Dear friends,
By now everybody read the breaking news in Cardesign world: The « Maestro » Giorgetto Giugiaro definitively retires from Italdesign his creature created in 1968 with Aldo Mantovani. Giugiaro sold the left 9,9% of Italdesign shares to VW and quits the company with his son Fabrizio.
I decided to write few lines about our Design legend because almost all of us have been inspired and probably became better designers looking at his work and successful designed cars and concepts.It is my case.
I started to be passionate about car design reading on auto magazines articles about him (late 70’s), I was a kid sketching “potatoes on wheels” and sending my sketches to the same magazine hoping to get a publication.When I decided to tell my family I wanted to change university to study car design in 1983 I used Giorgetto Giugiaro’s example to show that it was a real profession (having my father very skeptical).
When I visited my first Torino Auto Show in 1990 as professional young designer, I went first on the Italdesign standto meet him to thank him for the example he was for me and how indirectly he helped me to achieve my dream.
When I worked as designer and design manager on my first baby “Fiat Seicento” 1994 I had the pleasure to follow the production development at Italdesign for 6 months working in Italdesign for Fiat and having Giugiaro coming late in the evening to see how my master model was progressing exchanging about design philosophy with him.
Great learning times (and sometimes my father did not believe me ;) ).When the Fiat Seicento was ready he told me: Congratulations Bove! I wouldn’t have designed it this way but I like it!
Respect for the man, respect for someone that showed us how to design and most of all how to work with engineers in order to make architecture innovation (I assisted at meetings with him defending his ideas, my hero!)
It was not just a great designer, he was a great design manager and also very human with his employees. I know I know, he would often scream to people (strong character), however few minutes later he was very kind and smiling as usual. If you believe in something you propose, you go for it!He showed how to love with passion and full dedication a very strange, mysterious and difficult job.
Dear “Maestro” I want to say to you: THANK YOU!
With affection,Luciano
