by Cecilia Moltani
Compact yet generous, the new pieces designed by Setsu & Shinobu Ito for the Italian brand embrace the body like a gesture of care, fusing formal elegance with freedom of use and turning daily habits into quiet rituals of well-being.
“Te” means “hands” in Japanese. Lightweight, compact, and inspired by a vision of pure, essential beauty, the TE armchair designed by Setsu & Shinobu Ito for Desiree stands out effortlessly — never by excess, but through quiet grace, like a pair of arms wrapping you in a warm embrace. It perfectly embodies the renewed collaboration between the two Japanese designers and the Italian upholstered furniture brand: a dialogue shaped by visual lightness and material purity, and conceived as an ideal bridge between Japanese essentialism and the richness of Italian living.
Setsu & Shinobu Ito bring together a rich background that spans architecture, interior and product design, industrial design, and packaging. Setsu Ito, a graduate of the University of Tsukuba, worked alongside some of the most influential figures in Italian design — including Alessandro Mendini at Studio Alchimia and the master architect Angelo Mangiarotti. Shinobu Ito, who graduated from Tokyo’s Tama Art University, began her career at Sony Creative Products before completing a Master’s degree at Domus Academy in Milan. In 1997, the two founded their own studio, developing projects for international clients across disciplines — always guided by a refined sensibility that unites diverse cultures and creative languages in a single, coherent vision.
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TE armchair by Setsu & Shinobu Ito © Desiree
Gradé rug and TE armchair by Setsu & Shinobu Ito © Desiree
Pond poufs by Setsu & Shinobu Ito © Desiree
TE armchair by Setsu & Shinobu Ito © Desiree
TE armchair by Setsu & Shinobu Ito © Desiree
Gradé rug and TE armchair by Setsu & Shinobu Ito © Desiree
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The affinity between Setsu & Shinobu Ito and Desiree stems from a shared pursuit: a design language that unites comfort with formal purity, tradition with innovation, and functionality with emotional warmth. Based in Tezze di Piave, in Italy’s Treviso province, since 1968, Desiree produces sofas, armchairs, beds, and accessories that embody its philosophy of “Home soft home” — an idea of living as a welcoming, intimate, and convivial experience. Each piece reveals meticulous attention to detail and a craftsmanship that translates into genuine authenticity.
In this renewed collaboration, Desiree and the Ito duo delve into the beauty of stillness that defines Japanese aesthetics. The TE armchair, for instance, distills the designers’ poetic vision: compact yet generous, it embraces the body like a gesture of care — a creation that merges formal elegance with freedom of use, transforming everyday gestures into quiet rituals of well-being.
Alongside it, the Pond poufs inhabit the space like natural elements. Their soft, organic silhouettes — outlined by a raised seam that traces their contours — evoke the fluidity of water. They can serve as surfaces for resting objects, informal seats, or small islands of relaxation: multifunctional pieces conceived for a dynamic, contemporary living environment.
TE armchair by Setsu & Shinobu Ito © Desiree
Completing the collection is the Gradé rug, whose name recalls the chromatic vibrations of pure New Zealand wool. The tonal shifts — from natural to rope, from pearl to anthracite — come alive through the hand-tufting technique, creating a rich, tactile weave that alternates between bouclé and velvet, and finished with fringed edges that highlight its artisanal soul.
These pieces reveal the profound connections between two distinct design traditions — Italian and Japanese — bound by mutual respect and a shared philosophy. The quiet beauty that permeates Japanese aesthetics feels at once familiar and distant: on one hand, it evokes a sense of home; on the other, it expresses a spiritual harmony between human beings and nature that is truly unparalleled. Respect for the environment, sensitivity to light and material, devotion to craftsmanship, and a continual pursuit of balance between sensoriality and restraint, order and complexity — these are the values interwoven into the designers’ work and brought to life through Desiree’s creations.
Pond poufs by Setsu & Shinobu Ito © Desiree
Through soft forms, warm tones, and natural materials, Desiree shapes spaces that engage all five senses — environments built on a dialogue between fullness and void. These interiors embrace both body and spirit, dissolving the seemingly opposing forces of functionality and beauty. In this vision, essentiality is never cold or distant: the less is more principle is reinterpreted through a human, sensitive lens — one that reshapes the way we inhabit, feel, and think.
