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CNA
28-04-2025
- Business
- CNA
In need of a home makeover? Here are 16 home novelties from Milan Design Week 2025
Since 1961, the Salone del Mobile (international furniture fair in Milan) has been the focus of new innovations and trends as the anchor event of Milan Design Week. This year, 302,548 visitors and 2,103 exhibitions from 37 countries created a bustle at the Fiera Milano fairgrounds. The biannual Euroluce added shine to new lighting offerings. Outside at the Fuorisalone, exhibits at historic palazzos, city showrooms, galleries, and other curious nooks and crannies immersed visitors into Milan's rich urban culture, both old and new. Fashion brands continue to explore the home and furniture market with immersive showcases and desirable designs. Also, the re-issuing of modernist classics remain popular, attesting to their timelessness. Here are 16 standout pieces and collections for your next home renovation review. TREFLO TABLE FROM CASSINA The glossy, shapely appearance of Ronan Bouroullec's Treflo tables belies their heavyweight tech-based credentials. The rigid polyurethane base – made with a percentage of polyols from biological sources and used for the first time by the Italian manufacturer – stems from deep research into inventive sustainable materials. The tops are available in glossy or matte lacquer finish, as well as a special finish composed of back-lacquered undulated glass. The latter's unique surface texture evoking water ripples is the result of an extremely complex process, where glass is shaped at very high temperatures (with a longer melting time compared to traditional methods). Available at Grafunkt GRUUVELOT SOFA FROM MOROSO Patricia Urquiola's amorphous Gruuvelot sofa for Moroso seems to come alive with protrusions and extensions that drape and 'ooze' along the sofa's twisting body. As its name implies, this strange creature references the free spirit of the 1970s. Its Regos fabric is equally radical, produced using a water-based printing technique that reduces water consumption by 90 per cent and greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent compared to traditional processes. Designed by Urquiola for Kvadrat Febrik, the fabric with contrasting tones and irregular patterns recalls the layer of debris covering rocky surfaces called regolith. Available at Xtra The late-architect Geoffrey Bawa had conceived the Kandalama lounge chair for Heritance Kandalama hotel in Sri Lanka, which he also designed. Together with the Geoffrey Bawa Trust, furniture manufacturer Phantom Hands has reissued the curvaceous seat and several other pieces designed by the respected Sri Lankan architect. Made for his buildings designed between the mid-1960s and mid-1990s, many months of research went into adapting the materials and techniques to make them more durable, lightweight and easier to transport. For example, the Kandalama lounge chair was originally in wrought iron but is now made of aluminium. PIVOT D'HERMES SIDE TABLE FROM HERMES During Milan Design Week, Hermes presented 33 colourful pieces within a hall of suspended alabaster boxes. One of the most striking pieces is Tomas Alonso's Pivot d'Hermes side table. It has a lacquered glass base in a spectrum of colours and a tray-like Japanese cedar top that can pivot. Simple geometries become dynamic with the use of coloured glass that evokes gemstones. This is one of the trademarks of Alonso's creative sphere, where he is equally at home working with honest and cutting-edge materials. LA BELLA DURMIENTE FROM SANTA & COLE La Bella Durmiente (Sleeping Beauty) is a totemic form celebrating the expressive potential of colour, with rainbow hues exploring the contrasts between warm and cool tones. Created by Santa & Cole co-founders Gabriel Ordeig Cole and Nina Maso, it was designed in 1986 as a response to an era dominated by cold halogen light and sterile metal lamps. The original lamp championed colourful fluorescence that was considered blue and soulless. It is now re-issued in LED and printed with pigmented inks on a special paper that achieves a precise and rich finish. A transparent laminate makes it waterproof and durable. The re-edition maintains the original dimensions so new screens can be replaced on old structures. Available at W Atelier COUPE SOFA FROM MINOTTI Designed by Giampiero Tagliaferri, the Coupe sofa is a modular system inspired by the 1960s and 1970s. 