This year's annual Salone del Mobile in Milan, which is widely considered to be the world’s pre-eminent design fair, drew some half a million furniture fanatics from all corners of the globe.
And according to PRIOR’s David Prior, the majority of designers, editors, curators and buyers in town for the ever-buzzing fair seemed to have the same idea to pop by Bar Basso for a much-need aperitivo between openings. The beloved cocktail bar “was busier than it ever had been, with people spilling all over the street,” Prior said.
More than ever, the latest edition of Salone, which wrapped last weekend, was a panorama of presentations, products, pop-ups and parties — everything from an installation by the filmmaker David Lynch to an electric lamp show curated by Loewe's creative director, Jonathan Anderson.
Here, Prior shares his key takeaways from the design world's biggest week.
Hermés Puts on a Floor Show
While other brands use Salone del Mobile to contemplate the future of design (see the hybrid chairs by Formafantasma at the Fondazione ICA Milano), Hermès took a more grounded approach. The French fashion house transformed the floor of an historic event space in the heart of the Brera design district into a patchwork of brick, stone, slate, wood and compacted earth. It was a quieter but no less thrilling reminder that raw materials should be seen as some of Earth's biggest luxuries.
The fancy floor work also served as a backdrop for the label’s timeless, against-the-grain design philosophy. In the back of the auditorium, close to two dozen new objects and furniture pieces — including a braided leather lamp and a hand-painted bamboo light designed by Tomás Alonso — appeared in situ with older releases from the label’s vaults like a vintage jockey’s blouses and a ‘30s-era cigarette case. “Hermès objects are unaffected by time and passing trends,” the exhibition's notes pointedly stated.
Resetting the Table Setting
Despite being known as a hotbed of new talent, this year’s Alcova satellite fair took place across a pair of historic villas on the outskirts of Milan: the 19th-century Villa Balgatti Valsecchi and the Villa Borsani, the former residence of the architect Osvaldo Borsani originally built in 1945.
The landmark home served as a muse for much of the pieces on display, including a series of marble tables with pillar-like legs by Agglomerati and Tino Seubert. Floral glasswork by Sema Topaloglu paid winking homage to the bathroom's original floral tiles. Cutlery, coffee containers and tea pots crafted by Colombian designer Natalia Criado could be seen on kitchen countertops (and even in the sink).
