Alpine Talk: with Davide Valsecchi, Mara Sangiorgio, and Marco Piva, to discuss elegance and performance
It's not just a matter of lines. If there's one thing that the Milano Design Week teaches us every year, it's that an object — be it an author-designed seat or a high-performance car — is never an end in itself. Rather, it is the endpoint of a constant tension between technical necessity and aesthetic desire. A concept that Alpine has wanted to emphatically reaffirm in the beating heart of the Fuorisalone, transforming the Atelier Alpine Lounge into a think tank.
At the center of the scene, once again, is the Alpine A390. But this time, the discussion wasn't just about electrons and aerodynamics, but about "vision".
The Architecture of Movement: Marco Piva’s Lesson
The talk found its compass in the words of Marco Piva. The architect who signed iconic projects such as the redevelopment of the Hotel Gallia in Milan has always been a proponent of "total design": the idea that there's no separation between the envelope and its inhabitants. According to Piva, the automobile should not just be driven, but inhabited. The design of the A390 reflects this philosophy: function is not a limit to form, but its reason for being. In an era when electric mobility risks standardization, Alpine's work (and Piva's reflections) suggest that ergonomics must be fused with emotion. The interior space becomes a sensory ecosystem, where the millimetric rigor of technique transforms into a fluid aesthetic experience.
Performance as Language: The Valsecchi Factor
Counterbalancing the architectural vision was the overwhelming energy of Davide Valsecchi. The former GP2 champion and historic face of the Formula 1 paddock brought to the table the "heartbeat" of the brand. For someone like Valsecchi, who grew up between the curbs, performance is not a statistical data point on the vehicle registration, but a matter of sensitivity.
"Technical precision is nothing without the narrative of intensity," seems to suggest the perspective of the Comasca driver. In Alpine, this translates into a natural balance: the A390 does not seek speed for its own sake, but that millimetric control that allows the driver to feel like an integral part of the vehicle. It is the shift from "machine" to "mechanical body".
The Red Thread between Track and Design: Mara Sangiorgio’s Moderation
Sewing together these seemingly distant worlds — the rigor of architecture and the adrenaline of circuits — was the signature of Sky Sport's Mara Sangiorgio. Accustomed to narrating the most sophisticated technology on the planet during race weekends, Mara was able to extract the common denominator between sports and design: the passion for detail. Under her guidance, the Talk became a conversation about the vision for the future, where the language of contemporary design borrows the spirit of sacrifice and the quest for perfection typical of motorsport.
Alpine as a Cultural Brand
Alpine’s presence at Design Week is not an isolated marketing operation. It is confirmation that the French house is moving as a true cultural brand. The A390, a manifesto of this new era, embodies a performance that interacts with the environment and with humanity, transforming engineering into an experience that goes beyond the road.
The future of mobility, Alpine tells us, will not only be electric. It will, above all, be designed to remain etched in memory, just like a work of art or a great architectural project. And judging by what we saw in Milan, the path laid out seems to be the right one.