DATE: SEPTEMBER 5, 2025
Today, September 5, 2025, the world witnessed an historic moment.
For the first time in its long tradition, the Compasso d'Oro ADI International Award was presented outside the Italian borders, and the honor of bringing Italian design to the roof of the world fell to Molteni Vernici.
In the beating heart of Expo 2025 Osaka, in front of an international audience of journalists, authorities and designers from every corner of the globe, IDRO ROYALE, the water-based finish signed by Molteni Vernici, wins the Compasso d'Oro.
Yes, you read that right: it wins. It doesn't 'participate', it doesn't 'show up'. But he wins.
An Honorable Mention that is, in reality, a total consecration for those who know the value and rarity of this recognition. A title worth as much as an Olympic medal.
A worldwide statement: Italian special finishes are still the absolute reference.
Osaka, the day when design spoke Italian
In the spotlight of the Italian Pavilion, amidst suspended lights and metallic reflections, the announcement left you breathless:
“IDRO ROYALE by Molteni Vernici — Compasso d'Oro Compasso d'Oro ADI International Award”.
From Brianza to Japan, from the factory to the museum, from the laboratory to the global stage. An independent company, founded on artisanal knowledge, has beaten world giants with a radical and poetic proposal at the same time: a paint that reflects the future.
IDRO ROYALE: the finish that breathes the future
IDRO ROYALE is a high-tech water-based finish, designed to offer superior performance on metal and wood, while complying with the most stringent environmental regulations in the world.
Its texture is subtle, dynamic, iridescent. It reflects light as if it were liquid, but without sacrificing depth and opacity calibrated with wisdom.
A product without PFAS, without heavy metals, without aesthetic compromises.
A living material, designed for architecture, design and luxury.
A special finish for projects that want to speak the language of excellence.
A second win worth double
With this new achievement, Molteni Vernici enters the ADI Collection for the second time, recognized by the Ministry of Culture as an artistic and historical heritage of our country. After WAKEUP, the absolute winner in 2022, IDRO ROYALE confirms that this was no accident.
This is a powerful confirmation: the name Molteni Vernici today is synonymous with avant-garde, credibility and vision.
“It's not just an award, it's a global statement. Our know-how, our pigments, our production philosophy are finally recognized as a universal language of design,” Roberto Molteni, CEO of the company, said today in Osaka.
Brianza wins again: design, industry, heart
Behind every international success there is a land made of hands, matter and work culture.
Today's award is also an award to Brianza Industriale, capable of interpreting the most sophisticated trends in the international market while remaining faithful to its profound identity.
Molteni Vernici is the daughter of this land and today represents it with pride, like a flag that flies high in the wind of the future.
An Italian victory that speaks all languages
A few meters from the stage, Korean, Swedish, American and French delegations observe the IDRO ROYALE surfaces up close.
Photographers are looking for the perfect angle.
Luxury brands are asking for immediate meetings.
In a changing world, where appearance is often synonymous with superficiality, this finish speaks instead of depth: depth of research, of content, of vision.
What's happening now
From today, IDRO ROYALE officially enters the ADI Compasso d'Oro Collection, together with the icons of industrial design that have marked history.
It will be preserved, documented and told as a living testimony of a new language of surfaces.
A language that speaks of:
- special finishes
- special paints
- technology applied to beauty
- Italian design as a universal heritage
Conclusion
Today, Japan speaks Italian. Today, design speaks to Molteni.
Whoever was there knows it. Whoever reads will know it. And those who want to compete will have to look up.
The Compasso d'Oro Compasso d'Oro ADI International Award made it clear:
the special finishes of the future are Italian. They are Molteni Vernici.
