Salone del Mobile: Wonders from Milan’s annual celebration of design
This year’s Design Week in Milan showcased some standout pieces from the world’s best designers.
BASSAMFELLOWS – PETAL CHAIR
Hailed as the most advanced 3D moulded wood veneer chair ever put into commercial production, the Petal chair by BassamFellows is a nod to the past with sights firmly set on the future.
Inspired in part by Saarinen’s Tulip chair and sitting in direct dialogue with the Eames’ pioneering moulded plywood LCW collection, the Petal chair is state of the art and environmentally friendly.
Yet the industrial nature of the production and its economical use of materials make for a democratic price point.
BAXTER – JONI BOOKSHELF BY CHRISTOPHE DELCOURT
Christophe Delcourt’s Joni bookshelf for Baxter features a combination of wood and leather forms that unfold between curves and counter-curves, like waves catching the light.
This sculptural, double-sided piece looks equally beautiful from all angles, thanks to the French designer’s masterful play on symmetry and duality.
BAXTER – DHARMA COLLECTION BY STUDIOPEPE
The new Dharma collection by Studiopepe for Baxter comprises four sculptural pieces conceived as “small garden architecture”. Inspired by the colours of swimming pools and David Hockney’s paintings, each candy-coloured glossy piece can be equipped with a leather or fabric seat pad.
“We wanted to experiment and distance ourselves from using outdoor materials that imitate natural ones. We wondered what we would have liked to find around a swimming pool on a hot sunny afternoon. Postmodern architecture meets pool party!” said Arianna Lelli Mami and Chiara Di Pinto, co-founders of Studiopepe.
CASSINA – TRAMONTO A NEW YORK BY GAETANO PESCE
From Cassina’s Details Collection, Tramonto a New York by one of the design world’s living pioneers, Gaetano Pesce, is a vibrant semi-transparent room divider that can only be described as a true piece of art.
The screen recreates the outline of the city that never sleeps with coloured resin poured into moulds in several phases, layer by layer. The colours are produced by mixing precise quantities of pigments to create different intensities. This complex, handcrafted process means no piece is ever completely alike.
CASSINA – FLUTZ CHAIR BY MICHAEL ANASTASSIADES
Encapsulated in the minimalist lines of Flutz, designed by Michael Anastassiades, is a fascinating material and structural oxymoron: the geometric rigour of the chair, accentuated by its rigid aluminium sides, frames a soft seat with a sensual shape that seems to float above the base.
The chair’s elements can be disassembled at the end of its life cycle, facilitating the recycling of its various components.
CC-TAPIS – TEMPORE BY DUCCIO MARIA GAMBI
Visual experimentation is at the heart of Italian designer Duccio Maria Gambi’s collection for cc-tapis.
Titled Tempore, the series of hand-knotted Himalayan wool rugs replicate drawings with oil pastels and ballpoint pens – a combination of precision and freedom.
The resulting play of contrasts, colours and lines appears like a mini garden for interior spaces.
CHRISTOPHER BOOTS – OURANOS (7)
Melbourne-based Christopher Boots unveiled a lighting range inspired by Greek mythology. Named Ouranos, the collection features quartz crystals cradled by brass, with the studio staying true to its signature aesthetic.
“Glowing spheres hewn from quartz rock sweep away the mists of time, revealing an artefact of our home planet, an ode to far-flung maverick ice giant Uranus,” explains Boots.
GERVASONI – SAIA BY DAVID LOPEZ QUINCOCES (8)
Named after the Portuguese word for a skirt, the Saia seating collection, designed by David Lopez Quincoces for Gervasoni, features a removable cover that falls lightly to the ground while adhering to the structure of the sofa.
The shape of the upholstery is emphasised through discreet piping that defines the sophisticated silhouette – an effortlessly elegant and comfortable sofa synonymous with the Gervasoni brand.
GLAS ITALIA – DONALD TABLES BY PHILIPPE STARCK (9)
“By the magic of transparency, reflection and diffraction, a Donald can hide a Donald,” says Philippe Starck of his visually arresting laminated extra-light glass tables for Glas Italia.
The mirror-polished stainless steel base is topped by a volume of coloured transparent glass, bonded at 45 degrees, achieving an effect that causes the colour (black or orange) to blend and fade until it dissolves and ultimately vanishes.