'At the heart of the project lies a deep respect for the past, an homage to an era when sofas embraced the body with inclined seating, offering both aesthetic grace and unparalleled comfort,' explained Tagliaferri. The inclined seat provides ergonomic comfort, while the distinct horizontality of the padded headrest and lumber cushion elements turning neatly to form armrests to embrace the user. A curved frame in either varnished or brushed polished aluminium protects the upholstery and grounds the entire silhouette. Available at Marquis HQO KAZIMIR SHELVING FROM GLAS ITALIA Michael Anastassiades' first collection for Glas Italia, the Kazimir collection, pays homage to Kazimir Severinovich Malevich. The shelving, consoles and small tables embody the late-Russian avant-garde artist's geometric abstractism, with layered effects of transparency and opacity created by overlapping glass. Anastassiades chose to use a special 10mm toughened, double-sided, acid-etched green glass and 6+6mm laminated, double-sided, acid-etched, extra-light glass. The glass sheets, combined using UV bonding, are a case study in clarity and minimalist beauty. Available at Space Furniture QUARONA FROM LORO PIANA Dimorestudio created a cinematic experience at Loro Piana's Milan headquarters, furnishing it as a 1970s- and 1980s-inspired Milanese apartment. In a visual narrative titled La Prima Notte di Quiete, Loro Piana Interior's old and new furniture pieces mingled with vintage and artful elements within composed roomscapes. Some of Dimorestudio's new pieces is the Quarona poufs and coffee tables underscored by exquisite materiality and comfort. Wooden panels wrap around padded seats covered in the brand's cashmere Ladakh and wool and alpaca Incas, or support shelving for holding books, magazines or other household paraphernalia. DRAPE LIGHT FROM MOOOI Created by Canadian designer Jamie Wolfond for Moooi, Drape light mimics elegantly draped fabric hung over poles. The 3D-knitted polyester shade rests gently on two minimalistic glass tubes encapsulating LED lights. This gesture brought about by gravity provides effortless grace. The light is available in two sizes. It also contributes to a lower carbon footprint, as it is shipped flat packed. The lamps' simple yet familiar forms make them evocative either alone or bunched in clusters for longer or taller spaces. Available at Space Furniture NUVOLO CABINET FROM PAOLA LENTI AMDL Circle, led by architect and designer Michele De Lucchi, has created Nuvola for Paola Lenti. The limited-edition high cabinet with four doors has a unique shape evoking its namesake (Nuvola means 'cloud' in Italian). The sculptural piece made of natural ash heartwood is designed to be a striking presence in a space. Doors are hand-woven with a cord in Rope yarn, giving the furniture piece a craft aesthetic. Rope is Paola Lenti's signature fabric, devised as upholstery for outdoor seating. It uses yarn that is loom-weaved in the form of cords, which absorbs neither water nor humidity, so it dries quickly. Available at Proof Living ZETA STOOL FROM ALIAS Famed Swiss architect Mario Botta's Zeta stool features two square elements serving as the base and seat, joined by a diagonal piece secured by a comb joint at each end. Two other diagonal 'leaves' intersect the first diagonal piece, creating a Z effect. It embodies the essence of his buildings that plays with horizontal and oblique lines. 'Zeta tells a story full of memory. It is a tribute to Gerrit Rietveld, translated into an object crafted with the sensitivity of our times,' said Botta, who was inspired by the German architect and a leader of the De Stijl art movement. The seat comes in a monochrome and polychrome version, but there is also an exclusive MB Edition with two of the diagonal 'leaves' in yellow. Available at Made & Make in Singapore CLAY SCAN CARPETS FROM CC-TAPIS New York-based artist and designer Eny Lee Parker works mainly with clay. She has captured the tactile qualities of the material in her Clay Scan carpets for CC-Tapis. They are like giant clay pieces pressed, rolled, shaped and then flattered, resulting in undulating edges and raw textures. Lee Parker scanned these manipulations that were translated into carpets by artisans at the CC-Tapis Atelier in Nepal. The three Himalayan wool rugs exhibit soothing colouration – a subdued, terracotta brown and a creamy off-white – derived from clay's natural tonalities. Available at Affluency RICHARD HUTTEN FOR JAIPUR RUGS Jaipur Rugs' products are woven by artisans from over 600 villages in India, giving them a livelihood and sense of pride. For Milan Design Week, it unveiled the Playing with Tradition collection created by Dutch artist Richard Hutten, which brings a bold yet conceptual twist to the ancient art form of hand-knotted carpet weaving. For example, the Blue Box rug has three-dimensional block motifs rising from a botanical pattern layout. Both are in blue as the rug was inspired by Dutch Delft Blue's pottery designs. The Banana rug weaves into the botanical motif the yellow fruit in the humour of Charlie Chaplin's slapstick comedies while Colour Blocks juxtaposes contemporary architonic forms onto natural patterns. Available at Jaipur Rugs FRAGILE LAMPS FROM MARSET In 2023, Jaume Ramirez