An interview with Anna Lenti, CEO of Paola Lenti at Purity Dubai

1. How has your collaboration with Purity been over the years?

Anna Lenti: For the past 20 years, we have collaborated with Purity. When we first came to Dubai, we had some small collaborations and a friend of mine suggested I go see the Purity showroom, which was so beautiful and refined. We walked in without an appointment and started talking with the people at the showroom and decided to collaborate with them. It has not just a great collaboration from a business point of view, but from a personal point of view as well.

2. Which of Paola Lenti’s collections have been successful in the Middle Eastern market? Are there any design preferences unique to this region? How do you tailor your collections to different cultural aesthetics and climatic conditions?

Anna Lenti: In general, our outdoor collection is doing very well. The Orlando in particular is a best seller almost worldwide. One of the reasons why it does so well is that it is very easy to customise and make it unique for the client. It would be very difficult to repeat the same model in the same colour, so each one can be truly bespoke.

Of course, here it is very hot, but then we have other markets and also very, very humid. Like, for example, Miami is one of the worst market because the combination with the heat and humidity and the salt water is really terrible for outdoor fabrics in general. We test everything relating to resistance, mainly to the sun, and we are very confident about them. For everything you put outside, especially in a climate like this, you need to take care of it. You cannot just put it there and forget about it. Our expertise over the past 20 years also helps.

3. Can you share any new releases that we can look forward to being stocked at Purity soon?

Anna Lenti: We stock a good part of our latest collection here. We have stocked product that were introduced last year during Salone del Mobile in Milan, like the Santorini sofa in a lot of colours. The colour forms one of the highlights of our collection and showcases the adaptability and different variations. This sofa has had a very successful run since last year, thanks to the various shapes and sizes available.

We also have a signature product around the fabric that we produce. These in particular are very different from anything else that you can find for outdoor furnishing because they are very soft. You can also use very soft padding inside so the sofa can keep a nice shape. The fabric is heat-resistant and great for the outdoors.

At Salone del Mobile this year, I can’t reveal all, but we will introduce a new collaboration with an Argentinian designer that is very interesting because it is very eco friendly. We are not using any foam, but only recyclable material such as stainless steel and polyester. All the material used is easily separated in order to recycle. Everything with the padding inside that also it comes from recycled polyester. It will be the main collection for outdoors. We will have a lot of new collaborations for indoors with new designers. We are also launching a new collection for kids, where we will have many of our signature products such as the Orbitry in mini sizes. It will be very playful and colourful.

4. What were some of the key turning points that helped transform Paola Lenti into the internationally recognised brand it is today? What propels the company to innovate?

Anna Lenti: We’ve had our sights set on the international market right from the beginning. We were experimenting with a lot of new material not normally used in the furniture market. When we started, the first product that we had was felt and earlier, fabric that was not used to produce anything for outdoors. But what really give the push for the company to grow was the outdoor collection. So when we first introduced the outdoor collection with an indoor feeling over 25 years ago, that was really what made the change, because at the moment, in the outdoor market, you can could only find metal, teak and plastic, but nothing with textiles.

Of course, at the beginning, the comfort was not the same as today, because in the meantime, the technology has evolved. But I remember that the first time we introduced the outdoor collection, nobody could believe that it was for the outdoors. This, and of course, the use of colour. We continuously research and never stop introducing and researching new things – from material to technology. In recent years, we have collaborated extensively with Italian artisans on fabric production. We try to apply their techniques with our designs. For example, we have a beautiful product in copper that the designer normally uses for jewellery. We also collaborate with fashion designers, and we also started working with lava stone and glass in collections, which is very well recognised. Outdoor first and continuous research besides innovation is what we focus on.

5. Paola Lenti has carved out a niche in the yachting sector. What are some of the key considerations when designing for these environments?

Anna Lenti: When we started working with yachting, the style was not really modern. They were very classical. There were only a few shipyards in Italy that really started to look in this direction. We had the chance to start the collaboration, mainly with one of these shipyards, who mentioned that they would like to change the look. We have the technology, fabric, and the possibility to produce cushioning in a certain way. Because I remember the first time when I visited one of these companies, I saw how the inside cushioning was like – it was very standard with a plastic wrapping around. Through our technology, we showed them it was possible to have comfort, waterproofing, and also to have very comfortable and beautiful fabric. Today, we have a division in the company that is devoted to this to pursue furniture collaborations, cushions and materials and also help sponsor the Monaco Boat Show in Monte Carlo.