Any Room Inside?
At Bar Basso, in Milan, anything can happen. With Design Week on pause this spring, its famed gossip den is all we can think about.
BY THIS POINT, BAR BASSO, THE MILAN DESIGN world’s ground zero of gossip, is practically synonymous with the city’s annual Design Week—as much a state of mind as it is a meeting point. It’s where everyone in the industry congregates after a long day of novelty eye candy. And it’s no coincidence: Second-generation owner Maurizio Stocchetto has cultivated the scene with an attentive ear, playing host to the likes of the late designer James Irvine in the 1980s and the rising star duo Formafantasma today. “When we’re able to open again, we’ll be very busy,” says Stocchetto, who’s had to keep the bar shuttered this year under lockdown restrictions. (Milan was devastated early on in the COVID-19 pandemic. In February 2020, Giuseppe Sala, the city’s mayor, allowed bars like Basso to remain open as the virus ravaged the region.) “The thing I miss the most is the sheer proximity to people,” says Stocchetto. “I think the biggest payoff is the fact that you establish contacts with people from all walks of life.” barbasso.com
“What happens at Basso stays at Basso.”
LINDSEY ADELMAN LIGHTING DESIGNER