Milan. 40 indications of style from the Salone del Mobile

Confirmations, comebacks and new perversions. This year, too, the number of proposals exceeds their human application. But not the enthusiasm of at least trying discovering new analogies.

Some call it “copycat”, while others “air du temps”: since you can’t rule over it, it spreads and “pollutes” the moodboards of all creative people with the same references. In any case, the most amusing part in summing up every Salone event is discovering the analogies that, like a spider web, join all design expressions, even the most extreme. By demonstrating the circularity of fashions and languages, at times by chance, often through speculation that follows the same twists and turns: and of the same object, or set design, they offer a classic version alongside a more modern one, or even the same one. Like all trends, these relationships have no scientific basis. Yet with the decisiveness of revealed truth they offer an indication of style that, though bizarre, presents all the immobility of a rule, to which, despite our resistance, it is a pleasure abdicating, if nothing else but because it’s new – even if it’s a comeback – and exciting and reassuring. 

Faces. Left: blown-glass sculptures by Massimo Lunardon, inspired by the oceans and bodily features typical of Amedeo Modigliani. Presented at the Forte Forte boutique. Eight: monsters collection vase by Alessandro Mendini, Lasvit
Sharp edges. Left: The glass shelving fitted into the fresh cement of the 3D Housing 05 by Massimiliano Locatelli, CLS. Right: The Column basin equipped with LED lights by Truly Truly. Seen at Ventura Centrale
Fields. Left: Diarama tile surface by Hella Jongerius for Mutina. Right: Multicolour Block Notes by Hay
Body. Left: Buro Bélen sun screen. Presented at Alcova at NoLo. Right: Togo and Senegal African patchwork tapestries by Casa Loewe
Christo. Left: the set design for the installation Under Super Cover, by Studio Modulo, for the bathroom furnishings brand Ex.t. Right: the set design for the installation Perfettamente Imperfetto, Dimore Studio
Fifties. Left: T54 chairs. Bonacina historic archive. DePadova. Right: vintage interiors of Casa Sinz in Ibiza. Design by Erwin Broner
Cubes. Left: glass cubes at the Kosmos exhibition by Wonderglass, at the Istituto dei ciechi. Right: prototypes of padded poufs, presented at Typecasting by Vitra at Pelota
Fish: Left: wall decorated with fish pattern present inside the Stranger Pinks event location, organised by Artemest on Via Randaccio 5, Milan. Right: Goldfish end table by Analogia Project for Nilufar Gallery
Flat. Left: “Alla scoperta dell’infinito” installation, based upon the infinite possibilities of Ikea furniture reuse. Concept Lorenzo Damiani. Right: bookshelf conceived to hold only one book, made by Mad.sign for the exhibition “Idea – The Design Supermarket” curated by Niklas Jacob
Glass. Left: getail of the Alcova cast glass installation, part of the Kosmos event by Wonderglass. Design Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec. Right: gap glasses, designed by Studio Klass for Ichendorf Milano
Gold. Left: Jimmy sofa Disco Gufram collection. Design Atelier Biagetti. Right: padded elements present in the “Paradigm” exhibition at Ventura Centrale
Housse. Left: Hard Dress Dragon chair by Piero Lissoni. Cappellini. Right: Miss Chair Maiale chair, Ideogrammi collection. Missoni Home
Joints. Left: detail of the exhibition “U-Joints, Equations of Universal Lifestyle”: an overview on the evolution of joints. PlusDesign with Juventus. Curated by Anniina Koivu and Andrea Caputo. Right: detail of the invisible joint of the Jack wallsystem, designed by Michael Anastassiades for B&B Italia
Light bulbs. Left: set design of the Pedrali stand at Rho Fiera. Design Calvi Brambilla. Right: Giostra lamp by Meccani Design. Presented at the Stranger Pinks event organised by Artemest, the e-commerce platform for design Italian craftsmanship, in partnership with TED Milano
Retro basins. Left: vintage basin with column presented in the installation Transfer, Dimore Studio. Right: vintage basin with column presented in the bathroom of 3D Housing 05 by Massimiliano Locatelli, CLS
Cots. Left: detail of the jail cell reinterpreted by the team of architects and designers Stanze Sospese, based on a briefing by the Opera prison. Right: detail of cot in the Maison du Brésil room by Le Corbusier and Charlotte Perriand, 1959. Reconstruction at the Cassina showroom
Magma. Left: Texturae wallpaper. Right: pond end table with finishings in wood, Moroso. Design Nendo
Bricks. Left: detail of the set design for the exhibition “Lina Bo Bardi Giancarlo Palanti - Studio d’Arte Palma 1948 – 1951”. At Nilufar Depot. Right: Brique et Béton. Sculptures in terracotta and cement bricks by Duccio Maria Gambi
Memphis. Left: Quarzo two-door cupboard in silkscreened wood by Nathalie du Pasquier. Presented at the exhibition “Materialism” at Post Design gallery. Right: Palazzo Stamskin by GGSV. The installation made by using Stamskin, a material by Serge Ferrari specifically for furniture
