18 Jul Salone del Mobile day three
In the space of five days, we also have had our lows. The dense programmes of the first two days and the 20,000 steps per day caused our third morning not to start with the usual momentum. However, one of the great virtues of our team is that we complement each other perfectly, so one of us always supports the other with positive enthusiasm, and in turn the other can support the first later.😊
We started our third morning in an always impressive showroom near our accommodation. Dedar is a family-run fabric house, which constantly experiments, innovates, and consults with craftsmen and textile specialists to achieve perfection. The purpose of our visit was to see, on the occasion of the design week, their cooperation with the hat manufacturing company Borsalino, which was a collection of a limited number of hats. True, we originally planned only a quick visit here, which eventually turned into a wonderful private collection presentation. It is difficult to highlight some of the many magical fabrics, but one of the great specialties of this year for us is Per Inciso, which is a cotton chenille fabric mixed with fine metal threads, thus strengthening the light features of the more matte material. The other is Zai Saman, which is embroidered in polyurethane yarn and reinforced with geometric motifs, so the simple weaving of pure long-fibre linen strikes the perfect balance with the desert tones of a colour palette reminiscent of distant regions.
A few buildings away, we stumbled on a temporary mini showroom and could not resist its luring window display. Fornace Brioni is a company dating back a century and is a leader in the renovation of historic floors. They are committed to researching and developing the possibilities of terracotta coverings and manufacturing it from a homogeneous version to enamel to red, pink and grey colours. A few years ago, the already big-name company asked architect Cristina Celestino (we follow and certainly love her work) to direct the creative line, so the ‘Giardino all’Italiana’ collection was created, the pieces of which we could also admire. This collection rethinks the traditional character of terracotta, inspired by the world of Italian gardens.
The main character of its pieces is the multicoloured terracotta, which has been mixed in different ways with dusty and sand hues as well as noble metals, thus fitting into any interior. Waking up from this spell, we went on our way to our next destination.
Entering the Flos showroom, we are always caught in a pleasant atmosphere, as it is impressing the visitor with its imposing high-ceilinged spaces, arches and sometimes emerging original stone pillars. And the windows at full ceiling height can only add to this, where natural light comes filtered from the inner courtyard, strengthening the light show of the lamps.
Patricia Urquiola has not been idle this year either and, besides many other companies, has added a new lighting fitting to Flos’ product range, bearing sustainability in mind. The organic pieces of Almendra have been inspired by wonderful almond blossoms and shapely almond fruits. The design of the lighting fitting is very simple, but it can be used in countless configurations, so it will be the perfect ornament for spacious spaces, either as a stand-alone or complex suspended structure. This type of almond blossom is a worthy celebration of the company’s 60th anniversary. We were captivated by subtle pastel shades and soft organic shapes.
This year, Louis Vuitton also celebrated a round anniversary, namely the 10-year existence of the Objets Nomades furniture and object collection designed by them, which is one of the most impressive exhibitions under Salone del Mobile every year.
The location was a little different than we are used to. This year, the exhibition moved to the Duomo district, the iconic Garage Traversi, but the usual splendour still remained, which is no wonder since 14 famous designers such as Atelier Oï and Campana Brothers have joined the design of the objects in recent years.
If we could choose only one product, it would certainly be the Bulbo armchair dreamed up by the Campana Brothers. Like a strange but wonderful tropical flower that bravely unfurls its petals to welcome the MOTIFA DESIGN team into its embracing arms. The exterior of each petal was lined with elegant LV leather, while inside it was lined with warmth-radiating fabric for absolute comfort.
This year’s Salone del Mobile was a year of anniversaries since the big-name Tom Dixon celebrated its 20th anniversary at the neoclassical palace Palazzo Serbellon, a truly worthy venue for an event of such significance. The designer opened the doors of the exhibition under the name ‘Twenty’, where the most popular design products of the last 20 years appeared with modified, improved and forward-looking innovations.
The products of the Tom Dixon brand have always been characterized by a futuristic appearance, only reinforced by metallic reflective surfaces and gleaming lights on amorphous shapes. A perfect example is the revised pieces of the Melt product line, which form a bouquet of orderly but still imperfect spheres and form a dynamic lighting sculpture with its infinite reflections.
The classic decoration and rich floor coverings of the palace were the perfect complement to objects with reflective surfaces.
Among the imposing spaces of the Palazzo Bovaro, we visited the ambitious exhibition dreamed up by Elle Decor, called Design Forever. The project, as its name also implies, is a fitting tribute to the timeless design, but also to the 60th anniversary of the Salone del Mobile. One of the main principles of the dreamers of the exhibition was that furniture far from each other in time should come to life together and form a complete whole.
Walking along the paths of the palace, we had an immersive experience, where large companies such as Cassina, B&B Italia and Kartell appeared. After the extensive exhibition, we rested on the Tribú outdoor furniture that attracted us in the inner courtyard in the company of a delicious Campari Spritz.
Long live Dolce Vita!😊
After this hectic exhibition involving all of our senses, we started the rest of the afternoon with renewed enthusiasm. A slightly calmer programme followed, organized by one of our favourite representatives for us.
Our meeting was in Matteo Brioni’s showroom, where we could already admire the fine and coarse grained clay plasters they had dreamed up on the walls of the corridors leading from the entrance and staircase, which are created and coloured in a completely natural way, which is why the palette contains relatively fewer colours. After touching every sample surface, true to good interior designers, we also found the most extraordinary pieces. If there is such a thing as love at first sight, then after seeing the Terra Evoca collection, we certainly experienced it. This 3D structured surface becomes a unique and unrepeatable artistic element of every space. (Its only downside is that only three teams in Europe can make it perfectly.)
Our day was coming to an end, but we could not close without a delicious drink and a cool showroom, so we ended our evening in the showroom of Vito Nesta, which was a little bit off the city centre (there is nothing more to prove this than the fact we got lost twice), where we were welcomed with delicious snacks, pleasant music and a cool prosecco.
The eccentric choice for the suburban location is also proof that the designer does not like mass products of medium quality in anything, so away from the streets full of large companies in the city centre, he chose the most hidden ‘garage’ of an inner courtyard as the most suitable location to present his design products, which are at least as much eccentric.
Pieces from the product range of the Puglia-born designer, like an eclectic mix of exotic treasures, tell the story of a long journey. The motifs of his ceramic and textile products are sometimes real and sometimes follow an imagined path, around the beauty and culture that the world has to offer through the eyes of the designer.
And the evening was crowned by a delicious Italian dinner in the company of our kind representatives, which, despite the initial difficulties caused by hunger and fatigue, grew into having a real Italian atmosphere.