I’d love to introduce you to Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin, founders of Formafantasma, a research-driven design studio based in Milan and Rotterdam.
I recently spoke with them on the Bloomerangas Podcast about their projects for Prada in 2025, and was inspired by the depth of their imagination and the way they approach creative work.
Formafantasma creates products, spatial projects, installations, and exhibitions, collaborating with brands such as Prada, Hermès, Lexus, Max Mara, and Bvlgari.
Central to Formafantasma’s practice is a creative process rooted in listening, imagination, and social responsibility. Each project begins with a careful dialogue that allows the designers to understand a client’s intentions and context before developing ideas that help achieve meaningful outcomes.
As they explain, the ideal collaboration is either “a very thoughtful conversation” or complete creative freedom — in which case they let ideas lead the way, allowing form and format to emerge organically from the process.
In this talk, Andrea and Simone open up about their creative process. They dive deeper into the thinking behind projects such as Prada Frames and Staging Modernity for Cassina, reflect on design’s responsibility in a complex world, and share their perspectives on ethics, AI, and working with brands in more meaningful ways.
The designers are “interested in [an] expansive understanding of design” and have developed the capability to execute ideas in whatever format best fits the context. By not limiting themselves to a single niche, they avoid getting pigeonholed.
“If we are depending only on one way of approaching design or one type of client or one context of working, I think we would be very much limited by the clichés that are inevitable in any kind of work,” they note. Instead, “this variety of works allows us to work on projects that we like, to skip the ones we don’t like, and to maintain a certain degree of flexibility and independence”.
One standout example of Formafantasma’s work is their ongoing collaboration with the fashion house Prada. Prada Frames originated from an open brief: prior to the 2020 pandemic, Prada approached Formafantasma with the intention of participating in Milan’s Salone del Mobile in a new and more innovative way. Rather than mounting another product showcase, Prada wanted to move beyond that format and create something more intellectually engaging. After several iterations, the concept of Prada Frames took shape as a traveling symposium series.
Launched during Milan Design Week, it consists of interdisciplinary talks and conversations. “We did not want it to become a celebration of the individual author. It is transdisciplinary – we involve anthropologists, philosophers, architects, designers, but also policymakers, writers,”. Each year, they choose a critical theme and an unconventional venue that reinforces the topic.
“It’s rare to find a partner with which you can construct a thinking that is lasting for a very long time”. This underscores a core theme in Formafantasma’s work: the most fruitful brand collaborations are those that give designers room to explore big ideas and invest in outcomes beyond immediate marketing gains.
Continue reading on our website, where you’ll find more of FormaFantasma’s work — and watch the full talk on our YouTube channel.
