#HTESea Bacon, Plant Drones, and a Whole Lot of Material Exploration: Student Shows at Milan Design Week 2016
An impressive characteristic of the student exhibitions at this year’s Milan Design Week were their sheer ambitiousness: with projects that went far beyond the normal fare, topics ranged from creating plastics out of completely natural sources to imagining how to satisfy our meat craving in a speculative post-meat world (hint: it involves seaweed). Some students decided to tackle more aesthetic and conceptual concerns while others turned to more political spheres to investigate just how far design can help to improve in areas of sustainability or even humanitarian efforts. The overall results were not only elegant, but also thought-provoking and inviting even for those not normally engaged in design-centric conversation circles.
More from Core77’s coverage of Milan Design Week 2016!
Vestae by Creative Academy
The students of Creative Academy, the design school of the luxury goods group Richemont (their portfolio includes Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Piaget and Montblanc), presented a capsule collection based on wellness in the stunning setting of the Albergo Diurno-designed bathhouse located at the subway entrance of Piazza Oberdan.
Photo credit: LinYee Yuan
Harenam by Yulia Kutuzova, Creative Academy
A modern version of a vintage shaving brush made of natural sponge and wood.
Photo credit: LinYee Yuan
Albergo Diurno
This historic bath house served Milanese customers from its opening in 1923 until it was closed in the 90s. The space was designed by architect Piero Portaluppi.
Photo credit: LinYee Yuan
Lyra by Manfredi Calamai of Creative Academy
The flaked soap contained in this brass and olive wood container is still made by boiling beef tallow. Made in collaboration with Valobra, a century-old soap maker based in Genoa.
Photo credit: LinYee Yuan
Hatria by Anthony Bouchot of Creative Academy
Made with sponges from the Adriatic sea, this “scarf” is intended for every day use in the bath.
Photo credit: LinYee Yuan
Spa Fashion by Creative Academy
The students designed contemporary robes for the baths using waffle cotton produced by Busatti, a Tuscan-based textile company manufacturing linen, wool, hemp and cotton fibers since 1842.
Photo credit: LinYee Yuan
Albergo Diurno
This historic bath house served Milanese customers from its opening in 1923 until it was closed in the 90s. The space was designed by architect Piero Portaluppi.
Photo credit: LinYee Yuan
Photo credit: LinYee Yuan
Medusae Project of HKU University of the Arts Utrecht
This project by Charlotte van Alem of HKU Design in the Netherlands aims to create an environmentally friendly material using collagen tissue from Medusae jellyfish, a sea species that has increased in population as a result of climate change.
Photo credit: Core77
Re-Collected by Hester de Wolff of HKU University of the Arts Utrecht
Another project from HKU Design, de Wolff collects natural materials for use in dyes to create awareness of different material histories.
Photo credit: Core77
View the full gallery here
http://www.core77.com/gallery/52105/Sea-Bacon-Plant-Drones-and-a-Whole-Lot-of-Material-Exploration-Student-Shows-at-Milan-Design-Week-2016