I’ve been a regular attendee at Milan’s Salone Mobile for the past 21 years. This year the international design set arrived en masse, with a higher turnout than previous years – probably because the salon has given rise to a full-blown Design Week. This year I was struck by the fact that the design ethos on display seemed to be equally obsessed with the future while attempting to reconcile with our past.
As technology speeds up and rapid change becomes our daily reality, perhaps humanity is feeling a little unsure of itself. Design innovators are constantly looking for an expression of the ideal and the ideal does not seem to be in the here and now, but rather in expressions of the past and the impending future.
Throughout the week I encountered a strong trend in design and products that had a bespoke and handcrafted feel reflective of the past. Some design companies re-editioned beautiful products from their archives in celebration of a time gone by, where machination and mass production had yet to affect design.
The magnificent Leather Long Chair LL04 by late Belgian designer Maarten Van Severen, from the Italian design brand De Padova’s archives, is a superb example of this. The unique linear design satisfies the eye but also welcomes
the body organically. Covered in untanned leather with hand-stitched detail, the piece speaks of a century of craftsmanship which evokes a sense of comfort and authenticity.
Channelling the revolutionary spirit of the 1960s political marches, Italian design house Seletti held a fabulous Design Pride Carnival through the streets of Milan. We were treated to a barrage of decorated floats by art magazine Toiletpaper, Seletti and Gufram, with participants holding up protest signs proclaiming “All designers are equal”, “Boycott yourself” and “Stop boring design”. It’s a revolutionary spirit that is capturing the world, but presented with a nostalgic look back to the past.
This was a consistent theme as many activations taking place in Milan
encouraged visitors to interact with the product, the designers and each other. In direct contrast to this pull to recreate the past, there was a strong
counter-trend attempting to imagine the future. The future seems more precarious than ever, so designers appear to be grappling with the question of which future will actually befall us?
The exhibition at Fondazione Prada, a collaboration between Goshka Macuga
and Patrick Tresset titled To the Son of Man Who Ate the Scroll, juxtaposes
humanity’s evolution with its possible collapse. The project reflects on the
passage of time, beginnings and endings. It is a compelling observation of our concern with the end times – where man has been entirely replaced by an artificial intelligence embodied in Paul-n, a robotic system whose behaviour is perceived as artistic and expressive.
A more positive outlook was also in evidence – magnificent products
embraced the idea of our fascination with all that represents “something out of this world”. The design collaboration between Diesel Living and Seletti to create a set of dinnerware plates representing our solar system, joined by a pair of rocket-shaped salt and pepper grinders, was definitely in tune with impending space travel for everyone.
Salone Mobile
July 2016
Modern design reflective of the past
Interior designer Julia Day writes about her recent visit to Milan’s Salone Mobile
I’ve been a regular attendee at Milan’s Salone Mobile for the past 21 years. This year the international design set arrived en masse, with a higher turnout than previous years – probably because the salon has given rise to a full-blown Design Week. This year I was struck by the fact that the design ethos on display seemed to be equally obsessed with the future while attempting to reconcile with our past.
As technology speeds up and rapid change becomes our daily reality, perhaps humanity is feeling a little unsure of itself. Design innovators are constantly looking for an expression of the ideal and the ideal does not seem to be in the here and now, but rather in expressions of the past and the impending future.
Throughout the week I encountered a strong trend in design and products that had a bespoke and handcrafted feel reflective of the past. Some design companies re-editioned beautiful products from their archives in celebration of a time gone by, where machination and mass production had yet to affect design.
The magnificent Leather Long Chair LL04 by late Belgian designer Maarten Van Severen, from the Italian design brand De Padova’s archives, is a superb example of this. The unique linear design satisfies the eye but also welcomes
the body organically. Covered in untanned leather with hand-stitched detail, the piece speaks of a century of craftsmanship which evokes a sense of comfort and authenticity.
Channelling the revolutionary spirit of the 1960s political marches, Italian design house Seletti held a fabulous Design Pride Carnival through the streets of Milan. We were treated to a barrage of decorated floats by art magazine Toiletpaper, Seletti and Gufram, with participants holding up protest signs proclaiming “All designers are equal”, “Boycott yourself” and “Stop boring design”. It’s a revolutionary spirit that is capturing the world, but presented with a nostalgic look back to the past.
This was a consistent theme as many activations taking place in Milan
encouraged visitors to interact with the product, the designers and each other. In direct contrast to this pull to recreate the past, there was a strong
counter-trend attempting to imagine the future. The future seems more precarious than ever, so designers appear to be grappling with the question of which future will actually befall us?
The exhibition at Fondazione Prada, a collaboration between Goshka Macuga
and Patrick Tresset titled To the Son of Man Who Ate the Scroll, juxtaposes
humanity’s evolution with its possible collapse. The project reflects on the
passage of time, beginnings and endings. It is a compelling observation of our concern with the end times – where man has been entirely replaced by an artificial intelligence embodied in Paul-n, a robotic system whose behaviour is perceived as artistic and expressive.
A more positive outlook was also in evidence – magnificent products
embraced the idea of our fascination with all that represents “something out of this world”. The design collaboration between Diesel Living and Seletti to create a set of dinnerware plates representing our solar system, joined by a pair of rocket-shaped salt and pepper grinders, was definitely in tune with impending space travel for everyone.
Salone Mobile