From tufts to cubist groupings, Milan shows off design trends
Every two years, tens of thousands of designers from all over the world descend on the northern Italian city of Milan for the much-awaited Salone del Mobile (furniture show) at the fairgrounds outside the city. New lines and trends that will impact the design world are on exhibit from every manufacturer. This is the show that sets trends and makes headlines throughout the world for its inspiration of fashion, art and design.
This year's feature exhibit, Euroluce, showcased advances in lighting. Besides the miles of exhibits at the Fiera Milano's exhibit halls in April, fashion melded with design in showrooms such as Hermes, Roberto Cavalli and the well-known fashion houses of Etro in the Brera Design District.
The Brera Design District by night closes down many streets for the spillover of attendees at parties and gallery openings. Great palaces and former churches are turned into additional displays for smaller and boutique manufacturers, and stages are set throughout the streets for concerts. When you see a city celebrate design in such a manner, you can really appreciate the financial impact that interior design and all its contributing fields have on the Italian economy.
The Navigli District, the area designed by Leonardo da Vinci, with its framework of canals (only three remain), is the up-and-coming neighborhood. Also joining in the celebrations of Salone del Mobile, the Naviglio, filled with street-side cafes, restaurants and vintage shops, featured a series of floating pavilions sponsored by edgier furniture vendors.
Low-slung sofas that seemingly float off the floor were a fixture at every booth. Also quite popular were tufted or partially tufted sofas with simpler lines — a sort of reinvented Chesterfield. Lombardy-based Flexform stood out for their revision of what a cocktail table looks like. In their view, the cocktail table for 2015 is a grouping of tables and stools of varying heights that are all linked almost like a cubist geometric composition.
Muted colors such as taupe and greige were offset by jewel tones in everything from walls to upholstery and fabrics to accessories in a combination of silver and gold. The shapes of upholstered pieces and case goods still nod toward designs of the 1960s and '70s, albeit in innovative and updated finishes. Case goods generally featured light walnut and pecan finishes, just in time to make espresso finishes seem passe.
Rome-based Laboratorio Mattoni showcased some of their functional furniture, and of note were the Fantesca and Perpetua lines, which featured compact kitchens in the form of an island with moving countertops to conceal all equipment when not in use and pivoting television screens for all diners to enjoy. Yet another technological innovation was from My Sommelier, which brings the first customizable and automated multi-temperature wine cellar.
These are just some of the trends and innovations we will start to see in furniture showrooms, until the new trends of 2017 come about to make these seem old-fashioned.
• Joseph Pubillones is the owner of Joseph Pubillones Interiors, an award-winning interior design firm based in Palm Beach, Florida.
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