LA MANUFACTURE – WILLO BY CONSTANCE GUISSET (10)
From La Manufacture, a French brand launched only months before the dreaded global pandemic, comes Willo – a glazed stoneware accent stool with an elusive shape.
Appearing a bit like a sculpted monolithic stump, Willo is suitable for both indoor and outdoor use.
Designed by Constance Guisset, the piece is perfect for sitting but may also moonlight as a side table.
LA MANUFACTURE – LUIZET BY LUCA NICHETTO (11)
Designed by Luca Nichetto, La Manufacture’s art director since its inception, the Luizet lounge chair is a more intimate and curvier adaptation of the modular sofa by the same name.
The piece combines diverse elements and consists of a cylindrical backrest wrapping halfway around a round seat.
Elegant and discreet metal legs complete a distinctively modern look.
MAISON MATISSE – FOLD COLLECTION BY FORMAFANTASMA (12)
Found by the fourth generation of the famed artist’s family, Maison Matisse marks the creative turning point for Henri Matisse in 1941 – the paper cut-outs. Italian design duo Formafantasma captured the renewed optimism of Matisse’s work through this period with Fold.
The lighting collection is inspired by the master’s work and is equally obsessed with the perfect balance between colour and form.
MINIFORMS – SODA TABLES BY YIANNIS GHIKAS (13)
Born upside-down with a puff of air, Soda is a deceptive-looking piece. Weighing a whopping 20kg, each table is blown, drawn out and shaped by three master glassmakers. The result is a single glass volume with three large petals forming the stem. The hammered surface fragments the transparency and gives it a primitive aesthetic – an industrial product with an artistic edge.
SALVATORI – FLIRT BY LUCA NICHETTO (14)
If you’ve thought of chess as the ultimate game of seduction, you are not alone. Luca Nichetto explores the very theme with Flirt, his set of chairs and table for Salvatori, the Italian brand’s first foray into furniture. The circular table is almost coquettish, with its slender form and playful air. With just a few simple movements, the smooth dark brown leather top turns over and an embossed chessboard is revealed.
SANCAL – FACES BY NATHAN YOUNG (15)
Playing with perspectives and optical illusions, Singapore designer Nathan Yong offers a playful and sculptural human touch with the Faces collection for Spanish furniture brand Sancal.
Moving away from the traditional aesthetics of small tables, Yong employs unusual shapes that change their appearance depending on the angle they are viewed from, morphing from an animate object to an abstract art piece.
TACCHINI – GUNTA BY STUDIOPEPE (16)
Designed by Studiopepe for Tacchini, Gunta is an ethereal and floating sculpture that transforms light into a design tool.
Going beyond the traditional floor lamp, Gunta offers a warm and diffused glow that divides spaces but also unites them.
Available in two sizes, this luminous screen is made of cocoon resin fibre that’s manually sprayed on a metal structure.
VOLKER HAUG STUDIO – UND MESSING (17)
Volker Haug’s new series explores various expressions of the Melbourne lighting studio’s cornerstone material – brass.
Aptly named und Messing (‘and brass’), each piece in the collection reveals the hand of its maker, hand finished across a spectrum of brass tones – from polished to dark bronze – a gesture that furthers the individuality of each piece.
WITTMANN – FORME RUG COLLECTION BY ARTHUR ARBESSER (18)
Traditional rugmaking is considered a close relative of weaving and saddle-making, so it is a logical step for Wittmann, as a former saddlery, to launch its own rug and textile collection. Created in collaboration with the Vienna-born, Milan-based fashion designer Arthur Arbesser, the Forme collection is a nod to the city of Vienna and its history. Tiled entryways, historical book covers and details from Egon Schiele’s work, all of which Arbesser sees as fresh takes on familiar patterns.
ZANAT – KULA CHEST OF DRAWERS BY MICHELE DE LUCCHI (19)
Designed by Michele De Lucchi for Bosnian brand Zanat, Kula is a wooden chest collection wrapped in hand-carved patterns synonymous with the warmth and tactility of hand-made objects.
These mini architectural pieces perfectly reflect the object’s name – Kula in Bosnian means tower, building and home.
The powerful idea of carved building blocks enables the creation of mini architectural worlds built with Kula pieces of different sizes and proportions.