It is that time of year again – delivering a round up of the most talked about features from Milan Design Week 2023. For the first time since COVID, the world leading design festival was finally held in its old April time slot… No postponements, no restrictions… Just a sense of normality, and an overdose of innovation and designing for the future.
Here are our key take aways:
This may come as a surprise, because as far as Instagram in concerned, Milan Design Week largely flew under the radar. However that does not mean it was not as showstopping as other years. Rather than curating exquisitely photogenic installations, brands focused on creating an experience for the visitors. This feels like a direct response to the isolation of COVID, and the increased social media usage that developed off the back of it.
Waste material
Formafantasma replaced traditional upholstery foam of Tacchini’s furniture with surplus sheep wool and natural latex. We would love to see the approach of using waste material to filter down into highstreet furniture manufacturers. Particularly as items are typically not bought has heirloom pieces, and therefore have a shorter lifespan which tends to last as long as trends rather than generations.
G-Staw Raw also made a stand against waste but focussing on reducing rather than recycling. They revealed a denim-clad jet which not only targeted the theme of overconsumption, but also aimed to highlight the possibilities outside garment production. Sounds like a wonderful idea, but we would be interested to see how that translates into a realistic notion.
Chairs, chairs everywhere
To round off, it would be rude not to acknowledge the superb selection of new and reinvented chairs. From Alessi’s first venture into furniture, to Philippe Starck’s reimagining of Dior’s Medallion chair, and compostable injection moulded stackable designs.
