Moooi

Moooi is a Dutch modern-design company whose business spans furniture, lighting, interior products, wallcoverings, carpets, and accessories. It was established in the Netherlands in 2001 by designer Marcel Wanders and entrepreneur Casper Vissers. The company grew from an initial effort to commercialize one of Wanders’s lamp-shade designs into a broader design house built around unconventional forms, theatrical presentation, and collaborations with designers and artists. The name is a deliberate variation on the Dutch word “mooi,” meaning beautiful. The additional “o” differentiates the brand and was also connected with the availability of an online identity, as the shorter mooi.com domain was already taken. From the beginning, Moooi positioned itself against conservative interpretations of contemporary interiors. Its collections often combine practical products with strong visual narratives, historical references, surreal motifs, unusual materials, and oversized or sculptural forms. This approach has made the brand recognizable in both residential and contract interiors. Moooi’s first international presentation took place at Salone del Mobile in Milan in 2001. Its launch strategy placed considerable emphasis on the experience surrounding a collection rather than on product display alone. The company worked with photographers and visual artists, including Erwin Olaf, to create distinctive exhibition environments and campaign imagery. Later presentations involved artists and photographers such as Lorenzo Petrantoni, Massimo Listri, Rahi Rezvani, and Levi van Veluw. These projects helped establish Moooi as a design brand with a strong editorial and cultural identity. Ownership changed during the company’s development. Hans Lensvelt, the owner of the LENSVELT office-furniture brand, acquired a 33 percent stake in 2002. Italian design company B&B Italia acquired a 50 percent interest in 2006. In 2012, Wanders and Vissers bought back part of B&B Italia’s holding and the remaining interest held by Lensvelt, whose stake had by then fallen to 10 percent. The founders subsequently returned to majority ownership, and by 2015 Wanders and Vissers were again described as majority shareholders. Wanders has served as Moooi’s artistic director while continuing to contribute designs to the collection. Casper Vissers was the company’s chief executive during its formative and expansion years, leaving the CEO role in 2015. Robin Bevers, who had previously been managing director of Marcel Wanders Studio, succeeded him from September 2015. In April 2025, Moooi announced that Anders Westerholm would replace Bevers as CEO in September 2025. The company is headquartered in Breda, where its warehouse is also located. Its showroom and retail network has included the 700-square-metre flagship in Amsterdam’s Jordaan district, London, New York, and The Hague. The Amsterdam location opened in 2008 and was initially known as the Moooi Gallery, hosting exhibitions as well as product displays. From 2013, it was refocused on Moooi products. A London showroom opened in Paddington in 2010, while a Milan showroom opened in Zona Tortona the same year and closed in 2013. Moooi opened a New York showroom and brand store in the NoMad district in April 2015, followed by a store in The Hague’s Westfield Mall of the Netherlands in September 2021. Moooi products reach customers through its own stores and website, e-commerce retailers, design retailers, agents, distributors, and project and contract dealers. Its commercial scope therefore includes both consumer-facing home furnishings and products specified by architects, interior designers, hospitality businesses, and other professional clients. The brand’s current identity remains closely associated with expressive design, high-impact presentation, and an international distribution model.

Moooi was founded in the Netherlands in 2001 by designer Marcel Wanders and Casper Vissers. The venture originated when Wanders sought Vissers’s help in bringing a designer lamp shade to market. Their shared objective was to create a company willing to work with unconventional designers and to present furniture and lighting through a more imaginative, theatrical brand language than was customary in the contemporary-design sector. The name Moooi modifies the Dutch word “mooi,” or beautiful, by adding a second “o.” The spelling gave the company a distinctive identity and helped distinguish it from the ordinary Dutch adjective. Moooi made its first international appearance at Milan’s Salone del Mobile in 2001. The event established a pattern that would remain important to the company: new products were introduced through carefully constructed visual environments and collaborations rather than through a purely commercial showroom format. In 2002, Hans Lensvelt, whose business was associated with the LENSVELT office-furniture brand, acquired a 33 percent shareholding. A further ownership shift occurred in 2006, when the Italian design company B&B Italia acquired a 50 percent interest. The arrangement connected Moooi with an established international design group while leaving Wanders and Vissers central to the company’s creative direction. In 2012, the founders bought back half of B&B Italia’s holding and acquired the remaining shares held by Lensvelt, whose interest had declined to 10 percent. Wanders and Vissers were again majority owners, and in 2015 they were once more identified as the company’s majority shareholders. Wanders has served as Moooi’s Art Director and has also designed for the brand. His role helped align the company’s product selection, visual identity, and presentation strategy. Moooi also developed recurring relationships with photographers and artists. Erwin Olaf collaborated with the company on a sequence of collection presentations, including “Naked Portraits,” “Super Heroes,” “Luxury Accessories,” and “Inside the Box.” These projects helped turn product launches into cultural and image-led events. Later presentations and showroom installations involved Lorenzo Petrantoni, Massimo Listri, Rahi Rezvani, and Levi van Veluw. The company expanded its physical presence during the 2000s and 2010s. Its Amsterdam flagship opened in the Jordaan district in 2008 in a space of approximately 700 square metres. Initially called the Moooi Gallery, it combined retail with exhibitions, including a 2010 presentation by Lorenzo Petrantoni. In 2010 the company also opened locations in London’s Paddington district and Milan’s Zona Tortona. The Milan showroom closed in 2013. That year, the Amsterdam location was redirected toward presenting Moooi’s own products. A New York showroom and brand store opened in the NoMad area in April 2015, and a Hague store opened at Westfield Mall of the Netherlands in September 2021. Leadership changed in 2015 when Vissers left the CEO position. Robin Bevers, who had previously served as managing director of Marcel Wanders Studio from 2005 to 2010, became his successor in September. In April 2025, Moooi announced Anders Westerholm as Bevers’s replacement, scheduled to take effect in September 2025. Moooi’s portfolio now covers lighting, furniture, accessories, wallcoverings, and carpets. The products are distributed internationally through e-commerce retailers, project and contract dealers, agents, distributors, company stores, and the brand’s online channels. This combination allows Moooi to serve individual consumers as well as architects, interior designers, hospitality operators, and commercial clients. Across its history, the company’s defining characteristic has been the integration of product design with visual storytelling: practical interior objects are presented as expressive, distinctive, and sometimes surreal components of a broader interior world.

