The annual Salone del Mobile furniture show has always been big — it’s the event of the year for the international design world, drawing hundreds of thousands of manufacturers, curators, publishers and buyers to Milan every April for inspiration, a week of discussions and aperitifs. Even more than fashion week, the fair consumes the city. But this year’s edition seemed to be buzzing with a new level of excitement, with more people outside the design industry joining the crowds and the hour-long queues that form at outdoor events such as the launch of French luxury brand Hermès’ interiors collection, the annual installation by Milanese architecture firm Dimorestudio and satellite exhibition Alcova acquires Modernist The former home of architect Osvaldo Borsani — even though the house is a 45-minute drive away north of the city center. Fortunately, there were so many interesting presentations that it was worth braving the crowds. Here, 10 that stand out.
Floral Formafantasma chairs and futuristic lights
One of the week’s most talked-about openings was Milan-based design duo Formafantasma’s solo show at Fondazione ICA Milano, for which the pair — Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin — drew on memories of their childhood homes in Italy. to create amazing hybrid chairs and lamps that combine steel armatures with colorful wood, textile fabrics and hand-painted or embroidered floral motifs. The aesthetic was institutional furniture meets Italian grandmother’s house. Formafantasma also introduced a new series of utilitarian yet sensitive lights for Flos made from LED strips enclosed in thick glass panels.
A new range of furniture from Dimorestudio
Once people started posting photos on social media of the launch of Interni Venosta, a new furniture brand from Britt Moran and Emiliano Salci, the founders of Dimorestudio, the series exhibition quickly became a must-see – partly for the combination of bold minimalist forms with luxurious materials such as walnut and steel, and partly because it was presented in a highly photogenic local plaster workshop. The brand name pays homage to the cult Italian designer Carla Venosta, who created modernist furniture and interiors in the 1970s and 80s.
Gucci red design icons
Having recently renovated part of Gucci’s flagship store in Milan entirely in a deep blood red, the brand’s creative director, Sabato De Sarno, collaborated with five Italian design firms to reimagine some of their classic pieces in the house’s new signature color , the Ancora Rosso. The range, installed for the week on the store’s second floor – inside a lime-green carpet maze created by Spanish designer Guillermo Santomà – included the Parola lamp by Gae Aulenti and Piero Castiglioni, the Storet cabinet by Nanda Vigo, the Le Mura sofa by Mario Bellini, the sofa by Tobia Scarpa. Opatchi vase and a new rug created by Nicolò Castellini Baldissera based on patterns by his great-grandfather Piero Portaluppi. Each item will be produced in a limited edition of 100.
An acquisition of the old house of a modernist architect
Since its inception in 2018, the Alcova satellite fair has become the place to discover new talent during the Salone. This year, it occupied two historic mansions outside the city: the 19th-century Villa Balgatti Valsecchi and the 1945 Villa Borsani. The latter space, the former residence of architect Osvaldo Borsani, was the hottest ticket and featured pieces like a two-tone wooden divider room by Anthony Guerrée for Atelier de Troupe, a family of marble columned tables by Agglomerati and Tino Seubert, and a suite of galvanized steel office furniture by Russian designer Supaform, displayed in Borsani’s former office.
A mission from America
Tucked away down a long, dark corridor right next to Hermès’ big Salone presentation was “Origen,” a relatively subdued show of work by four up-and-coming Latin American designers for New York and Mexico City. Unno Gallery. Among the pieces on display were brown lacquer desks and bookshelves with reverse waterfall legs by Mark Grattan, an American designer based in Mexico City for many years, and a series of shimmering stools and mirrors, covered in crushed iridescent shells. Colombian designer Andrea Vargas Dieppa (co-founder of the 2010s shoe brand Dieppa Restrepo).
Unusual lamps Order from Loewe
For the eighth and largest Salone exhibition, Spanish luxury house Loewe commissioned 24 artists and designers from around the world to create lamps in materials and styles of their choice. The results range from the futuristic (a tangle of neon tubes by London-based artist Cerith Wyn Evans) to the whimsical (a miniature shop with metal shutters and a cord by London-based painter Alvaro Barrington) to the rustic (a ancient-looking ceramic vessel pierced with holes and lit from within, by Japanese artist Kazunori Hamana).
Interesting beds from a Georgian design duo
Stunning beds are a true rarity in the design world, which is why there was so much interest this week in an exhibition of six of them, all produced by Tbilisi, Georgia-based company Rooms Studio — founded by Nata Janberidze and Keti Toloraia — in materials ranging from thick wood to thin steel tubes with a handlebar finish. The design duo was inspired to focus on the often overlooked category by their struggle to find great bed frames for their own interior projects.
The next generation of Dolce & Gabbana design talent
Italian fashion brand Dolce & Gabbana’s second annual Gen D project reflects the company’s commitment to supporting young talent both inside and outside the fashion world. For the ambitious group show, the house enlisted Italian curator Federica Sala to pair 10 international designers with sixteen Italian craft workshops. Among the resulting pieces are interesting stylistic and cultural mash-ups, such as Chinese designer Jie Wu’s wild, muted vessels, which feature Chinese and Sicilian good-luck motifs and are coated in classic Venetian enamel.
Close-up photos of modernist interiors
In a simple but memorable exhibition placed in one of the tunnels surrounding Milan’s central train station, Czech writer, curator and photographer Adam Štěch — together with his colleagues Matěj Činčera and Jan Kloss — presented over 3,000 photographs detailing famous modernist houses and buildings. While taking the photos, which he shared on his Instagram account, @okolo_architecture, over the years, Štěch focused on interiors and furniture that were custom-made for each project by their architects. It was easy to get lost in the show, looking over doorknobs, stair rails and light bulbs from around the world.
A circular ping pong table
The ‘Design Duo Double Feature’ exhibition, also curated by Federica Sala, was a thoughtful example of a material brand commissioning designers to demonstrate the potential of its products: The six pieces in the exhibition were all made of Fenix acrylic resin surface material and designed by up-and-coming Italian studios such as Cara \ Davide, Mist-O and Zanellato/Bortotto. Martinelli Venezia’s Match table stood out, a circular two-tone ping-pong table whose “net” is formed by an awning on top.