Finding themselves with few building projects, ItalyÆs architects turned to struggling manufacturers to help the industrialists climb back out from economic ruin. The movement began in Milan. Bornsen-Holtmann writes, ôDesigners from Milan have been in demand internationally ever since industry realised that beautifully designed products can be sold more easily and at higher prices than unattractive onesö (7).

The emphasis on architectural training did not come only from the architects themselves. As Parsons observes:

The push to achieve their status as international winners in the design sweepstakes came from Italy's business community. After World War II, the country's manufacturers  tiny companies by American standards  were looking to compete in a world market. What they saw were architects coming out of school unemploy

Bornsen-Holtmann, Nina. Italian Design. Trento, Italy: Benedikt Taschen, 1994.

Ironically, leadership was more on an international than national level. As Sparke writes, ôFrom the early 1960s onwards its impact was felt most strongly in the wealthy quarters of London, Paris, New York and Tokyo. Thus, while the production of Italian design is inextricably linked to the economic, social and cultural context of modern Italy, its consumption is notö (10).

Architectural training and an eye for three-dimensional structure were an important component in the establishment of a uniquely Italian vision of design. Peter Dormer argues that post-World War II culture throughout the West reflected a mixture of cooperation and individualism (40). In Italy, the cooperation between designer and manufacturer came together to create a distinct aesthetic; Italian-designed objects share a remarkable unanimity that combines clean lines, functionality, and bold playfulness in a way no other nation was able to achieve so solidly. Bornsen-Holtmann quotes writer and critic Umberto Eco: ôIf other countries had a theory of design, Italy had a philosophy, maybe even an ideology of designö (5).