Continuing the report from Milan. Here are the main themes for 2022. Antique times, nature and disappearing things.
So far we have looked at colours and materials. In this segment we will look more into actual themes appearing at the design week in Milan.
Antique times
First out – a glimpse at ancient times.
Already last year, Sergio Roger got a lot of attention for his textile antique looking sculptures at Rossana Orlandi. He continues this aesthetic this year but more focus on pillars.
At Salone Satellite, young designer Cosimo de Vita made this architectural chair in mycelium. Looks like part of an old temple.
Light installation at Lee Broom.
Book case at the fair.
New super talent Leo Maher made this lamp/sculpture at Alcova. Looks like an ancient water fountain.
Maybe not so much Roman or Greek, but the whole installation at Dimore Studio was about storage and lost times.
Nature
One of the absolutely biggest themes for the design week was nature.
The whole project around Front Design, Moroso and Febrek/Kvadrat, was about the design studio’s fascination of nature.
Pebble stones and just a lot of investigation on the texture and look of nature.
Stella McCartney also looked at nature. She specifically looked at mushrooms and mycelium as a material. But also inspiration. Loved her print.
But McCartney also had this fascination of textures and nature.
Late Virgil Abloh was all over the design week. He had new cutlery for Alessi, pieces for Cassina and new things under his own brand Off-White. Without going too much into details, his aethetics are not my thing but at the installation of interior design, they we set in a nature context. Wild nature. Presented at Rossana Orlandi.
At Alcova there were many installations addressing nature. However, most of them were a few years old. For instance Tamara Orjolas textiles made of pine needle. Absolutely interesting, but it was her school project in 2016.
The above four pictures are images of version of nature. Flowers, gardening and vegetables. Yes, it is here to an extent, but it is much more about the wild, untamed nature. Pictures from Porsche, Dimore Studio, Laila Gohar and finally Luke Edward Hall.
Yes, it is much more about the wildness in nature. Like at these rugs for CC Tapis. Moss, greenery and grass.
Disappearing things
Strange topic, I know, but I did notice a bit of a new minimalism. Especially for kitchens but also a bit in general. Storage in general is huge. Cabinets everywhere. And cabinets would of course be an obvious observation, but I like to look ahead. And I think we will see more solutions for hiding clutter.
Like this desk or table. Designed by Carina Deuschl at Salone Satellite. It is plainly just a desk, but with various sections to hide everything from pen and paper to a laptop. Hiding…
Most evidentally you could see it in kitchens. Here new technology makes it possible to do new solutions. Fans are in the induction stove or even in the wall. No need for a large fan any longer.
Another example of a kitchen solution.
Induction can now be almost invisible. I saw counter tops where the induction stove was part of the stone. You put your cooking vessel on the stone and turn it on.
Also the tap or faucet can be pushed into the counter top. And hide the sink with a tray. All of a sudden no visible traces of a kitchen. Of course all electrical devices like coffee maker or mixers are gone. Not even olive oils or pepper mills.
Like this. Is this the future of kitchens? I think so. And it addresses something new which is our need to put away things. Storage is key. Hiding things is important.
And that’s it from Milan 2022. I could have included a segment on sustainability but the whole issue is super complex now – and really taking a step back. “Why talk about sustainability when everything can be used for many, many years”. Reasoning like that…
There are talks about sustainability but scattered all over the place and no unified voice.