Is Milan having a renaissance? Fashion-wise, the answer is a qualified yes. But when it comes to design with a capital D, Milan has always been one of the strongest, most directional international destinations. Every year, spring brings with it the beloved Salone del Mobile, a beehive of events, a cauldron of presentations, a mad whirlwind of initiatives open to the public.
The Salone is a lot of fun—highbrow critics be damned. If you’ve come to Milan to experience it firsthand, be prepared to walk a lot, bike a lot, talk a lot, meet zillions of people, and collapse under the visual overload. If you’ve managed to somehow survive, the best reward will be a (very) late-night drink at the legendary Bar Basso, where even the most famous and uptight designers are eager to unwind and let loose, dancing on tables or playing bartender, concocting their personal versions of the killer Negroni Sbagliato (translation, Wrong Negroni).
This year’s Salone, with runs from April 12 to April 17, will have its customary endless list of events spread everywhere throughout the city, held at impossibly posh locations or derelict, decadent, remote sites. Here, 12 not-to-be-missed happenings.
Photo: Courtesy of Salone Del Mobile1/12Atelier Biagetti: “No Sex”
Partners in work and life Alberto Biagetti and Laura Baldassari unabashedly dissect and expose their personal obsessions through performances and, being designers, via the creation of very peculiar products. Sex—physical, virtual, and the lack of either—is the subject of their Salone installation this year. For their “No Sex” project, curated by Maria Cristina Didero, they’ve created a pink clinic, a kinky yet sleek space where one-of-a-kind objects and furniture pieces tinged with a cybernetic, space-age feel can be tested by the public. Further heating things up: a one-off opening performance featuring hip twin sister duo DesignByGemini.
Photo: Courtesy of Salone Del Mobile2/12Nike: “The Nature of Motion”
Nike makes your shoes, your sport bras, and your FuelBands. Why not furniture? The company is celebrating this year’s Salone with a full menu of events, talks, and product presentations involving contemporary designers who’ve produced work, both conceptual and practical, revolving around the human body’s potential and the miracle of motion. On the list: Lindsey Adelman, Zaven, Martino Gamper, Max Lamb, Greg Lynn, Bertjan Pot, Clara von Zweigbergk and Shane Schneck, and Sebastian Wrong. Yes, there will be Flyknit.
Photo: Courtesy of Salone Del Mobile3/12The Shit Museum: “Evolution”
Luca Cipelletti, the dashing architect behind this scatological yet surprisingly elegant Museo della Merda project, is pushing its already provocative boundaries this year, showcasing a full range of objects, called “primordial products,” made of clay, waste, hay, and baked cow dung. The tiles, vases, flowerpots, and tableware have an essential, streamlined look; they’ll be displayed at Siam, a beautiful palazzo in the 5Vie district. Also featured: painter Roberto Coda Zabetta and photographer Henrik Blomqvist, videos by Daniel Spoerri, and a monumental homage to artist Piero Manzoni. A huge pyramid of oversize replicas of his seminal artwork Merde d’Artiste will be smack in the middle of the historic courtyard. Manure has never looked so cool.
Photo: Courtesy of Salone Del Mobile4/12Loewe
Loewe creative director and interiors buff Jonathan Anderson is putting a novel spin on the ancient technique of marquetry. For Salone, he had the Spanish house’s ateliers apply the traditional method to six pieces of British furniture from the ’20s that he personally selected. Inspired by the aesthetic of the Bloomsbury Group and the whimsical painted furniture of their Omega Workshops, the artisans applied carefully inlaid leather intarsias on a cabinet, a couple of Baillie chairs, and large screens. Sorry, Loewe fans, the furniture isn’t for sale, but the collectsion’s leather pouches and notebooks will be.
Photo: Courtesy of Salone Del Mobile5/12Marni: “Ballhaus”
In their signature whimsical style, Marni’s Consuelo Castiglioni and her daughter Carolina, the house’s director of special projects, have transformed the label’s showroom into a ballroom. There, professional dancers dressed in Marni circle skirts and scarves will perform cumbia, a traditional dance from Colombia, around a display of home furnishings and accessories made by a women’s collectsive from that country. The ballroom will be open to the public for dance lessons, and girls-size versions of the skirts and furniture will be available for purchase, adding a market vibe to the experience, not unlike 2014’s wildly popular Marni Flower Market. A part of the proceeds will go to the Vimala association, which supports children in need. The women’s skirts will be also be available for preorder on Marni.com from April 14.
