Toan Nguyen was born in Paris in 1969. As a child he enjoyed drawing, telling his parents that when he grew up he wanted to be a dessineur, believing he was saying dessinateur – the correct French word for an artist specialising in drawing – in a linguistic slip revealing his destiny. In 1995, Nguyen graduated from Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Création Industrielle (ENSCI) in Paris, completing his thesis on detail in architecture, an early indication of an element that continues to characterise his work.
As a young graduate Nguyen moved to Barcelona to train with Alberto Lievore, before moving to Milan in 1996, a city he continues to call home. Here he started working with Antonio Citterio in a collaboration that would last over a decade. As Head of the Design Department and Partner, he co-signed with Citterio numerous collections for leading design companies worldwide, including Axor-Hansgrohe, B&B Italia, Flos, Iittala, Kartell, Technogym and Vitra.
In 2009, Nguyen founded his namesake studio which has since partnered with major brands like Brown Jordan, Coalesse, Dedon, District Eight, Fendi Casa, Karl Lagerfeld Maison, Lema, RH, Rolf Benz, Schiffini, Studio TK, Viccarbe, Vibia, Walter Knoll, Wendelbo and LAUFEN. For the creative, design is inextricably linked to the object and its physical relationship with the user. As such, his creations are defined by intelligible forms that enable meaningful use while evoking the sensuality of the materials and the emotional impact of the object.
Nguyen recognises the influence his roots have played on his work. The characteristics of his Vietnamese father, who was very rational, and his French mother, who he describes as the exact opposite, are combined within him. Now living in Milan, a city in which he has lived for decades, he continues to consider himself a foreigner, equipping him with an external point of view that results in a unique perspective on design.
Since 2009, Toan Nguyen’s work has been recognised by numerous international prizes, including the Red Dot Award, the ISH Design Plus Award, the Good Design Award, the Green Good Design Award and the Archiproducts Design Award, among others.
