Chez Dédé, Rome. Italian attitude and French allure

Painting, photography and a collection of objects picked up around the world or designed by the artistic duo who launched the concept store

Chez Dédé in Rome

Daria Reina has made Diana Vreeland’s diktat her own: the eye has to travel. Chez Dédé, in fact, is an emporium in Rome that lays out different worlds, and stylistic and geographical contexts. When the door closes behind you, you feel like you have entered a different dimension. Slightly shabby sofas, vintage furniture and decorations, velvet cushions, poufs embroidered with gold thread, Kuba textiles, shabby ceramics by Astier de Villatte, posters, rush mats, candles, wood, incense as well as trompe-l’oeil linoleum.

Along with Daria Reina, Andrea Ferolla is the demiurge of Chez Dédé. His illustrations bring the graphic universe of Marcel Vertès and Christian Bérard to life based on an imprinting which refuses to bow to any chronological order. Reina and Ferolla have worked together for the last twenty years as Creative Directors, Designers as well as Communication Consultants. Together, they have invented, designed and produced, ironically referring to themselves as dédéists.

Lampoon review: the launch of Chez Dédé

Andrea is Italian and a painter. Daria is half Italian and half French and a photographer. They launched Chez Dédé in 2011 as a brand of accessories, fashion, jewelry and decorations for the home, as well as little éditions de charme and partnerships with luxury brands around the world.

It is a combination of Italian craftsmanship, luxurious materials and esprit de finesse with a strong French accent. The pair personally takes care of the brand’s Instagram profile, revealing their passion for travelling and poetry. Their operations hub, the heart of the atelier, is hidden behind linen curtains in a studio that also serves as a living room and a cocoon.

Chez Dédé is located in via di Monserrato, formerly Corte Savella and via Arenula before that, a few steps away from Piazza Farnese, connecting it to via dei Banchi Vecchi. Palazzi built by aristocratic families between the Renaissance and the nineteenth century characterize the street. It was named after the Spanish national church built by Antonio da Sangallo il Vecchio.

A tapestry of historical events linking the Borgia’s, Callixtus III and Alexander VI, to Beatrice Cenci, Imperia the Roman courtesan, and Filippo Neri. The street has shops, workshops and galleries. These include jewel designer Fabio Salini, Soledad Twombly’s ethnic designs, Syrian dresses, Ikat textiles and vases from Tibet, antique picture frames from antique dealer Fabrizio Canto, and bags by young Lebanese designer Gilbert Halaby.

Pierluigi’s restaurant is popular with locals and visitors from abroad – including Hollywood film stars – in Piazza de’ Ricci. Opposite, it is overlooked by the seventeenth century fresco-covered facade of Palazzo Ricci, the home of Archer in Portrait of a Lady by Henry James.

Andrea Ferolla’s background

Andrea Ferolla was born in 1961 and lives and works in Rome. He graduated in History of Art before starting to work as an illustrator and visualizer. He worked for Rai and various advertising and communications agencies. Galleries and museums in Rome, Bologna and Tokyo host his first works.

In 2007 he founded a design studio with his wife Daria Reina. He also worked as an illustrator with international magazines and fashion brands. His designs are on display at the Fashion Illustration Gallery in London. They even decorate the walls at Hotel de’ Ricci in Rome, Hotel San Pietro at Positano, Omar at Vaucluse in New York, as well as the new Beach Club at the Rosewood Miramar at Montecito.

He has been a professor of Art Direction at IED for the last twenty years or so. Then, he also opened an atelier at the Chez Dédé showroom in Rome four years ago. Ferolla’s designs are on many of the accessories, bags, scarves, plates, as well as fabrics in the Chez Dédé collections.

ITALIAN CHIC was published by Assouline in 2018. A book following a path dictated by emotion, a sort of contemporary Grand Tour across Italy. A story expressed through his graphics and Daria Reina’s camera lens, weaving together two complementary visions in a single unit.

Daria Reina’s background

Daria Reina was born in 1969 and grew up in Brussels, Belgium. She studied in Rome and graduated in 1991 in Graphic Design at the Academy of Fashion and Design. Reina remained there to start her career as a teacher of Lettering. She designed the logo commemorating the one-hundred-and-fiftieth anniversary of Italian Unification.

Ferolla-Reina also launched Chez Dédé for Hotels. «Hotels are the epitome of the place of literature» they emphasize «conveyed through an atmosphere or a mood. A setting for imaginary stories where the décor, art and decorations are co-conspirators. Its job is to astonish and attract our senses, re-enter the sphere of memory, the cradle of culture and pleasure».

Chez Dédé’s creative collaborations

From the first day of opening, Chez Dédé has been a place of exchange and hospitality. For this reason the founders have chosen to set up their creative atelier next to the showroom that receives customers daily. Over the years this list of collaborations has become interesting and rich. Great minds of the international scene that inspire Andrea and Daria giving them the opportunity to explore new creative territories, such as Astier de Villatte, OKA, Atelier Vime, Saved New York, Yolo.

Between other special projects there are special edition bags and clutch for Eden Rock, Saint-Barths, special edition bag and clutch for Grand Hotel Tremezzo, Lake Como, Italy as well as special edition bag for Hotel Eden, Rome.

Chez Dédé

Via di Monserrato, 35, 00186 Rome
Chez Dédé is an independent brand with a French-Italian passport and an international audience. Andrea Ferolla and Daria Reina founded Chez Dédé in 2011.

Cesare Cunaccia