Salone del Mobile is physically back, and back in style. Counting 262,608 visitors, the first post-pandemic and 60th edition of the Salone del Mobile Milano that took place from June 7th to.12th exceeded all expectation.
“This edition has confirmed the international scope of the event and the cohesion of the design community,” commented Maria Porro, President of the Salone del Mobile.Milano. “An important result that confirms the state of health and the value content of the Salone del Mobile, and it shows how teamwork across a whole sector and its creative and productive fabric can produce excellence, achieving great results even in the most complex moments. The ICE’s contribution has been precious and essential in its support in opening up new markets, with digital offerings that, this week as in previous months, have enabled us to get in touch with new countries.”
Reconnection and hybridisation were the two buzzwords this year. Reconnecting with spaces and people, with habits and with the world which came alive in the space design of the 2175 Italian and international exhibitors and 600 young designers. Hybridisation, where objects and spaces become hybrid, not only in function and form, but also in the concepts and imagery they propose.
Among the key values of the Salone del Mobile.Milano, sustainability remains the guideline that many companies are adopting to achieve the ecological transition with a view to a circular economy, including energy-saving, recycled materials and social responsibility.
Mario Cucinella’s massive installation “Design With Nature,” demonstrated all of the various ways to live within a natural world. Complete with a bar, lounge area, library, and conference area the space was inspired by a piazza, an integral space in any Italian city, where people meet, spend time, and benefit from the public sphere.
Designers and brands seem to create living spaces without fixed zones. Furniture seems to almost be free-floating . Shapes and colors dominate the design of everything from sofas, chairs, objects, walls and flooring for a happy and positive overall feel.
Launched in 1974, the biennial International Kitchen Furniture Exhibition and its collateral event FTK (Technology For the Kitchen) is the leading showcase for high-end kitchens. This year’s edition specialised in built-in domestic appliances and their evolution.
The key concepts driving the exhibits, showcased by 82 companies were sustainability and efficiency. The purely functional spaces have become domestic hubs, places for conviviality and socialising. This revival of the domestic hearth makes for an interconnected, multipurpose and professional space. Technological innovation, next generation performance, energy efficiency and ease of use are presented within new shapes, colours and materials.
With 186 exhibitors, The International Bathroom Exhibition is considered the most important international event in bathroom furnishings. The novelties on display reflected the continuous evolution of the bathroom, which is becoming increasingly technological and eco-friendly.
Set up for the first time in Pavilions 1 and 3 of the Rho Fiera Milano fairground, was the Salone Satellite, brainchild of Marva Griffin Wilshire, that showcased the projects and ideas of 600 designers under 35 from 48 countries. Under the thematic “Designing for our future selves. Sustainability”, Inclusivity, sustainability, slow living and slow production were the centre of the thinking of the designers who are planning our tomorrows.
But what makes Salone del Mobile so unique and special is the way it spurred the city of Milan to compliment the fair and enrich its visitors even further, in turning the city into one big gallery showcasing design. We definitely can´t wait to be back next year.
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