Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni were born in Milan in 1918 and 1913. Together with brother Livio (1911-1979), they were closely dedicated to their design work from a young age, researching new forms, techniques and materials. As a partnership, Achille and Pier Giacomo designed objects for companies such as Kartell, Zanotta, FLOS, Bernini, Siemens and Knoll, among others. Their collaboration with Brionvega came about thanks to brother Livio, already a design consultant with the Brion company and also responsible for the Zanuso/Sapper duo’s involvement with the brand.

Founded in 1954, Zanotta is recognized as a major player in the history of Italian design. Guided by the intuition and extraordinary entrepreneurial ability of its founder Aurelio Zanotta, the company initially focused on the production of sofas and armchairs, going beyond the artisan tradition of the upholsterer's workshops - to which the production of upholstered furniture normally referred - and moving towards "cultured" design, establishing itself among the companies that wrote the first significant pages in the history of Italian design.Since the 1960s it has thus conquered the international scene thanks to products that are emblematic for their formal innovation and technological research supported by the continuous evolution of the quality of materials and production processes.