Milan Magic

The arresting images of new furniture and lighting creations demonstrate that the Italian capital is a mecca for design.

The delay of the world’s largest furniture fair — Salone del Mobile — because of the pandemic did not put a damper on the creativity of designers. Its 2020 edition was shifted to 5 to 10 September 2021, becoming the 59th installment called SuperSalone. While the crowds were not the ones seen in pre-pandemic times, they still drew design heads from all over the world. Fashion houses were rife with spectacular installations and dramatic staging to woo the crowds. Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and Hermès were some of the fashion brands who staged their mesmerising wares outside of the Rho Fiera grounds called Fuorisalone. As part of Design Week 2021, Fuorisalone witnessed some 66 local events and 33 digital events. In fact, a total of

900 designers took part in this event. SuperSalone 2021, the big sister of Fuorisalone, showcased a total of 24 pavilions at Fiera Milano. It played host to 1,900 projects on almost 69,000 square metres. The curator of SuperSalone 2021 was architect Stefano Boeri and a team of co-designers who made it all possible. Some brands showcased virtual installation on their platforms. The atmosphere was also more like a shopping event as the fair allowed the general public as visitors.

“We broke with conventions in order not to remain in a situation that would have impoverished the system internally and that could have endangered the primacy of Milan,” says Maria Porro, President of the Salone del Mobile.

Some of the exhibition structures were made of untreated wood, such as those by Berlin designer Lukas Wegwerth, their potential for being recycled a nod to SuperSalone’s commitment to the environment. Apparently, no material was wasted from this temporary exhibition. Nevertheless, Milan design week 2021 was a fair that inspired the mind and tantalized the eyes. Here are four design trends we spotted with our roving eye.

NATUREABOUNDS

The power of Mother Nature spurs designers to create trends for today’s home decoration. From creations inspired by clouds to lush jungles, the creative juices from these designers keep flowing. Our pick of the crop even includes pandas made of ceramic from the house of artisanal Italian ceramic makers — Bosa. Through the lens of designer Elena Salmistraro, the Bernado panda ceramic sculpture comes alive. Its whimsical look and mesmerising patterns give life to its cartoon-like features. For feted Spanish designer Jaime Hayon, his Baile collection of decorative animal masks with striking patterns and bright hues and the comical Hope Bird figurine make them covetable pieces to own. The comical stance of the Dab Penguin by Vittorio Gennari makes fun of the pose struck by athletes after an exceptional performance. The low-poly technique used is to define the lines and facets emphasised by precious metal enamel, make the penguins life-like. From the house of Diesel Living by Moroso, the Cloudscape sofa looks like a dream, allowing you to lounge and sit on a cloud. The enveloping, plus upholstery oozes comfort while elevating the art of sitting. Philippe Starck’s Q/Wood chairs for Kartell offers alluring wood grain patterns derived from contorting pliable wood using a mould design so what you get is a very edgy and curvy seat. Over at Gallotti&Radice, the chic Liver armchair by Frederica Biasi gets a jungle fever theme on its upholstery. Patterns inspired by Monstera leaves and Birds of Paradise flowers add oomph to the armchair’s design. Dutch designer Marcel Wanders’ Petal chair for Louis Vuitton is a stroke of design genius as one gets to admire how nine hand-stitched leather cushions form the bud of a petal in bloom. Similarly, for Louis Vuitton, the Dolls chair by Raw Edges offers a bold zigzag-shaped leather seat and base with a colourful botanical print. In the same theme of flora, architect Annabel Karim’s Salon Nana sofa system for Moroso abounds with arresting prints of leaves and flowers. Lastly, the Diamond Markers clock from Vitra takes inspiration from the sun.

MATERIALMANIA

What’s not to like about precious materials such as leather, marble, walnut, and other gleaming ore-like materials? Supersalone 2021 was rife with these elements. At the Baxter booth, the Barret armchair designed by Draga & Aurel offers sinuous aesthetics and a sumptuous, creamy-like feel of its rich leather upholstery. The designer duo’s Altea hanging cabinet is made with MDF structured veneered internally in natural maple and externally in dark brown stained ebony and finished with waterbased paint. Drawer fronts and flap doors are coated with resins decorated by hand.

