Ultrafragola
by Ettore Sottsass jr.
«As for the lights that are coming out of “The grey furniture”, don’t tombs always have a trembling light to illuminate the blue of the spirits wandering in the valley of dust? Don’t submarines have a trembling green light in their belly? The lights anyway are supposed to come out from the fibreglass bodies, like the ever—glowing of the breast’s white skin, like the ever—glowing of the penis red head in pornographic nights, something of this kind: I mean something like the Japanese lights of the glow worm that are turning the nights into matter. Could anything be more ridiculous?»
[Ettore Sottsass jr., 1970]
| year | 1970 |
| typology | mirror/lamp |
| dimension | 100[l] x 13[w] x 195[h] cm |
| weight | 33 kg |
| materials | vacuum-formed opaline PETG, mirror, LED lighting |
| colors | [frame] opaline white [light] “Ultrafragola” light pink The brightness and the color might vary depending on the environment |
#ultrafragola on Instagram
Its image is everywhere. Its meaning is not.
Designed by Ettore Sottsass for Poltronova in 1970, Ultrafragola is far more than one of the world’s most recognizable mirrors. It is the only piece from Sottsass’ experimental Mobili Grigi collection to enter serial production, making it the sole accessible witness to one of the designer’s most visionary and uncompromising research projects.
Presented by Poltronova at Eurodomus 3 in Milan in 1970 under the Design Centre label, the collection explored a completely new relationship between furniture, light and space. Produced in fiberglass—a material more commonly associated with boat building than furniture design—and illuminated from within by neon, the Mobili Grigi emerged from darkness like apparitions. Sottsass imagined them as three-dimensional silhouettes, almost immaterial presences capable of transforming the atmosphere of a room rather than simply furnishing it.
Ultrafragola embodies this vision perfectly. Its undulating frame, illuminated by pink neon, echoes what Sottsass himself described as “rounded, swollen forms of feminine origin—or, if you prefer, religious origin (which is the same thing).” Beauty here is never decorative. It becomes symbolic, emotional and almost spiritual.
When first presented, the collection divided critics and audiences alike. Too experimental, too unsettling and deliberately detached from commercial expectations, the Mobili Grigi never achieved commercial success. Most of the pieces remained rare prototypes, while Ultrafragola became the only project to survive in production—eventually growing into one of the defining icons of twentieth-century Italian design.
Today its silhouette is endlessly imitated. Yet what is often reproduced is only its appearance, not the cultural vision behind it. The original Ultrafragola has always been, and continues to be, produced by Poltronova.
#Poltronova #Ultrafragola #EttoreSottsass #ItalianDesign #DesignHistory
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ESCLUSIVO | INCLUSIVO
Some objects don’t simply inhabit a house.
They redefine the way we inhabit it.
Selected for ESCLUSIVO | INCLUSIVO, the design exhibition by @edit.napoli in collaboration with @jumeirahcapripalace and @comunedianacapri, Poltronova brings two projects that continue to shape the language of contemporary Italian design inside the historic spaces of @villarosa_anacapri.
Designed by Gianni Pettena in 1967, Rumble originated from the experience of living in a vast nineteenth-century artist’s atelier, where furniture had to respond to the scale of the place rather than that of the human body. More than a sofa, it becomes a playful architectural landscape: a simple form that invites endless possibilities of inhabiting, gathering and interaction.
Alongside it, Ultrafragola, designed by Ettore Sottsass Jr. for Poltronova in 1970, continues to blur the boundaries between mirror, light and object. Originally conceived as part of the Mobili Grigi collection, it has become one of the most recognisable and enduring designs ever produced by Poltronova.
Together, these works naturally engage with the exhibition’s central reflection: that design can simultaneously preserve its uniqueness while remaining open to new interpretations, new contexts and new ways of being experienced.
📍 Villa Rosa, Anacapri (Capri), Italy
ESCLUSIVO | INCLUSIVO
May 24 — July 12, 2026
Curated by @domitilladardi & @emiliapetruccelli
📸 Photography by @ale__mu
@edit.napoli @jumeirahcapripalace @comunedianacapri @villarosa_anacapri
#Poltronova #EDITNapoli #RumbleSofa #ultrafragolamirror #designexhibition
MIRROR, IN THE MIRROR.
A glow too perfect to belong to reality.
Ultrafragola by Ettore Sottsass jr. reflects itself endlessly beside Regolo by Gianfranco Fini and the translucent rhythm of Andrea Mancuso’s Pluriball table.
Liquid pink. Lacquered silence.
Objects that don’t simply furnish a room.
They alter the atmosphere. ✦
📸 Shot by @serenaeller : @ellerstudio
🎨 Exhibition design creative direction by @_d_apostrophe_ @donutsinho
📍 Salone del Mobile 2026 @isaloniofficial
#Ultrafragola #EttoreSottsass #PluriballTable #RegoloArmchair #Pink
PAST AND PRESENT SHARE THE SAME ROOM.
