Filmmaker Luca Guadagnino and architect Stefano Baisi have spent nearly a decade creating worlds together, merging the dramatic storytelling of cinema with the precise, spatial elegance of interior architecture. Since Guadagnino tapped Baisi to lead his interior architecture firm, Studio Luca Guadagnino, in 2017, the duo has consistently challenged the boundaries of design, bringing high-concept artistry to both public spectacles and intimate spaces. Together, they have brought the Louvre’s iconic pyramid to a Dior catwalk in the Jardin des Tuileries, created a dreamy, surrealist version of 1950s-era Mexico City for Guadagnino’s 2024 film Queer, and transformed a 16th-century school building into a luxury boutique hotel, to name just a few of their ambitious endeavors. Now, the creative partners are translating their cinematic and architectural vision into an accessible format through their newest collaboration: an expansive collection for Zara Home that comprises more than 200 pieces of furniture and decor, alongside a ready-to-wear clothing line.
The monumental partnership represents a significant departure from traditional retail home collections, filtering high-end design principles through a lens of sharp tailoring, historical reverence, and contemporary cool. Guadagnino explains that his and Baisi’s collaborative process for this project started by laying their many sources of inspiration—images saved on their phones, works of art, pieces by various artists, and the ideas of key intellectuals—out on the table. From these raw, disparate references came a deeper, more rigorous research phase that gradually guided the pair and gave coherence to the entire enterprise.
While astute observers can spot the clear influence of French Art Deco, Brazilian modernism, and Italian radical design in the final pieces, the designers were particularly drawn to the historic craftsmanship and geometric discipline of the Vienna Secession. Among the myriad historical objects that fueled their creativity, a small silver and coral box from this period designed by Koloman Moser had a particularly strong impact on the development of the collection, informing both the precision of the forms and the refined materiality.
The result is a true meeting of the minds between the film director and the architect, yielding a distinct aesthetic language. Through working together, Baisi notes, they found a shared stylistic code that is deeply rooted in historical tradition while relentlessly trying to find its own distinct identity.
This vision manifests as a highly polished collection where the pieces are sharp, angular, and hard, bearing the physical presence of impeccable tailoring. Guadagnino describes the resulting inventory as a constellation of objects, rooms, and parallel worlds. Stainless steel chairs and oak coffee tables topped with high-gloss lacquered finishes are slick and cool, while pieces like the Elsewhere table lamp—featuring a thin, arching steel neck and a triangular shade—feel practically space-age. Even the upholstered furniture pieces have an assertive posture: the scallop-backed Bretonita sofa, rendered in hunter-green flannel with burgundy cord piping, looks stately and sturdy, while the Uncollected sofa sits lower and longer, grounded by a dramatic black velvet cushion and a sycamore base. Dining rooms are anchored by grand statements, such as the towering Sound chandelier hovering over an octagonal table set with ten Purkersdorf chairs, while kitchens and smaller spaces can accommodate pieces like the stark white Qubit stool resting against rich, green-clad interiors. Octagonal dinnerware takes direct cues from Vienna Secessionism, extending the historical dialogue down to the smallest table setting.
What is exciting about this project, Baisi reflects, is that the very same object can now enter very different homes and become part of completely different lives. In a way, the collection can exist across many parallel worlds at the same time, bridging the gap between high-concept design and everyday domestic spaces.
To celebrate the global launch, Guadagnino directed a short film written by Scott Z. Burns, starring a notable cast that includes Jamie Bell, Chase Sui Wonders, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Patricia Arquette, naturally featuring set design by Baisi. The collection will also be presented to the public at a two-day pop-up exhibition at La Pelota in Milan on September 26 and 27, coinciding with Milan Fashion Week.
Items in the vast collection range widely in price, from $16.90 for smaller decor pieces to $18,400 for larger statement furniture, and are available starting September 26 at zarahome.com.
