About Neo
Neo was founded in Rome in 2007 by designer Rosanna Contadini. Her collections grew out of an interest in working with technical materials using traditional craft tools and techniques, allowing the weave itself to determine an object's shape.
The beginning
Before founding Neo, Rosanna worked in ceramic design. During a visit to a hardware shop in Rome, she came across neoprene cord, a material usually associated with technical applications. She began experimenting with knitting needles and a crochet hook, treating it like yarn.
Those early trials produced a bag. It marked the beginning of a design practice that Rosanna went on to develop with different materials and techniques.
The material
Neoprene is soft to the touch and flexible. Working it by hand means dealing with a different thickness from that of conventional yarn. The tension of the knots, the arrangement of the cords and the technique used all affect the structure of a finished piece.
Over time, Rosanna has experimented with other materials alongside neoprene, exploring what each one allows her to make.
The forms
From bags, Neo expanded into baskets, poufs, cushions, jewellery and home accessories. Their sizes and purposes vary, but the way each object is constructed remains part of its appearance.
A basket, for example, serves an everyday purpose while its thick interwoven cords give it a distinctive presence in a room.
An international audience
Rosanna's work has reached an international audience through design fairs and specialist retailers, including Maison&Objet in Paris. The bags also caught the attention of Pierre Cardin, who selected them for his boutiques.
Over the years, Neo pieces have also been stocked by the shops of prominent museums around the world. In 2025, Rai News produced a report about Rosanna and her work.