Metrò. Left: P.O.P Piccolo Oggetto Possibile wall element. Design Zaven. At the Galleria Luisa delle Piane. Right: Metrò collection lamp. Inspired by the handrails in Milan’s subway. Design Piovenefabi
Milan. Left: The Queen of Milano dish. Designed by Olimpia Zagnoli for Wait and See. Right: Minerva matches by Gio Tirotto. Presented at Souvenir Milano
Mini. Left: solid C2 miniatures. Chairs designed by Patrick Jouin, 2004. New addition to the Miniature collection by Vitra. Left: pre-printed Wassily Chair to assemble with instructions. Gadget by Knoll
Mylar. Left: Mylar wall created by David Gonzàlez. Presented at Ventura Future. Right: detail of the installation made in Mylar, The Brilliant Side of Us. By Melissa shoes with the collective None
Fog. Left: the foggy effect created for the Limited Edition event by Dimore Studio. Right: foggy effects for Transitions, the Panasonic installation in the Brera Academy courtyard
Neon. Left: detail of the Transitions III installation by Baars & Bloemhoff at Ventura Centrale. Right: detail of the installation “Le regole del design” by Bulgari. Neon work by Ivan Navarro
Bears. Left: Le Roi giant bear, covered in Sunbrella textiles. Design Marc Ange. Right: Toy bear-lamp by Moschino with Kartell
Balloons. Left: Salvami | Andata-Ritorno. Work by Franco Mazzucchelli on view at Ventura Centrale. Right: Arcadia. Installation by Sara Ricciardi for Schloss Hollenegg for Design. 5Vie circuit
Peep show. Left: Pedrali stand at Rho Fiera. Peep hole for viewing a striptease by chairs from this Bergamo-based brand. Right: detail of the set design of “Peep-O-Rama”. Exhibition celebrating the 25 years of design of Ferruccio Laviani with Emmemobili
Pillars. Left: Tempietto nel bosco. Installation of pillars by Asif Khan at Palazzo Litta. Right: detail of supports covered with Massia Vittorio 1843 passementerie on the Tram Corallo. Design by Cristina Celestino
Pink. Left: Limbo. Site-specific installation composed of polycarbonate threads. By Jacopo Foggini for Ferragamo Parfumes. Right: lift with pink interior. Torre della Fondazione Prada. Design by Rem Koolhaas
Pool. Left: detail of the set design at the stand with aquatic projection by Kartell, at Rho Fiera. Right: panoramic screen with aquatic projection. Detail of the Roda stand at Rho Fiera
Puppet. Left: “Giants with Dwarf” by Stepahn Hürlemann. Giant puppet installation made by assembling parts of chairs and tables from the Horgenglarus archive, a centuries-old Swiss design furniture company. Right: Most Illustrious. Collection of porcelain figures inspired by design masters. In the photo, Alessandro Mendini. Design Elena Salmistraro for Bosa
Radical. Left: Grid end table, Piero Lissoni. Glas Italia. Right: Check Collection end table-stool by Elisa Ossino Studio, SEM (Spotti Edizioni Milano)
Stairs. Left: detail of the installation by the Parisian architect-illustrator Garance Vallée, made at Strategic Footprints. Right: detail of the installation Paradigm by Fabrica in collaboration with Pierre Frey. At Ventura Centrale
Symbols. Left: the “tattoo” that gives exclusive access to the Club Unseen by Studiopepe. Right: tokens with esoteric symbols to buy drinks at Bar Anne by Lansvelt at the Museo Diocesano
Ceilings. Left: cool carpet inspired by the painting Il commiato di Venere by Sebastiano Ricci, Nodus. Design Alessandra Baldereschi. Right: Galleria degli Arazzi frescoed by Giovanni Tiepolo in 1741. Palazzo Clerici, Milan
Segments. Left: detail of the installation Open Sky by COS. Design Phillip K. Smith III. Right: Slinkie rug by Patricia Urquiola. CC-tapis
Surfaces. Left: the set design of the Hermès installation at the Museo della Permanente, made from thousands of Moroccan tiles. Right: On Lines table lamp by Nemo. Design Jean Nouvel
Tiles. Left: detail of the Villa Borsani bathroom, Varedo, opened during the Salone for the event “Villa Borsani: Casa Libera!”, curated by Ambra Medda. Right: detail of the “Grand Tour – Viaggio in Italia, racconto di luce”, surface made with the smallest glass tiles in the world, the Tilla, by Mutaforma. Design Gupica for Muraforma
Fan. Left: fan by Daniel Emma. At the Australian designer collective on the 5Vie itinerary. Right: fan printed on box and resting on Carlino storage, tribute to Carlo Mollino, 1933. Zanotta

From using a (real or printed) fan as a decoration accessory to breaking all decency in a safe-proofhome with sharp-edged shelving. Plus, the ascertained fact that nothing beats the glamour of a vintage column basin, if not for age then for form; that there’s no souvenir of a distant nation that beats the one from Milan – but a design one, that is: be it in the form of Minerva matches or a plate with the Duomo and royal crown; if in the past polypropylene film, also known as Mylar, was an amusement park material, maybe it’s time to see it from a different angle; that a helium balloon is thegame par excellence; that if you ask an interior designer for a house ready to be lived in (plus a peep hole hidden behind a painting), this surely isn’t perversion, but a different way of seeing a well-furnished room.