It was my first time in Milan during the design week. And yes, it was everything I expected it to be: huge, an overload of new products, chaotic, but also very inspiring. I wanted to give you an overview but that is simply impossible, and I guess the novelties will be all over lifestyle magazines in the next months. So here are just my 5 cents on Milan design week, in Q&A form.
What is the effect of social media on design week?
In fact, I haven’t discovered that many new things in Milan: most of them I had already seen on Dezeen or Designboom. Social media spread the news worldwide, so one could ask: what’s the point of a fair? Of course, Milan design week is what one could call a happening, It’s THE yearly date for the design industry. So it’s about much more than just about new products.
To me, it was also the perfect occassion to see some products in real life: sit in them, touch them, ... Furniture is not only about shape but also about tactility. And that’s when some products that look rather unassuming on the web suddenly become favorites. The wonderfully detailed Hiroshima chair at Maruni, for example. Or that Zanotta sofa with the soft, velvety leather.
But speaking of social media: this year there were some critical voices before and during the fair: opinion leaders like the people at SMOW, Marcus Fairs of Dezeen and Justin McGuirk of the Guardian, amongs others. The #milanuncut initiative tried to collect those critical voices on online media. This year was just a start. I hope we’ll see more of this next year.
Is the crisis over yet?
The habitués of the design week told me the crisis could still be felt: there were fewer new products, brands had more modest presentations than in the pre-crisis years and there were fewer visitors. I couldn’t believe it: EVEN more product launches and EVEN more visitors? So I guess the crisis is not really over yet for the design industry. Strangely enough, the crisis hasn’t changed the mindset of most large companies thoroughly.
Case in point: the English brand Established and Sons. They can be considered the Lady Gaga of the design world: they came on the scene with a bang and skyrocketed to fame - but from the beginning they have relied on a constant stream of spectacular new products - and parties with celebrities. E&S are the clearest example that design has become fashion, and the design industry looks very much look the fashion industry right now. To me, this is all rather tiring, I’d rather have a table that won’t bore me after 10 years, thank you very much. And apparently, the crisis hasn’t been soft on E&S: rumours that they are in financial troubles were all over Milan. And nope, the party was not as good as last year’s. And the new products? Admittedly, there were some nice ones. But all in all it was rather underwhelming. I liked Leon Ransmeier's Revolver stool though - keep an eye on that guy.
Yeah but is it art?
I compared design to fashion, but another tendency is design as art. Design collectors are the driving force behind this trend. They are not really interested in anything that can be used in daily life but only want the most special, limited pieces made by young designers. Like stools made of some obscure material that claim to “investigate the relation between object, space and user”. These collectors see design as an investment. And some designers actually make most of their pieces for this market (can’t blame them, it’s where the money is!). Never ask those designers if it is art or design because this makes them very angry ;-)
Somehow I find this rather difficult to understand. As a fan of designers like Jasper Morrison or Maarten Van Severen - which most people find quite boring - I like my furniture beautiful but also functional.
What were the best presentations this year?
Spazio Rossana Orlandi had a nice indoor garden with a crazy mash-up of objects, people and homemade pies. The perfect recipe for a loud and cosy gathering. Inside, some of the highlights included an installation by FormaFantasma. They made a set of products and objects situated in the pre-oil era. This resulted in things made of strange materials like blood mixed with sawdust. There was also a small Plusminuszero shop. Naoto Fukasawa, the man behind the designs of that brand, did not come to Milan this year, because he wanted to support his family and his country Japan.
I thoroughly enjoyed the presentation of Studio Toogood as well. They made a very interesting installation named ‘Natura Morta’. They researched materials like ashes, pewter, leather and the smells of flowers only blooming at night. The presentation on the third floor of an old MIlanese building was exactly the thing I needed after a loud and crowded design week: pensive, tactile and very atmospheric, with a gothic mood. And for once, I didn’t care if it was art or design.
