PUBLICITAS Perlyn de Rouvray Venis Loo Xana Lai Phoon Qian Yu Onnia Law

Philippe Girardot, managing director philippe.girardot@publicitas.com

Director of Sales Sales Manager Sales Manager Senior Marketing Executive (p.derouvray@imv.com.sg) (v.loo@imv.com.sg) (x.lai@imv.com.sg) (qy.phoon@imv.com.sg) (o.law@imv.com.sg)

ROBB REPORT GLOBAL

Managing Director

This month, Milan sees the 57th edition of the Salone Internazionale del Mobile (page 22) happening from the 17th to the 22nd. Over 2,000 exhibitors and 300,000 expected visitors from 165 countries will converge on an exhibition area spread across 200,000sqm – approximately the size of 40 football fields. Design, and all its attendant buzz, will of course be the discussion point.

In this issue, Robb Report Malaysia offers a tastemaker’s selection of design- conscious items that elevate the ordinary into something special. That list of upgrades runs the gamut of Danish modernism in the Bang & Olufsen Beolab 90 speakers (page 54) to Lexus’ flagship LS saloon (page 44), and from Bulgari’s Curiosity Shop celebrating the art of wonder (page 40) to Montblanc’s sportive 1858 timepiece collection, harking back to the golden age of mountaineering (page 76).

In all this, it’s worth remembering that design isn’t mere philosophy as Japanese fashion designer Issey Miyake points out. Rather, it is something that impacts “the way we live our lives, creating culture, shaping values and determining the future” – a quote attributed to designer and educator Robert Peters. In all this, it’s also worth recalling Steve Jobs who said: “Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.”

DESIGN FUNCTION