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Oh boy. Sometimes I wonder if we’re completely crazy doing what we do with Yellowtrace, and this feeling significantly intensifies in the lead-up, during and just after the annual Salone del Mobile & Milan Design Week. The sheer magnitude of this design event shocks me each year, and attempting to tackle the enormous beast in order to bring you the best without missing anything is a seriously daunting task to the point it sometimes leaves me paralysed. But then I snap out of it, pick myself up, brush off any dust and get on with it. There is no doubt Salone is bigger than Ben-Hur, and giving you a full rundown of what you can expect from this year’s events is an impossible task. Having said that, I couldn’t help but share some of the products, events and installations of note to help you plan your Milan Design Week 2016 itinerary (or alternatively allow you to live vicariously through this list).

 

Related Post: Milan Design Week Survival Kit & Our Must-See Milan Itinerary.

EXHIBITIONS & INSTALLATIONS.

 

Domestic Dimension at Fondazione Achille Castiglioni // And exhibition that explores the work of two brothers, Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, set withing the rooms of Castiglioni’s Foundation. A series of physical installations replicate the rooms previously designed by the brothers, displaying rare and original materials and archives, allowing the visitors a deeper insight into the brothers’ design philosophy. “Domestic Dimension” is curated by Beppe Finessi, with graphics by Italo Lupi and set-up by Marco Marzini. The exhibition opened on February 17 and will run until October 30, 2016. Entry and tickets only by prior reservation.

Fondazione Achille Castiglioni
Piazza Castello 27
achillecastiglioni.it

COS x Sou Fujimoto // COS has announce its partnership with Sou Fujimoto to create a specially commissioned installation that will showcase in Milan during Salone del Mobile 2016. Located within a former cinema in the centre of Milan, the collaboration marks the fifth year of COS’ involvement at Salone del Mobile, having worked with Nendo and Snarkitecture in recent years.

The highly esteemed Japanese architect, Sou Fujimoto is well known for his innovative designs that push the boundaries of minimalism and negative space, sharing in the COS vision of timeless and modern design. COS previously admired the work of Sou Fujimoto following the design of the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2013. Inspired by the latest COS collection, the installation will play on space, light and darkness to create a novel immersive experience. Designed to explore interaction and spatial awareness, an infinite forest of light will capture and react to visitors’ movements as they discover the space.

Cinema Arti
Via Pietro Mascagni 8
cosstores.com
Sou Fujimoto Architects

The Restaurant by Caesarstone x Tom Dixon // Four conceptual kitchens inspired by the elements – Earth, Fire, Water and Air – will take over the historical Rotonda della Besana delivering an experimental food concept. Set within the backdrop of a 17th century Cloister encircling a public garden and a deconsecrated church, each of the four sections of the cruciform-shaped complex will introduce a different range of Caesarstone’s designs. Demonstrating the versatility and beauty of the Caesarstone surfaces, combined with Tom Dixon- designed dining halls and products, each kitchen will feature a variety of colours and materials that complement the mood and atmosphere of each specific element. Commissioned by Caesarstone, Italian food design studio Arabeschi di Latte, headed by Francesca Sarti, will curate the overall food concept.

La Rotonda della Besana
Via Enrico Besana 12
caesarstone.com
tomdixon.net

Philippe Nigro for Novamobili // Known for their modular furniture systems, Novamobili has recruited a group of designers – Philippe Nigro, Zanellato/Bortotto and Zaven – for their personal take on the concept of the wall system, capable of morphing as it is shaped by different design approaches. Inspirationals – the name of the project curated by studio Dogtrot and presented during Milan Design Week 2016 – comprises three installations.

Philippe Nigro – an internationally renowned French designer whose distinctive stamp comes from the pairing of experimental research with a pragmatic analysis of the ”savoir faire” of the businesses he works with – plays with the wall system, creating a labyrinth-like path through Novamobili’s Flagship store. Archives is a project that sits somewhere between installation and product.

Novamobili Flagship Store Gioia8
via M. Gioia 6/8
novamobili.it

Marni Ballhaus // Marni will be transforming its space at Viale Umbria 42 into a ballroom which will explore a different area of performing arts, using dance to create a link between the new design collection and the traditions of Colombia, the country that inspired it. An invite to discover Cumbia, an ancient Colombian dance for couples that arose from a blend of diverse rhythms and cultures, Marni has put its own individual slant on it, customising the traditional full circular skirts worn by Cumbia dancers and the knotted scarves the men wear around their neck.

