Commissioned for the opening of Fivefourfive’s flagship store in Milan’s Brera district, designed by Studio Musa, Plissè Block was conceived as the space’s centrepiece. Ricci found his starting point in a historical sketch by Le Corbusier, borrowing the proportions of the architect’s LC2 sofa and stripping the reference back to a set of formal ratios before rebuilding it through an entirely different material logic. Composed of three modules, two side blocks and a central element, and set on hidden castors, the sofa’s structure is made entirely of glass: an inner smooth layer provides support, while an outer fluted layer wraps the volume in a pleated optical skin.

Like pleated fabric, from which the piece takes its name, the fluted surface creates a sense of repetition, movement and controlled tension. As light passes through it, it bends, fragments and softens what lies behind, making the object appear to shift according to viewpoint and illumination. The effect is sharpened by the contrast with six red velvet cushions: three rectangular seats and three cylindrical backrests. Against the cool precision of glass, the red velvet introduces warmth, tactility and an unmistakable note of theatricality, while further accentuating the design’s graphic sensibility.