Special Edition of Milan Design Week 2021

Milan design week came back after canceling the event last year due to the pandemic with a challenging edition of Salone del Mobile -branded “Supersalone“- and hundreds of events around the city collectively known as the “fuorisalone“. 

2021 was a much smaller salone and fuorisalone than in previous years, with fewer pavillions and design districts taking part, and a focus on various dimensions and interpretations of the atypical scenario we’re going through. Here are a few of MiND‘s highlights.

With more than 80 exhibitors, Masterly – The Dutch welcomed visitors with a sea of flowers and several installations hosted in the stately Main Courtyard of Palazzo Turati. A joint project organised by Cooloo – a leading developer of finishings and coatings – in conjunction with a pool of Dutch businesses, they will present an exhibition on the circular economy.

The Galleria d’Arte Moderna, Via Palestro 18, hosted Bulgari and the Metamorphosis exhibition, dedicated to its iconic Serpenti jewelry collection, one of the animals symbol of metamorphosis concept. On display the works of Ann Veronica Janssens, Azuma Makoto, Daan Roosegaarde and architect Vincent Van Duysen, with four completely reusable works made of sustainable materials to give shape to the concept of Metamorphosis.

At Supersalone 2021, Molteni&C’s installation by Ron Gilad ‘Flight D.154.5’ caught everyone’s attention. A totally new product, designed for the industry, the Round armchairs in leather and fabric, are arranged in a row next to the portholes, overlooking a sky where reality meets fantasy, to accommodate passengers on their journey in an airplane.

Today more than before, the home must meet the new needs of those who live there. In the historic Palazzo Bovara, it is possible to visit the exhibition-installation “Fluid Home” which consists of a succession of 11 areas, including the outdoors, where comfort, flexibility of spaces and functions, natural approach to technological interfaces and sustainability are at the center.

The living room, for example, is a manifesto of the fluid and ‘soft’ home, which welcomes and protects, always with the idea of circularity here declined in macro and micro scales, from the walls to the furnishings. From the office to the relaxation area, sliding curtains allow you to focus on yourself – to work or study – and then to be social again, according to your needs.

Photo by @stefanogiuliopavesi

Also focusing on the future of home was “The Playful Living. The Present Future Home” in via Savona 33. A real home furnished down to the tiniest detail for an ideal, contemporary family committed to experimenting with new and better furnishing solutions and services born of the experiences of recent times.

Walking through the walls of up-side down chairs and video-installations at Supersalone, the removable and reusable concept – conceived by Studio Andrea Caputo and Maria Porro – is the backbone of the exhibition. The increase in time spent at home has triggered new demands for flexible and more sustainable products. Here are some of our highlights.

Handy to move, stackable, easily sanitized and entirely recyclable, Nardi’s collection is strikingly outdoorsy in both aesthetic appeal and functionality, both at home and in the contract sector.

Where we have witnessed transformations and rapid changes, design becomes a helpful tool to understand them and propose effective solutions. This year’s edition of Milan Design Week is the perfect example of it.

Cover photo: Courtesy Salone del Mobile.Milano. Photo by Andrea Mariani

By: Lisa Zanon