designed the award-winning Fragile lamp, which combines simple geometric forms emphasised by clear glass bodies. This year, he expands upon the range with a new size, as well as pendant and wall versions that play with the absence or presence of its three elements of the sphere, cone and cylinder, leading to endless options. The new versions, with their transparency, are reminiscent of chandelier and wall scones that held candles. The clear graphic lamps straddle the realm of traditional imagery and modern lines. Available at Grafunkt AFRICA CHAIR FROM TACCHINI Tacchini has re-issued the Africa chair, designed by Afra and Tobia Scarpa in 1975. The iconic design celebrates the ancient craftsmanship of the cabinetmaker and revival of wood. A solid Canaletto walnut frame and a thin rectangular section combine to reveal the expressiveness of the veneer through the variation in its thickness. The backrest is the most defining element, crafted as a single piece and later divided and finished into two symmetrical parts. It is created from a delicate manual process of roughing and smoothing that reveals the different wood layers. Available at Xtra BOOMERANG DESK BY GTV Gebruder Thonet Vienna has reissued the Boomerang desk, designed by Italian design maverick Enzo Mari in 2001. Its structure comprises a curved, layered beechwood plank inspired by boomerang-shaped beams found in architecture where four solid beechwood legs splay. An extra-clear tempered glass top follows the organic shape. The effect is simple yet graceful, embodying Mari's ethos of rationality and purity. They also echo the playful and minimalist expressions captured in the late designer's The Nature Series artwork, featuring La Mela (the apple) and La Pera (the pear).
New York Times
05-04-2025
- Business
- New York Times
In Milan, a Celebration of Design in Uncertain Times
Salone del Mobile, the international furniture fair in Milan, opens on Tuesday with the comfort of a steady heartbeat. The six-day event, which anchors the festival known as Milan Design Week, has been an annual ritual with few interruptions since 1961. But this year it also marks a time of palpitating uncertainty as the strained economies of Europe, the property sector crisis in China and the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration threaten this highly networked industry. 'It's a complicated moment,' said Maria Porro, the Salone del Mobile's president. France and Germany, the leading buyers of Italian furniture, have retreated while the American market has stepped up. According to the Salone's 2024 annual report, American imports of Italian wood and furnishing sector products in 2023 were 2.13 billion euros ($2.3 billion), second only to France and just ahead of Germany. Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States also remain reliable customers because of a boom in real estate development in the region and a lack of local furniture producers, Ms. Porro said. Globally, individual consumers are making fewer purchases, she added. The forces driving furniture sales are office and residential buildings, hotels and institutions. But the long timeline of large architectural projects brings a potential for canceled contracts should businesses or investors face hardship. If there is malaise, it will likely not be obvious when the Salone unveils its new offerings at the exhibition center in Rho, a town northwest of the city center. Last year, the fair received 371,000 visitors, lending it a frenetic energy and long lines. (Good luck making a quick stop to buy a panini at lunchtime.) Large crowds are expected again. The biennial Euroluce lighting exhibition will return to the fairgrounds, as will trade shows devoted to furnishing accessories and the workplace. And talent hunters will once again flock to SaloneSatellite, a showcase for designers under the age of 35. The fair has also commissioned installations by the French interior designer Pierre-Yves Rochon, the Italian filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino, the British artist and stage designer Es Devlin (in Milan's Brera district) and the American theater artist and director Robert Wilson (at the medieval Sforza Castle). And then there are the hundreds of activities of Fuorisalone, which means 'outside' the official event. Throughout Milan and stretching about half an hour north to the town of Varedo (site once again of the annual Alcova design show), artists, manufacturers, retailers and furniture-loving civilians will take in the glamour and ingenuity of newly hatched artifacts. You can thank the Salone for Milan Design Week's outpouring of aesthetic brilliance, Ms. Porro noted. 'The role of Salone is to create an interconnected platform for companies,' she said. 'But also the role is to be this ecosystem that brings almost 400,000 people to Milano. It's the great attractor.'
