There is no doubt Salone del Mobile and Milan Design Week are bigger than Ben-Hur. Moreover, the events seem to grow each year, and even for the seasoned pro over here (get your mind out of the gutter, thank you), it feels slightly daunting to attempt giving you a rundown of what we can all expect from next week. Having said that, we couldn’t help but share some of the events, installations and products Team Yellowtrace is looking forward to seeing this year. Not to mention the fact this is the year of lighting – Euroluce, which will no doubt bring about exciting new discoveries. Because I love lamp.
If you’re going to Milan, I sincerely hope this curated guide will assist you in planning your own Milan Design Week 2019 agenda. Alternatively, if you’re sitting it out this year, you can live vicariously through this list. Plus, you can always come along to one of the MILANTRACE talks in the city near you.
Echo Courtyard Installation by Chilean architects Pezo von Ellrichshausen
Left: Echo Oblique 01, pencil on paper. Right: Portrait of Pezo von Ellrichshausen.
Echo Courtyard Installation by Pezo von Ellrichshausen at Litta Variations // Historic Milan residence Palazzo Litta will exhibit The Litta Variations / Opus 5, featuring projects from over 65 international designers curated by Mosca Partners. Echo by Pezo von Ellrichshausen will be the main attraction on display in the central courtyard, a sculptural form with mirrored surfaces that reflect and amplify the baroque architecture that surrounds it.
Palazzo Litta
Corso Magenta, 24
Salvatori Hidden Rooms // Longtime Salvatori collaborator Elisa Ossino will transform the Brera showroom, creating an immersive series of hidden rooms that showcase a wide array of the brand’s natural stone objects. Collections including John Pawson’s Bianca Carrara marble Eclipse series, as well as work by designers Piero Lissoni, David Lopez Quincoces, and Elisa Ossino, will be displayed.
Salvatori Showroom
Via Solferino, 11
SONY Design’s Affinity in Autonomy // “Affinity in Autonomy” is an immersive installation envisioning the relationship between humans and robotics. Through the exhibition, SONY is aiming to showcase a positive vision for the future of robotics that evolves with emotion and a feeling of vitality.
Spazio Zegna
via Savona 56/A
Tom Dixon set to open The Manzoni // After years of pop-up installations, Tom Dixon’s Design Research Studio is opening The Manzoni, a restaurant and showroom that will open to the public permanently after Milan Design Week. The monochromatic palette in these images showcases the new OPAL and SPRING lighting and FAT, PRIMAVERA, and SLAB furniture collections.
Via Alessandro Manzoni, 5
Gaetano Pesce at Piazza Duomo // With Milan’s iconic Piazza Duomo as a backdrop, Gaetano Pesce will exhibit Maestà Soffrente, meaning ‘suffering master’ in celebration of the 50th anniversary of his lauded ‘UP5&6’ armchair for B&B Italia. The 8m tall rendition invokes disparity between the sexes, the chair tied to a spherical footrest to symbolize women as prisoners, tied to the prejudice of men.
Piazza del Duomo
Aria Come to Light by Luca Moreni & Roberto De Zorzi at Ventura Centrale. Photo by Ivela Spa. Raytrace by Benjamin Hubert/ Layer for Dekton at Ventura Centrale. Photo by Jose Santopalomo dpot & Gerealdo De Barros at Ventura Centrale. NOROO Group – Wang & Soderstrom at Ventura Centrale. NOROO Group – Kwang-ho Lee at Ventura Centrale. Tell Me More by Rapt Studio at Ventura Centrale. Sky Frame A Piece of Sky by Stephan Hurlemann at Ventura Centrale.
Ventura Centrale // The massive industrial warehouses underneath Milan Central Station, Ventura Centrale, have opened more vaults to host majestic installations for the third time. Ventura Projects have expanded from nine to fifteen vaults this year, ready to welcome international brands including interdisciplinary firm Rapt Studio’s Milan debut exhibition ‘Do You Belong?’
Via Ferrante Aporti, 9
Arthur Mamou Mani with Karin Gustafsson of COS. Instalation photos by Thomas Lohr.
COS x Mamou-Mani // COS will present a digitally fabricated architectural installation by London-based French architect Arthur Mamou–Mani and his eponymous studio, marking the London-based fashion brand’s eight consecutive installation during Salone del Mobile, and its first collaboration with Mamou-Marni. Mamou-Marni’s concept imagines the future of design, technology and material innovation to create an ethereal journey, utilizing 3D printed bio-plastic to transport the viewer from the 16th Century courtyard of Palazzo Isimbard into the surrounding garden, bridging architecture and the natural world.
Palazzo Isimbardi Corso Monforte, 35
Cristina Celestino and Federico Pepe for CEDIT // Ceramiche d’Italia is presenting two new collections – Policroma by Cristina Celestino and Araldica by Federico Pepe. The Policroma offers an aesthetic formula that incorporates both the ideas of classicism and modernism, skilfully combined in a well-balanced mix. The collection’s repertoire of large slabs features motifs inspired by two separate sources: textures of rocks and sophisticated colours of Marmorino plaster. The Araldica is conceived as the outcome of an artistic process where the collection arises from a mélange of stimuli. On the vast scale of large ceramic wall covering slabs, Pepe’s visual textures acquire the hypnotic, fascinating configuration of a mixture of colours, inspired by those of traditional marbled papers.
Foro Buonaparte, 14
Poggi Ugo 100 Years designed by Masquespacio // Creative studio Masquespacio have partnered with artisan, Florence-based terracotta producer Poggi Uno to celebrate their 100 year anniversary. The 15-piece collection examines geographical and landscape influences on private interior spaces, and is handmade using a millenary technique. Curated by Valentina Guidi, founder of Luisaviaroma Home, the exhibition will be held on the terrace of Martina Gamboni’s studio Strategic Footprints.
Strategic Footprints
Via Edmondo de Amicis, 19
Caffè Concerto Cucchi by Cristina Celestino // Inspired by a ‘Caffè Concerto’ theme, Cristina Celestino takes over yet another symbolic Milan location, reimaging the historic Pasticceria Cucchi. Eclectic references draw on the café interiors and the art of fine pastries, combined with Celestino’s colourful vocabulary. Celestino uses both custom pieces and selected works to enhance the historic, traditionally Milanese setting, down to details such as carpeting inlaid with oversized pears, staff uniforms designed by Massimo Giogetti, and custom pastry boxes featuring geometric patterns and raspberry illustrations.