Cumbia’s colourful choreography will form the backdrop for the presentation of Marni’s new home furnishing accessories range, created exclusively for Milan Design Week: chairs, chaise lounes and rocking chairs sit alongside numerous small tables, lamps and vases made of metal, wood and hand-woven PVC cord in brilliant colour combinations. The items on display have all been made in Colombia by a group of women who have gained independence and freedom through work. Marni Ballhaus reaffirms the brand’s commitment to charitable initiatives, as a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the design items will be donated to the Vimala Association, which supports numerous children’s projects.

Spazio Marni – April 14th-17th
Viale Umbria 42
marni.com

25 years Grcic for ClassiCon at Spotti // The collaboration between Konstantin Grcic and ClassiCon started in 1991. Grcic had just established his office KGID, and ClassiCon had been founded one year earlier. From the beginning, their common ground was mutual appreciation and open-mindedness with regard to the character of the designs that Grcic soon began to develop. The ClassiCon/Grcic Edition marking the 25th anniversary of the successful collaboration has been given a makeover to Konstantin Grcic’s most striking designs for ClassiCon, transforming them into a monochromatic series in black. Studio Achermann in Zurich was able to enlist the Iranian-Swiss photo artist Shirana Shahbazi to adequately present and capture the black ClassiCon/Grcic Edition. The edition and original photos taken by Shirana Shahbazi will be presented during the Salone di Mobile 2016 in a separate exhibition.

Spotti Milano
Viale Piave 27
spotti.com

MINDCRAFT16 – In My Mind Craft. Exhibition design and curation by GamFratesi // The Danish Arts Foundation presents MINDCRAFT16, an exhibition showcasing new and original works by some of Denmark’s leading designers and craftspeople. This year, the Danish Arts Foundation asked the design duo GamFratesi to curate and design the exhibition, which will be presented at the Circolo Filologico in central Milan. Last year’s MINDCRAFT was also curated by GamFratesi, and the exhibition received both a Milano Design Award and a German Design Award.

The combination of the words MIND and CRAFT highlights the goal of the exhibition series, which is to showcase the capacity and potential of a field that spans from experimental, innovative and conceptual design to the technical proficiency and material knowledge from crafts. This year, GamFratesi defined a theme that provided an added dimension to MINDCRAFT16. ‘The theme of MINDCRAFT16 is “In My Mind Craft”. Like last year, we have chosen a historical venue for the MINDCRAFT exhibition: the Circolo Filologico in the centre of Milan. This institution studies the origins of texts and literature, and driven by the notion of tracing the origins of a project, an idea, a thought, we looked to historical ideas about the human brain as a source of inspiration for our exhibition concept. The designers and craftspeople selected to take part in MINDCRAFT16 have each interpreted the theme “In My Mind Craft” in their individual works,’ explain the design duo.

Circolo Filologico Milanese
Via Clerici 10
mindcraftexhibition.com

Lexus – An Encounter with Anticipation // Located in Tortona from April 12 to 17, the exhibit will feature a unique collaboration between the acclaimed design team Formafantasma and Michelin star-winning chef Yoji Tokuyoshi. Formafantasma will design the exhibit based on the concept of “Transparency”, which anticipates a future that is open and honest, and inspires society to engage in sustainable behaviour and progressive lifestyles. The exhibit will offer an encounter that invites visitors to experience and immerse themselves in a unique world of anticipation. Guests will have the opportunity to discover the essence of Lexus craftsmanship and witness how Lexus technology translates into an aesthetic and emotional experience.

Anticipation is also the theme of the 2016 Lexus Design Award, an international design competition that fosters the growth of ideas that contribute to society and supports up-and-coming creators whose work can contribute to shaping a better future.

Spazio Lexus – Torneria
via Tortona, 32
lexus-int.com/lexus-design

“50 MANGA CHAIRS” by Nendo: a collaboration with Friedman Benda Gallery, New York // Manga is a means of expression with a high degree of flatness and abstraction, composed of a series of lines. Nendo’s installation of 50 manga chairs is the result of adapting the strong symbolic nature of manga comics to furniture design. Manga consist of a series of frames on a single sheet of paper that creates a sequence. Similarly, 50 standard chairs are lined up in a grid, each one conjures up a sense of story, and each with a design element from manga. With the abstraction of manga comics in mind, physical aspects such as colour and texture are intentionally avoided as much as possible. Instead, a complete mirror finish is opted for, which generates new spatial layers as the mirror surface reflects the real world, just like manga does.

