Domusweb: Please give us some numbers. How many exhibitors (designers, brands, companies) will there be this year? How many more (or less) than last year? How many locations do you have?

Federica Sala: This year, we have about 120 exhibitors for 90 locations, a slight increase from the past years. I think the most interesting fact is that the initiative is widening its focus to different areas. We aim to promote local gems by promoting designers. The gradual increase is given on the one hand by the large collective shows of the district (Palazzo Litta, Masterly, Venice Design Week, VIA and more), and on the other by the big companies participating (Seletti, Cartier, Diesel Living and Masiero). It is proof that many parties want proximity to the design world.

Domusweb: Can you circumscribe the district? What are its boundaries?

Federica Sala: The wedge of the old city centre between Via Torino/Cesare Correnti and Via Meravigli/Corso Magenta. It's the district that goes from Piazza Cordusio to the bastion walls.

Domusweb: When did the idea arise for 5VIE design district? Who are its curators? What were the initial aims?

Federica Sala: The idea dates to 2013, and it debuted during the 2014 Furniture Fair. It is the brainchild of Alessia del Corona Borgia, Emanuele Tessarolo, Ernesta del Cogliano and Aline Calvi Parisetti Radice Fossati. The team’s aim and the base of the initiative is to draw attention to cultural spots in the city by giving them a vital contemporary dimension. Over the past four years, 5 Vie has taken charge of forgotten historical buildings, ancient cloisters and craft workshops. It has commercially revitalised several streets and attracted interest for city areas that although centrally located, were little known. This came about thanks to the added value of the design content. With my agency PS, we have been managing communication for 5VIE since the start. From the second year, we also collaborated on the content of several initiatives we selected together, and became design advisors. For example, the main 5VIE event this year is the ‟Foyer Gorani” exhibition.

Domusweb: Who are this year’s curators? Is there a red thread, a theme, a cultural initiative uniting the event?

Federica Sala: From the very first year, the guideline has been looking to the past in order to design a future possessing roots and grand visions. In many cases, the exchange with the past is determined by places that give the district a strong historical connotation. There are numerous craft ateliers that are still active. This year, we are hosting the collective exhibition “Ladies&Gentlemen” for the second year in a row. We are curating it with Claudia Pignatale from Secondome. It will take place in the gorgeous house on Via Cesare Correnti that we used for the first time last year during the Salone. It has become the 5 Vie headquarters. In the same building, another exhibition produced by 5 Vie is taking place this year, called “The Classroom”, directed and curated by Paola Nicolin, in which the artists Diego Perrone and Piero Golia are showing personal interpretations of work by the American artist Chris Burden (1946-2015).

Domusweb: What are this year’s strong points? Which events are unmissable and which locations are unique?

Federica Sala: No one will want to miss the new 5VIE location for cultural production on Piazza Gorani. After three years at Garage Sanremo, it has been moved to this newly renovated piazza, at once a crossroads and a place for a pause, thanks to its twofold character as a pedestrian square that is also a link to the behind-lying roads. This is where “Foyer Gorani” is located. It is produced by 5 Vie and I am the curator. We invited four designers of different nationalities and styles: Matteo Cibic, Sigve Knutson, Sabine Marcelis and Hilda Hellström. What they have in common is a taste for materials. They will be presenting recent work, some of which has not been shown publicly before. The other beautiful new location we have is off Via Cesare Correnti in a second court. The place is called i lucernari; it's a former goldsmith atelier where Diesel Living is presenting all its collections for the first time, in a dreamlike American setting with hints of Arizona and California. Another show of great interest is “Petrified Carpets” by Studio Ossidiana, co-produced by 5 Vie and the SIAM, where it is located and where last year the Shit Museum was located, one of the district's co-productions that won the Milano Design Award.

Domusweb: What is the identikit of the design-public that frequents this zone

Federica Sala: Let’s say that the first year, the public was mostly residents of the neighbourhood: Milanese who are generally not interested in the Fuorisalone. They had a great time walking around the district. Thanks to the large cultural offering and the amount of design in the 5VIE, year by year the design professionals increased in number, along with influencers and the press. So the public became highly international and the big collective shows received great numbers of visitors.

Domusweb: Is there a graphically designed communication project? Who designed it?

Federica Sala: This year, the visual communication was made by Hangar Design. Their task was to illustrate the district and the routes around its areas.

Domusweb: Could you give readers some dos and don'ts on how to best enjoy the Furniture Fair events around the city?

Federica Sala: The French writer Daniel Pennac taught his students that it’s okay to not finish a book you don’t like. In the same way, I could say: there’s no obligation to see everything. Choose what to see, where to stop off, what to skip and where to return a second time. Obviously, that's my advice to tourists of the Furniture Fair. Design professionals are obligated to engage in a round-the-clock tour de force. There is an increasing number of previews on Saturday and Sunday, and more Miart-related shows on at locations around the city during the whole year. For me personally, the Salone is what Christmas Eve is to Santa Claus.