Saint Laurent rereleases handpainted Gio Ponti plates designed for Villa Planchart

French fashion house Saint Laurent will unveil the Villa Planchart Segnaposto collection of 12 porcelain plates designed by Italian architect Gio Ponti in 1957 at Milan design week.

The tableware collection will be showcased in an exhibition called Gio Ponti – Villa Planchart at the Chiostri Di San Simpliciano cloister in Milan during the city's upcoming design week.

Ponti originally designed the plates after being commissioned to build a house for Anala and Armando Planchart in Caracas in 1953, which became known as Villa Planchart.

As well as designing the house itself – a modernist rectangular building with a butterfly roof – Ponti also created its interior, integrating a number of furniture pieces and lamps he had designed for Italian companies including Cassina and Arredoluce.

The architect, who had previously worked as the artistic director for Florentine porcelain manufacturer Ginori 1735, also collaborated with the company on a collection of porcelain tableware designed especially for the house in 1957.

The plates feature the "symbols and motifs" of the villa, Saint Laurent said. Among the motifs are the letter A, representing Anala and Armando Planchart, as well as a crescent moon, a sun and the polar star.

The Milan exhibition, curated by Saint Laurent creative director Anthony Vaccarello, will showcase 12 reissued plates from the original Villa Planchart Segnaposto collection.

Saint Laurent collaborated with the Gio Ponti Archives and the Fundación Anala y Armando Planchart for the release of the plate collection.

The new plates were also made by Ginori 1735 and are decorated with gold edges and bright, primary colours.

The rereleased Villa Planchart Segnaposto collection was created by Saint Laurent Rive Droite, the fashion brand's "curated and creative retail and cultural destination" and will be available in its Paris, Los Angeles and Milan stores.

Ponti created more than a hundred buildings in Italy and globally as well as numerous furniture and product designs.

Among his designs are the Denver Art Museum, which the architect designed in 1971, and furniture pieces including the wooden 811 armchair.

The Gio Ponti – Villa Planchart exhibition will be on view at Chiostri Di San Simpliciano during Milan Design Week on 16 to 21 April. See Dezeen Events Guide for more architecture and design events around the world.

The post Saint Laurent rereleases handpainted Gio Ponti plates designed for Villa Planchart appeared first on Dezeen.