Chiostro Minore di San Simpliciano
Piazza Paolo VI, 4
nendo.jp

Belgian Matters – A Matter of Perception: Tradition & Technology // For Milan Design Week 2016, the organisations and institutions that support and promote Belgian design under the collective name Belgium is Design, have joined forces with the international contemporary culture magazine DAMN°. Taking part in the group event ‘A Matter of Perception: Tradition & Technology’ at the Palazzo Litta, the seventh edition of Belgium is Design’s presentation in Milan, Belgian Matters, features the results of pairings between 13 designers and companies, the latter often coming from sectors far removed from that of furniture design. Each project has been commissioned especially for the event and will be seen for the first time during the Salone.

Palazzo Litta
Corso Magenta 24
belgiumisdesign.be

LOCAL DESIGN presents ‘LOCAL MILAN’, proudly supported by Brickworks Building Products // Australian design initiative Local Design will showcase 12 leading Australian designers inside the former church, now theatre ‘Teatro Arsenale’, which will be dramatically stylised with over 5,000 bricks. Curated by LOCAL DESIGN founder & stylist Emma Elizabeth, an industrial designer Tom Fereday, the two will ask you to question Australian design. This will be the largest independent Australian presence to date for Milan Design Week and 5 Vie design district. All the designers and their products were selected upon merit, with each designer displaying a crucial part in the current Australian designer landscape, with their products resolved and ready for international sales and distribution. All products within the main exhibition will be available to buy directly through LOCAL DESIGN during the week.

Teatro Arsenale
Via Correnti 11
localdesign.com.au

NO SEX by Alberto Biagetti & Laura Baldassari, curated by Maria Cristina Didero // This year Alberto Biagetti and Laura Baldassari take their dissection of contemporary obsessions one step further – if last year’s BODY BUILDING project was Volume I, then NO SEX is Volume II of their chronicles. In this age where virtual sex is taking over from physical sex and the body is an object of ever more manipulation and excess, Biagetti and Baldassari have created NO SEX, a pink-clinic designed to reestablish the individual’s inner equilibrium regarding sex, in a transcendental and futuristic paradise of liberty and of clean, fresh unprejudiced equality.

Piazza Arcole 4
atelierbiagetti.com

PRODUCT LAUNCHES.

 

New Collection by Dimore Studio for Golran // DIMORESTUDIO has always conveyed the propensity to match different materials with different eras. For the collection for Golran, this disposition is reflected in a new way, namely through the materiality of the carpet’s texture, where a compelling contrast is established between baroque references – such as embroideries, hems, frames and decorative trims, creative re-visitations of Persians and Indian drawings – and monochromatic, essential, precious inserts and the frequent nods to contemporary art. The geometric lines and shapes are reminiscent of the American post-painterly abstractions and minimalism. Metallic inserts and visible thick stitching stand out on the texture, sewing together those different worlds.

Salone Internazionale del Mobile
Fiera Milano Rho
Hall 7 Stand M36

Bethan Laura Wood for Bitossi Ceramiche // Aldo Londi, the legendary artistic director of Bitossi, made his most famous collections by engraving, stamping and using relief within the moulds to give detail to the clay surfaces. It is these techniques that inspire Bethan’s new collection for Bitossi, having visited the Historical Archive of Bitossi Ceramiche, which is an endless source of decorative themes and colours.

In this collection, the surface is the protagonist; the incision is the first decorative sign, colour is the second, thus creating a double language on the same surface, which is nearly a three-dimensional process. Bethan creates an expressive pattern rhythm of graphic shapes and flowing lines derived from the stained glass window of the New Basilica of Our Lady of Guadeloupe (Mexico City). This pattern wraps itself around a variation of forms inspired by Bitossi’s 1950s to 1970s archive.

Salone Internazionale del Mobile
Fiera Milano Rho
Hall 20 Stand D25
bitossiceramiche.it

Credenza Collection by Patricia Urquiola & Federico Pepe for Spazio Pontaccio // Spazio Pontaccio introduces Credenza, a capsule collection of furniture that merges the contemporary design of Patricia Urquiola with the graphic skills of Federico Pepe, Le Dictateur. Credenza is a collection of small furniture containers, carpets, screens and low tables, the function of which is not only to contain and furnish, but enter into a relationship with the space and create new tensions, to create a presence. The idea was born from the desire to transform the traditional stained glass windows of churches into an object, resuming the almost forgotten technique of lead glass and returning it to new life on furniture with ultra-modern patterns and graphics. Contained in the collection are 5 carpets, three of which are the result of a collaboration between Patricia Urquiola and Federico Pepe and two designed by Patricia Urquiola, produced entirely by hand by CC-Tapis and complete the furniture collection with patterns, colours and materials that once again convey the desire to give value to ancient production techniques but adding a contemporary touch.