At Salone del Mobile.Milano 2026, Poltronova brought together historical icons and new productions inside an UN—defined environment: unstable, open, unfinished.
In this temporary landscape, objects are not isolated pieces.
They compose the space.
They activate it.
They transform it by being there.
Ultrafragola, designed by Ettore Sottsass jr. in 1970, meets Terrazzo Quarry, the new seating system by Bethan Laura Wood, 2025.
Two different moments in Poltronova’s history.
One shared condition.
A design icon and a new project living inside the same undefined domestic scenario, where past and present do not follow one another, but shape the space together.
📍UN—
Salone del Mobile.Milano 2026
Rho Fiera Milano
@isaloniofficial
📸 Serena Eller : Eller Studio
@serenaeller : @ellerstudio
🎨 Creative Direction: Donatello D’Angelo
@donutsinho @_d_apostrophe_
— Ultrafragola mirror/lamp by Ettore Sottsass jr. @ettoresottsass_official
— Terrazzo Quarry by Bethan Laura Wood @bethanlaurawood
#Poltronova #SaloneDelMobile2026 #MilanoDesignWeek #TerrazzoQuarry #Ultrafragola
IO SONO UN ARCHITETTO. ETTORE SOTTSASS
From 7 March to 26 July 2026, Palazzo Buontalenti in Pistoia presents a major exhibition dedicated to Ettore Sottsass, one of the most influential figures in twentieth-century architecture and design.
Painter, graphic designer, photographer and visionary designer, Sottsass (1917–2007) moved through the entire twentieth century with a perspective that was critical, observant and deeply sensitive to the cultural and social changes of his time.
Curated by Enrico Morteo and organised by @pistoiamusei, @fondazionecaript with @electaeditore, the exhibition explores three decades of Sottsass’s work. From the immediate post-war years to the early 1970s.
Drawings, photographs, ceramics, objects and archival materials reveal the development of his ideas, many of them presented to the public for the first time.
Special attention is given to Sottsass’s relationship with Tuscany and with the artisans and companies that helped shape his vision.
Projects developed with Poltronova — including Ultrafragola, Crazy Horse, Califfo and Superbox — stand as iconic examples of a design language grounded in experimentation, colour and symbolic form.
The exhibition presents both original pieces and archival materials preserved at @csac_parma and within the Centro Studi Poltronova Archive.
📍 Palazzo Buontalenti, Pistoia
📅 7 March – 26 July 2026
#EttoreSottsass #DesignExhibition #DesignHistory #Poltronova #Ultrafragola
Swipe right to light it up →
The iconic Ultrafragola mirror by Ettore Sottsass jr. inside Ca’ Nichetto, the Venetian home of @lucanichetto
A sculptural presence where light becomes atmosphere, and design becomes part of daily life.
Because great design doesn’t decorate a space.
It defines it.
Ph. credit Max Rommel @max_rommel
Studio Nichetto®
IG. @nichettostudio
Designed in the early 1970s by Ettore Sottsass jr., Ultrafragola is one of the most recognizable mirrors in Italian design history. Known for its sculptural silhouette and integrated lighting, it blurs the line between mirror and lamp, object and atmosphere. More than a functional piece, Ultrafragola explores how light interacts with space, creating mood, rhythm, and presence. Today, it remains a reference point for collectors, designers, and interior architects seeking iconic lighting design that feels both expressive and timeless.
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#Poltronova #Ultrafragola #ItalianDesign #LucaNichetto #VenetianInteriors
🩶 Ultrafragola mirror/lamp by Ettore Sottsass jr.
#Poltronova #Ultrafragola #UltrafragolaMirror #EttoreSottsass #EttoreSottsassDesign
📍 XS, @isaloniofficial April 8–13 2025
📸 @serenaeller @francesco_marano8 : @ellerstudio
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Before smartphones. Before social media. ⚡️🍓 Ultrafragola was born. Today, this mirror/lamp is an icon. ✍️ Text & voice over by Cecilia Marzocchi @cclmrz 📖 Discover more in our Ultrafragola Monography, available on our store. 🔗 Link in bio. #Poltronova #Ultrafragola #DesignIcon #EttoreSottsass #Mirror #TikTokDesign #PinkWavyMirror #UltrafragolaMirror
The Dream Factory. The Dream Team.
Our team is not behind the scenes.
It is the scene.
Every product we make carries their expertise, their care, their hands.
Always close, always by us, always with our CEO by our side, during every phase.
🇮🇹 Made in Italy.
🌎 Loved all over the world.
📸 Ph. @fabio_bortot_dop
#Poltronova #MadeInItaly #MadeInTuscany #ItalianDesign #FurnitureDesign #BehindTheScenes #Craftsmanship #Ultrafragola #Design
Ettore Sottsass jr.
1917 — 2007
Designed for Poltronova:
Ultrafragola, Asteroide, Barbarella, Superbox, Mobili grigi, Pranzo aromatico, Yantra, Nefertiti, Malatesta, Califfo, Crazy Horse
To request information, please write to info@poltronova.it, for a quote to sales@poltronova.it.
