Mario Gagliardi's creative approach was formed during his time as a student of design legends Alessandro Mendini and Richard Sapper.

Whenever he visited Alessandro Mendini at his studio in Milano, Mario Gagliardi would go to Bagutta, an iconic restaurant near Via Montenapoleone at the heart of the Italian capital of design. After a risotto and costoletta alla Milanese, Mario would, at the kindness of the Bagutta staff, stay seated for many hours with espresso and his sketchbooks. Inspired by the vivid talks with his former teacher Alessandro, Mario first sketched out the ideas which are now realized for the first time in the Mario & Casa Collection.

Previously, Mario worked as chief designer of LG, design advisor of Samsung, CEO of Design at Qatar Foundation, design advisor of the Austrian Ministry of Culture, and design professor in Denmark and South Korea.

Mario´s designs establish spatial richness and metaphor. Rethinking the formats, roles and temporalities of contemporary interiors, he creates extraordinary objects on the fundament of centuries of craft tradition.

Growing up in Austria with Italian roots and having worked all over the world, Mario's design sensitivity is Mediterranean, accentuated by a Northern precision for line and detail.