Via Pontaccio 18
spaziopontaccio.com

THE SOFT POETRY OF RANDOMNESS: Quadro Celeste collection by Studiopepe for CC-Tapis // Studiopepe were inspired by the archetypal graphics such as the numeric grid of the magic square for their latest collection. The magic square is a grid of imaginary numbers such that the total of each row and each column of both diagonals is always the same number. This number is called the magic constant or magical sum of the square. And in this collection it is the number that gives a name to each carpet. The project is completed with a collection of wall hangings that interpret the carpet as a sculpture object bearing strong symbolic value.

CC-Tapis Showroom
via San Simpliciano 6

Fiera Milano Rho
Hall 6 Stand E40
cc-tapis.com

Bertjan Pot for Cassina // Bertjan Pot has designed a bespoke textile in three jacquard versions for the Utrecht armchair, giving a contemporary twist to this icon designed by Gerrit T. Rietveld. Patricia Urquiola has also been influenced by the Dutch architect’s work for the design of the Cassina stand at the Salone del Mobile in Rho Fiera. The architecture of the Rietveld Pavillion, a temporary structure constructed in 1955 in Holland to display sculptures and later reconstructed in the Kröller-Müller Museum’s sculpture garden, has inspired the 880 sqm Cassina stand which combines the values of architecture and interior design to highlight their fundamental relationship.

Salone Internazionale del Mobile
Fiera Milano Rho
Hall 20 Stand D01 – E06

New Collection from e15 // German brand e15 will debut the modular sofa Kerman and celebrate twenty years of its iconic stool Backenzanthm with a special installation with ECAL at the brand’s showroom in Via Tortona. A sculpted silhouette evoking ease and monumentality signifies the Kerman sofa designed by Philipp Mainzer and Farah Ebrahimi. Addressing a variety of requirements in private and public spaces, the modular system is open to individual use, striking a balance between elegant repose and modernist sensibilities. Ideally complementing the sofa and new range of fabrics, kilim Iza by Philipp Mainzer appeals with its simple yet strong graphic pattern in contrasting colours and extends the collection of accessories. Also on show will be lighting series North in a polished brass and stainless steel finish.

Salone Internazionale del Mobile
Fiera Milano Rho
Hall 16 Stand E53

Lloyd Shelf by Jean-Marie Massaud for Poltrona Frau // Jean-Marie Massaud has designed Lloyd, a system of storage units and bookcases, with variable geometries. A series of thin vertical wooden rods form light grids that run from top to bottom on invisible horizontal rails. Each grid can be moved as desired creating different sequences each time. A playful game that allows a glimpse of the contents, books and objects, without fully revealing them.

Salone Internazionale del Mobile
Fiera Milano Rho
Hall 20 Stand D19 – E16

Luis Arrivillaga for Living Divani // Amongst four new releases, Living Divani will presents Ceiba by Guatemala-born designer Luis Arrivillaga – a coat hanger that becomes a graphical presence, a dance of slender structures which close and reopen around a central linchpin, creating different points of view and methods of usage. Made with a block of natural or dyed charcoal ash wood, it pays homage to ancient wood-working techniques which it transforms into a geometry exercise.

Salone Internazionale del Mobile
Fiera Milano Rho
Hall 5 Stand E19 – F18

Voyage chair by GamFratesi for Porro // Porro are continuing their working relationship with GamFratesi which began last year with Traveller daybed. This year the duo expand the range with a Voyage chair, which employs softer materials such as tapered wood and leather. The structure, visible on the back and on the sides, conveys an idea of conviviality and a holiday atmosphere, although its unobjectionable style also makes it suitable for urban contexts.

Salone Internazionale del Mobile
Fiera Milano Rho
Hall 7 Stand D15 – E18

Made in Ratio’s Cowrie Chair in Leather // Made in Ratio will create a moment of theatre at the Labo.art flagship store in Milan’s Brera district. The tableau will unite the sinuous dynamism of Made in Ratio furniture with the minimal elegance of the Labo.art collection. This Salone, the company will launch the Cowrie Leather Chair. The gently folding monocoque structure will feature a moulded fine-leather seat-pad that mimics the contours of the chair’s undulations. Inspired by the concave lines of sea shells, the curvilinear form of the chair is the result of an extensive research and innovation process that bridges the handmade with the digital.

