, Cappellini, Meritalia, Flaminia, Venini and Kartell. In 2008 the municipality of Milan devoted a monographic exhibition to him at the Rotonda della Besana, with the title Insegna anche a me la libertà delle rondini (“Teach Me the Freedom of Swallows Too”), and the following year the Triennale Design Museum invited him to plan and curate an exhibition on his work: Il fiore of Novembre (“Novembre’s Flower”). In 2012 he designed the display for the Triennale Design Museum, organized that year for the fifth time. During Milan Design Week, which has just come to an end, he presented various projects, including Jolly Roger for Gufram.
The song you never get tired of listening to.
Domenico Modugno’s Meraviglioso.
The movie you can watch over and over again.
Federico Fellini’s 8½.
The book you fell head over heels in love with.
Alice in Wonderland. I’m still there trying to find out how deep the White Rabbit’s hole is…
The object you’re most attached to.
My rings, which I wear to emphasize my pirate DNA.
Your favorite place.
The planet Earth, but I’m open to the exploration of possible alternatives.
A cult film you cannot stand.
Gone with the Wind.
A literary classic you can’t bear.
The Betrothed.
The most beautiful automobile ever made.
Despite being Italian and male, I’m not at all fascinated by cars, but among the many that lay siege to our cities, I find the Smart to be the best. The smartest, that is.
Three stops on a journey around the world.
Bangkok, New York, Jerusalem.
A contemporary artist whose future in the history of art is assured.
Banksy.
An architect to whom you would entrust the construction of a fantastic place.
A team made up of Étienne-Louis Boullée, Antoni Gaudí and Lebbeus Woods.
A fashion designer for an epoch-making show.
Alexander McQueen.
An elegant person.
Someone who accepts the characteristics of his or her body and makes the most of them.
An inelegant person.
Anyone who wants to be someone else.
Who would you advise to change profession?
Rather than advising someone to change their profession, I’d advise many people to actually learn one.
A bad habit you have?
Talking to people without putting a curb on my words.
What would you like to overindulge in?
My wife’s patience.
What can’t you do without?
Sex.
What would you like to be a champion of?
Diving! It takes style to surrender to gravity.
The hotel and restaurant at the top of your personal league table.
The historic Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles and Ferran Adrià’s legendary elBulli at Roses, on the Costa Brava.
The greatest invention of all time.
Woman!
The historical figure you are most grateful to.
The God of the Bible, for having removed one of Adam’s ribs…