• 2025

  Anders Westerholm announced as incoming CEO

  [1]Moooien.wikipedia.org

  Moooi announces that Anders Westerholm will replace Robin Bevers as CEO in September 2025.

• 2021

  The Hague store opens

  [1]Moooien.wikipedia.org

  Moooi opens a store at Westfield Mall of the Netherlands in The Hague.

• 2015

  New York store opens and leadership changes

  [1]Moooien.wikipedia.org

  Moooi opens a New York showroom and brand store, while Robin Bevers succeeds Casper Vissers as CEO in September.

• 2013

  Amsterdam showroom is refocused

  [1]Moooien.wikipedia.org

  The Amsterdam location moves away from hosting broad special exhibitions and concentrates on Moooi products.

• 2012

  Founders regain majority ownership

  [1]Moooien.wikipedia.org

  Wanders and Vissers buy back part of B&B Italia’s holding and the remaining Lensvelt shares, returning to majority ownership.

• 2010

  London and Milan showrooms open

  [1]Moooien.wikipedia.org

  The brand establishes showrooms in London and Milan as part of its international physical expansion.

• 2008

  Amsterdam flagship opens

  [1]Moooien.wikipedia.org

  Moooi opens its approximately 700-square-metre flagship showroom and store in Amsterdam’s Jordaan district.

• 2006

  B&B Italia takes a 50 percent interest

  [1]Moooien.wikipedia.org

  Italian design company B&B Italia acquires half of Moooi.

• 2002

  Hans Lensvelt acquires a minority stake

  [1]Moooien.wikipedia.org

  Entrepreneur Hans Lensvelt becomes a 33 percent owner of the company.

• 2001

  Moooi is founded

  [1]Moooien.wikipedia.org

  Marcel Wanders and Casper Vissers establish Moooi in the Netherlands, initially around the commercialization of a designer lamp shade and a commitment to unconventional design.

• 2001

  First international presentation in Milan

  [1]Moooien.wikipedia.org

  Moooi presents internationally for the first time at Salone del Mobile in Milan.

Expressive, unconventional, and highly visual contemporary design for residential, hospitality, commercial, and contract interiors.

• Lighting

  Lighting collections

  Moooi’s lighting range is central to its identity and includes decorative, sculptural, and technically developed fixtures. The company uses lighting to express its preference for unusual silhouettes, strong visual themes, and objects that can act as focal points within an interior. Collections are sold for residential and professional settings, including hospitality, commercial, and contract projects. Specific product-level details are not enumerated in the supplied reference material.

• Furniture

  Furniture collections

  Furniture is one of Moooi’s principal product categories. The brand’s approach combines functional seating, tables, storage, and related interior pieces with expressive forms and distinctive finishes. Furniture is distributed through retailers, agents, project dealers, and the company’s own channels, allowing the collection to serve both domestic interiors and larger professional specifications. The supplied references do not identify a complete list of individual furniture models.

• Home accessories

  Accessories

  Moooi’s accessories extend its design language into smaller objects and decorative elements. They are intended to work alongside the furniture and lighting collections and contribute to the brand’s layered, theatrical interior environments. Accessories are presented as part of the wider Moooi collection rather than as an unrelated mass-market assortment.