Labo.art via Maroncelli 14, Milano
madeinratio.com

Misser Collection by BONOTTOEDITIONS // BONOTTOEDITIONS focuses on individuality and uniqueness by proposing extra-ordinary objects where the fabric, with its endless variations, creates an absolutely unexpected world. Spearheaded by the brand’s creative director, Cristiano Seganfreddo, alongside the designer Matteo Cibic, the collection draws references from the Victorian and art deco eras, meticulously interpreted with a contemporary approach and artistic references. For this second edition, the home décor collection Misser presents velvet Jacquard fabrics with graphic patterns combined with textiles inspired by the world of precious gems and stones – a combination that creates a scène d’intérieur somewhere between artificial and natural. Luxurious, geometric shapes are covered with fabrics that recall the richness of the Earth, the brightness of Quartz and the thousands of veins running through the Malachite and the Jade stone. The fabric plays with satin brass, thick Plexiglas, gold finishes, rare woods and even marble, to create various heights and multiple layers. With the use of an ancient mechanical loom, restored with advanced technologies, a mix is created between tradition and innovation and between form and substance.

Via Durini 24, Milano
bonottoeditions.com

ORAURO Sofa y Emanuele Magini for JCP // Orauro is the transformation of the idea of a sofa. The classic capitonnée (quilted upholstery) is emptied: only the trace of its folds and of its volume remains. An intricate and indestructible cage, twine of gold and air that outlines the essence of the object and highlights its precious soul. Materials – welded metal rod, tailor-made polished gold white finishing.

via Solferino (in front of n.22), Milano
jcp.design

Cremino by GIANLUCA PACCHIONI // Metal sculptor and lighting designer, Gianluca Pacchioni, will be presenting an anticipation of CREMINO: a table in red Persian Travertino, partially covered by liquid brass, whose structure is realised by a sand-casting technique. The work, available in a limited edition, is the manifestation of the sculptor-designer’s recent production, which is devoted to experimentations with liquid metals. Through this method, Pacchioni turns the solid into liquid and fixes the organic material into the eternal.

 

c/o Alson GAllery
Via San MAurilio 11, angolo via Nerino 2
gianluca-pacchioni.com

Plumage by Cristina Celestino for BottegaNove // BottegaNove tiles are soaked in the history of craftsmanship: artistic boiserie in ceramic, decorated with precious shimmering lustres and gold laminae or elegant textures highlighted by the smooth opacity of porcelain. This year, the company collaborates with art director Cristina Celestino, who has designed the Plumage collection featuring organic irregular shapes inspired by nature.

 

c/o Ladies&Gentlemen
Via Cesare Correnti 14
botteganove.it

Beacon Helsinki // Beacon Helsinki is a network of Finnish designers which will showcase the most interesting Finnish designers together with Finnish food by wild food chef Sami Tallberg and world-class gin by Kyro Distillery. Designers represented include Mika Ihanus, Mari Isopahkala, Sebastian Jansson, Antti Kotilainen, Mikko Laakkonen, Jouni Leino, MottoWasabi, Samuli Naamanka and Jesse Pietila, bringing to Milan an interesting mix of furniture, lighting objects, tableware and jewellery.

Via Maroncelli 12
beaconhelsinki.com

Herringbones by Raw Edges, Curated by Federica Sala/PS // Herringbones is the umpteenth evolution of the parquet floors, which began as a project for Established & Sons’, followed by Stella McCartney’s retail store, which later became the Endgrain project: where the designers manage to paint timber pieces by cooking them into inks, in order to successively assemble them and sculpt them as desired.

Spazio Sanremo, via Zecca Vecchia 3 ang. via Fosse Ardeatine
raw-edges.com

New Lighting by Davide Groppi // Although not technically the year of lighting in Milan, it’s difficult to ignore the new releases by the inimitable Davide Groppi. SOLEMIO, INFINITO and PoPuP are the names of the company’s latest creations, developed with their signature commitment to simplicity and weightlessness, closely followed by a desire to stir emotion through creative and technical innovation.

SPAZIO ESPERIENZE
Via Medici 13
davidegroppi.com


[Images courtesy of designers / Press Office.]

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