Photo: Courtesy of Salone Del Mobile6/12M/M Maison: Citronnier and Underlay
Partnering with Milan’s PlusDesign Gallery, Mathias Augustyniak and Michael Amzalag of the über-hip Paris design duo M/M are presenting two limited-edition pieces of modular furniture, called Citronnier and Underlay. The pieces will be housed within a retrospective of sorts of their creative projects, in both set and interior design. Testament to their connection with the best of the fashion world, a couple of their artistic installations will also take center stage at Milan’s Dior Homme boutique.
Photo: Courtesy of Salone Del Mobile7/12Design Academy Eindhoven: “Touch Base”
Ensconced in Milan’s Ventura Lambrate design district, the Design Academy Eindhoven presents “Touch Base,” an exhibition curated by Ilse Crawford and Thomas Widdershoven. The students addressed the overwhelming presence of technology and digitalism, making tactility and the sense of touch their focus. One of the many projects features human hair as a medium to address diversity. Another will revolve around the ritual of hand-washing.
Photo: Courtesy of Salone Del Mobile8/12Eligo: “Vestae”
Eligo is a small consortium of young Italian designers and entrepreneurs (Leo Prusicki, Domenico Rocca, and Alberto Nespoli) devoted to reviving the best of Italian craftsmanship with well-curated editions of exquisitely made, timeless objects. For Salone, they’ve taken over the magnificent, decadent space of the underground public baths, the famed Albergo Diurno Venezia designed in the ’20s by master architect Piero Portaluppi. Closed to the public for a long time, it’ll serve as the extraordinary backdrop for “Vestae,” a project by the Creative Academy, where students have curated a collectsion dedicated to wellness, made in collaboration with Italian artisanal workshops.
Photo: Courtesy of Salone Del Mobile9/12Hella Jongerius: “A Search Behind Appearances”
One of the doyennes of international design, Hella Jongerius is an accomplished weaver and a conceptual force with a sensualist aesthetic. Together with Louise Schouwenberg, head of the master’s program for contextual design at Design Academy Eindhoven, she’s taking over the windows of the Milan department store La Rinascente with a project made in collaboration with Serpentine Galleries in London. “A Search Behind Appearances,” as the installation is called, was conceived as a visual meditation on the status quo and the future of design, rendered through a shadow play projected onto huge curtains, weaved by Jongerius and suspended from the windows.
Photo: Courtesy of Salone Del Mobile10/12Nilufar
Milan’s most flamboyant design dealer, Nina Yashar of Nilufar, has expanded her empire with Nilufar Depot, a sprawling 1,500-square-meter space that houses a treasure trove of exquisite design pieces. Inaugurated in 2015, this year it’ll showcase a new collectsion of contemporary works and two rooms designed by architects Roberto Baciocchi (of Prada fame), CLS Architetti, and Claude Missir. In Yashar’s gallery located in the fashionable Via della Spiga, design aficionados are likely to swoon over an exhibition of six Brazilian architects and furniture-makers from the ’40s through the ’70s, including Oscar Niemeyer, José Zanine Caldas, Martin Eisler, Sérgio Rodrigues, Joaquim Tenreiro, and Jorge Zalszupin. Expect rare finds and stellar quality—and prices to match.
Photo: Courtesy of Salone Del Mobile11/12Dimore Studio: “Intermissions”
Known for their retro-tinged, emotional interiors, Dimore Studio’s Emiliano Salci and Britt Moran are presenting a new collectsion of objects and furniture that references Nanda Vigo and Maria Pergay, iconic designers of the ’60s and the ’70s. They’ll also debut a new set of carpets made in collaboration with the famed rug company Golran and a collectsion of vases made by Bitossi, the historic Italian pottery company.
Photo: Courtesy of Salone Del Mobile12/12Ambra Medda With Airbnb: “Makers and Bakers”
Together with Airbnb, cool curator Ambra Medda is taking over Ristorante Marta, an intimate space near Milan’s city center, to showcase the work of 24 designers, illustrators, and makers hailing from 14 countries, all of whom have produced objects related to the communal meal. Sit down for a snack, have a sip of wine. The idea behind the happening? Breaking bread with friends and strangers feeds not just your stomach, but also your soul.
