HEROES ON SHOW
Director at Evolution of Surfaces, Nicky Duggan reports on her observations from Milan Design Week.
Milan certainly put it on for Design Week this year – balmy weather, sunny days, spring flowers – and one of the best displays of design in years. From Fiera Milano (which includes the massive exhibition halls of EuroCucina and EuroBagno) to Brera, Tortona and the central city, the quality was simply outstanding. Without doubt, from a surfaces perspective, the hero product was Fenix. This innovative product, made using nano-technology, is manufactured by Arpa Industriale, just outside Milan. Fenix featured heavily in the best kitchen and furniture displays, including the stand-out Elle Décor Millennials at Home exhibition. While also available in lighter shades, the product’s intense dark colour range supports the continuing trend for deeper tones. ‘Anomorphix’, the Fenix display in Brera, cleverly demonstrated that materials are not the same, even if they look similar. With low light reflectivity, Fenix is extremely matt and beautifully soft to touch. As well as being antifingerprint, it’s also resistant to scratches and abrasion, with the ability to thermally heal superficial micro-scratches. Fenix demonstrated its wide application appeal, appearing in bathroom cabinet displays at EuroBagno, as well as specialised bathroom retailers in Milan. On the bathroom tapware front, iB Rubinetti (Rubinetti is Italian for taps and iB are the initials of Ilio Bregoli, the company’s founder) delivered yet more stand-out ranges. Two years ago the family business, which is located in Brescia, close to Milan, launched the stunning ‘Marmo’ collection for bathrooms. ‘Marmo’ is a sophisticated marble range, available in either white Cararra or black Marquina. This year, iB Rubinetti introduced the ‘Bold’ collection, a combination of metropolitan and industrial design aesthetics, which will provide an outstanding design element for bathrooms and kitchens. To include Fenix surfaces and iB Rubinetti tapware in your project, please talk to your architect or designer, or call Evolution of Surfaces on 0800 225 5367. evolutionofsurfaces.com