Paola Navone was born in Turin, Italy. She grew up in Turin and went on to study at the Polytechnic school in the city and graduated in 1973. While she was there she studied architecture and after moved to Milan to start her life as a designer.From 1970-1980, she made her way up by working alongside Alessandro Mendini, Ettore Sottsass Jr, and Andrew Branzi in a group called Alchimia. She worked with many artists and designers to learn about different styles and take different techniques in her work.
Paola Navone has worked in many creative industries as an architect, product designer, business consultant, interior designer, shop and restaurant designer, exhibition and event organizer, lecturer and teacher. She is a self-proclaimed work addict with many skills and passions.
Navone has always had a disregard for convention, which she developed during her time with the ‘antidesign’ rebels led by Mendini and Sottsass. ‘It was crazy, what we did. Working like mad to produce the utterly useless,’ she says. ‘But it was a catalyst. It produced a lot of energy and gradually, much later, our inventive thinking has been absorbed by industry.’
In 1983, she won the Osaka International Design Award for Abet Laminati which was very prestigious. She was supposed to enter only one design but instead she entered 50 because she couldn’t pick just one.This really displays her work ethic and passion for her profession.