• Wallcoverings

  Wallcovering collections

  Wallcoverings broaden Moooi’s offering from freestanding objects to architectural surfaces. They allow designers and customers to apply the brand’s decorative and image-led sensibility across larger interior areas. The range is relevant to both residential projects and professional interiors, although the supplied source does not provide individual collection names or launch dates.

• Carpets and rugs

  Carpet collections

  Moooi’s carpets form part of its broader interior-design system. They introduce pattern, color, and visual texture at floor level and can be used with the company’s furniture, lighting, accessories, and wallcoverings. The products are available through the brand’s international professional and retail distribution network.

• 2015Rahi Rezvani collaboration

  International

  Moooi worked with photographer Rahi Rezvani in connection with its showroom and brand presentation activities, including the New York location.

  Outcome. Expanded Moooi’s continuing use of commissioned photography to support its international retail identity.

  Source
• 2014Massimo Listri collaboration

  International

  Moooi collaborated with photographer Massimo Listri for its 2014 exhibition.

  Outcome. Added an architectural and photographic perspective to the brand’s exhibition program.

  Source
• 2013Amsterdam and London showroom installations

  Netherlands and United Kingdom

  Levi van Veluw’s work was installed in Moooi’s Amsterdam and London showrooms during the period when the brand was refining its showroom presentation.

  Outcome. Linked Moooi’s retail environments with contemporary art and installation practice.

  Source
• 2013Milan collection presentation

  Italy and international design audience

  For a new-collection presentation in Milan, Marcel Wanders asked Erwin Olaf to select interior-design photographs from Olaf’s personal work.

  Outcome. Created a curated photographic context for the collection and continued Moooi’s art-directed launch format.

  Source
• 2012Inside the Box

  International

  A further presentation project made with Erwin Olaf, continuing the relationship between Moooi collections and commissioned photographic narratives.

  Outcome. Supported Moooi’s positioning as a design brand with a strong cultural and editorial dimension.

  Source
• 2008Luxury Accessories

  International

  Another Erwin Olaf collaboration connected with Moooi’s product and collection presentations.

  Outcome. Extended Moooi’s visual campaign language into accessory-focused storytelling.

  Source
• 2007Super Heroes

  International

  A Moooi collection-presentation project developed with Erwin Olaf as part of the brand’s continuing use of photography and narrative imagery.

  Outcome. Reinforced the brand’s theatrical approach to presenting furniture and lighting.

  Source
• 2002Naked Portraits

  International

  An early Moooi presentation series created with photographer Erwin Olaf, using photographic storytelling to frame the brand’s products and design identity.

  Outcome. Helped establish Moooi’s distinctive collaboration-driven and image-led presentation style.

  Source

• 2025

  Plan CEO successionOther

  Background

  Robin Bevers had led Moooi since succeeding Casper Vissers in 2015.

  Action taken

  Moooi announced Anders Westerholm as Bevers’s successor, with the transition scheduled for September 2025.

  Aftermath

  The announcement initiated a planned leadership transition; the supplied source does not describe its later implementation.

  Source

• 2021

  Open a store in The HagueStrategy

  Background

  Moooi continued developing its own retail presence in addition to international dealers and online channels.

  Action taken

  The brand opened a store at Westfield Mall of the Netherlands in The Hague.

  Aftermath

  The opening added another Dutch customer-facing location.

  Source

• 2015

  Expand direct retail with a New York storeStrategy

  Background

  Moooi was building an international showroom and brand-store network alongside distribution through retailers and project dealers.

  Action taken

  The company opened a 360-square-metre showroom and brand store in New York’s NoMad district.

  Aftermath

  The opening strengthened Moooi’s direct presence in the United States.

  Source

• 2013

  Refocus the Amsterdam flagship on Moooi productsStrategy

  Background

  The Amsterdam Gallery had hosted special exhibitions as well as serving as a showroom and shop.

  Action taken

  Moooi decided that the space should primarily present its own products.

  Aftermath

  The location became more directly aligned with the brand’s retail and product-display strategy.

  Source

• 2012

  Founders buy back sharesM&A

  Background

  Wanders and Vissers sought to restore greater founder control after B&B Italia’s 2006 investment and Lensvelt’s declining stake.

  Action taken

  The founders bought back half of B&B Italia’s holding and acquired Lensvelt’s remaining shares.

  Aftermath

  Wanders and Vissers became majority owners again.

  Ownership. Founders returned to majority ownership (2012)

  Source

• 2006

  Accept a 50 percent investment from B&B ItaliaM&A

  Background

  Moooi brought in an established Italian design company during its international development.

  Action taken

  B&B Italia acquired half of Moooi.

  Aftermath

  The investment remained in place until the founders began buying back shares in 2012.

  Equity stake. 50 percent held by B&B Italia (2006)

  Source

1. 1Moooien.wikipedia.org