Salone del Mobile – The Milan International Design Fair
The 2019 Salone del Mobile Furniture, the world’s most important design festival, took over the entire city of Milan for one week in April.
The Transforma design team were in Milan, scouting for the latest designs and trends to bring back to Australia. Please enjoy our recap on the world’s greatest design event!
Colour
Bold colour represented strongly with a clear link back to the Memphis movement of the early 1980’s. Loud reds, bright yellows and rich pure blues featured, along with a particular trend towards orange and yellow. The Pantone colour of the year ‘living coral’ was also a recurring theme.
These colours make a striking visual statement, and while you may not upholster an entire sofa in bright yellow, you can bring the look home by highlighting these colours in cushions and other accessories.
Fine Lines
Also linked to the Memphis-inspired trend at the fair, there was a strong sense of fine-lined framing in many pieces. We saw this in the form of black or chrome metal-work on mirrors, lighting, clocks and hall-stands. It even extended through to larger prices like coffee tables, sofas and room dividers.
Lighting
Flos is the standout lighting brand globally, and their stand this year was a feast for the senses!
Flos showcased some stunning new ranges by huge names in design; Michael Anastassiades, Nendo, Patricia Urquiola to name a few. The theme was fine lines in black or brass. Shapes were either straight tubular, or sinuous organic curves. Regardless of the design, each made a clear but understated statement in structure, as well as in illumination.
We were delighted to see Flos extend their collections, including IC and Captain Flint into outdoor lighting!
Fabric
After a few years of a strong velvet trend, there is no doubt that we are seeing a movement now back to more textured fabrics. Thick, textured weaves, and chunky bouclés gave a sense of home-spun authenticity and familiarity.
Stone
Marble continues to build in importance as a surface material. We’ve moved on from the ubiquitous Carrara and Calacutta marbles, with brands now pushing boundaries with 'new' marble types. Bonaldo showed its famous Big table in the most amazing green marble! Other brands maintained white marbles but with vivid streaks of gold running though.
The strong trend towards ‘indestructible’ ceramic table tops continued this year. Always designed to mimic a natural stone, these surfaces were generally indistinguishable from the real thing, but with a daily practicality for any family or commercial situation.
Brera Design District
The Brera district, in central Milan, is the design district of the city. Every year, Brera comes alive with one-off design installations. This year, we loved An Extraordinary world by Marc Ange at Palazzo Cusani. This incredible installation, held in a 17th century palace, featured creations eternally balanced between real and unreal, perfection and mistake, harmony and chance… a beautiful incarnation of his unconscious.
Missoni are always one to impress with their installations in the Brera District and this year they didn’t disappoint. Home sweet home was curated by Angela Missoni and the artist Alessandra Roveda. Using her passion for crochet, Roveda converted everyday household items into an explosion of colour where the wool was the feature in a very playful and inviting way.
Just out of the Brera District Louis Vuitton exclusively presented its latest Objets Nomades at the Palazzo Serbelloni, welcoming two new design studios: Atelier Biagetti and Zanellato/Bortotto. Again, bold colour was used all throughout the exhibition contrasting against the spectacle of hundreds (possibly even thousands!) of pendant lights hung from a scaffolding erected just below the beautiful ceilings of the Palazzo.
Many new items featured at Milan will be on display at Transforma from Spring 2019. If you would like hear more about any more trends from Milan, please contact us on 8332 4044.