Even the Tebe round marble coffee table by Baxter is made from Brioche onyx or in matte polar white marble. The luxurious Clemo coffee table designed by Massimo Castagna for Gallotti & Radice has its surface brushed Ceppo de Grè with handburnished metal details. Other options abound such as natural polished Calcatta Vagli Oro marble, Bianco Carrara marble or Fior di Pesco brushed marble. The Melt series of chandeliers by Tom Dixon creates a mesmerising melting hot-blown glass effect when turned on, but when it’s off, it offers a mirror-finish effect. Lastly, for the Rogers nightstand or low console, the external frame is available in Dark Brown stained palisander Santos rosewood where the fine grain and highly polished wood shimmers.

SCULPTED FORMS

Through sheer ingenuity, designers have come up with novel designs showcasing how lines, curves, facets, and classic forms can create arresting forms of furniture and lighting. Spanish designer Jaime Hayon’s T-Bone armchair for Ceccotti is made up of many hand-smoothened wooden elements to create this sculpted masterpiece. French designer Jean-Marie Massaud’s Aston Club armchair offers faceted, plush upholstery with high-back rest. The unique lounge chair has four set positions controlled by a trigger mechanism. The gravity-defying Slot table designed by Giuseppe Viganò for Bonaldo is a harmonious juxtaposition of slim metal legs with a slotted middle wooden beam to create this slated aesthetic.

Elena Salmistraro’s Sangaku four-top table creation for Driade is inspired by the Japanese way of solving geometric problems on wooden tablets. The artistry of the waves is captured in sumptuous Louis Vuitton leather as the Anemona table designed by Atelier Biagetti, pays homage to the Adriatic Sea. From the same fashion house is Diamond Sofa by Marcel Wanders where curved slats of ash wood create a cage-like shape to make the seats seem suspended; and Atelier Oi’s Serpentine Table where the bevelled glass top sits on crisscrossing walnut legs held together by blue leather straps. Australian designer Nikolai Kotlarczyk’s Royce armchair for SP01 has a bird-like silhouette all thanks to its minimal tubular steel frame that holds its wingshaped shell. Icelandic-Danish artist Olafur Eliasson’s Secret Cubic Shelves for Moroso is a design derived from stackable rhomboid modules that fit into a rigorous structure.

REISSUES AND REVIVALS

Covetable, iconic furniture and lighting pieces of the past, some no longer in production, have materialised all thanks to furniture brands looking into their vaults. Here are some remarkable pieces any bona fide design head would be proud to own. Designed in 1969, the Soriana sofa system by Afra and Tobia Scarpa not only won a Compasso d’Oro prize, but it also remains as one of the most coveted pieces of sofas. This collector’s icon has been brought back to life from Cassina’s archives. Using new eco-friendly materials, every inch of the sofa is made to the exact details. Still, at Cassina, even the Edison table from the mid-1980s by Vico Magistretti has been revived by Cassina. The characteristic cross-shaped joint legs connect the counter-curvatures of the underlying structure. At Arper, architect Lina Bo Bardi’s Bowl Chair is revitalised with Rubelli fabrics and produced with a limited number edition of 500 pieces. For Flos lighting, the brand celebrates the 265 tilting wall lamp — conceived in 1973 by architect Paolo Rizzatto — where its 2021 edition is rebirthed as 265 Chromatica. Sporting vibrant hues, namely, red, blue, and yellow, the iconic lamp becomes even more decorative. At the house of Nemo Lighting, two lights get a limited production of 100 pieces: the Parliament floor lamp by preeminent architect Le Corbusier is revitalised in a new duo-coloured shade, and the Potence Pivotante tilting wall lamp designed by Charlotte Perriand gets a new lick of blue hue for 21st Century living.