Design Showcase

The international home, design, décor and art exhibition road show continued this northern hemisphere spring with one of the world’s premier shows, the Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan. Upcoming shows include the May Design Series from 17 to 19 May and Clerkenwell Design Week from 19 to 21 May, both in London; and Casa Décor in Madrid from 30 April to 7 June. The Good Design Australia Awards finalists and overall winner will be announced at a gala evening in Sydney on 29 May.

Kartell: photo by Saverio Lombardi Vallauri

Magis: photo by Saverio Lombardi Vallauri

Ingo Maurer monument for a bulb

Sawaiae Moroni photo by Saverio Lombardi Vallauri

Stylish Creativity and Innovation in Milan

Exhibitors and industry visitors to the 54th edition of the Salone del Mobile in Milan
were reported to have left with a renewed sense of optimism. More than 300,000
people attended the exhibition, with 69 per cent of the high-profile operators travelling
from outside Italy.
“The data confirms the importance and attractiveness of an event that showcases
the very best of Italian and international furnishing”, said Salone del Mobile president
Roberto Snaidero. “The companies are delighted with the quality of attendees
and the solid business results achieved over the six days of the fair, thanks to their
own commitment and dedication to tackling and overcoming the tough financial
situation of the last few years. The Salone therefore constitutes the first signal of
the forecast recovery.”
The organisers noted that the presence of Russian operators was reassuring, while
China was the leading market and Germany was the second country of provenance
for sectoral operators. In addition, a “particularly high” number of visitors came
from the Middle East – Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Egypt in particular. Visitor numbers
from the US, UK and India were also up.
As for the main highlights of this year’s event, the theme of the 18th edition of
SaloneSatellite, in which 700 emerging designers under 35 took part, was “Life Planet”;
while the Rho Milan Fairgrounds pavilions contained Michele De Lucchi’s huge
installation “The Walk”, a circular path through the “labyrinthine meanderings of
the workplace”, and architect Dario Curatolo’s installation “IN ITALY”, involving 64
Italian companies and a select group of designers, planners and architects. Attilio
Stocchi’s installation/event “Favilla: To Every Light a Voice”, in Milan’s Piazza San
Fedele, attracted more than 10,000 visitors; and the Salone was also one of the supporters
of the Leonardo da Vinci 1452-1519 exhibition, which opened in April and is
described as “the greatest Leonardo exhibition ever held in Italy”.