This year the PENSONites dusted off their design hats and took a trip to Milan Design Week. It didn’t disappoint – what with the fab weather, the atmosphere and the food – the inspirational design we saw was just an added cherry on top of the Milan-styled cake. As expected, we learnt a few things along the way and saw some familiar brands. Milan is now so large-scale that, thankfully for designers, it’s grown to encompass multiple design quarters across the city featuring art, graphic design and everything in between. Now named Fuorisalone, the event compliments the traditional furniture and interiors at Salone del Mobile which resides further away from the centre of the city. This year we left Salone del Mobile to the seasoned pros and focussed our attention on Fuorisalone and the newly added hub at Ventura Centrale.
Here are a few things we learned on our travels (and a few things we already knew, but thought looked pretty anyway)…
Old buildings are the best backdrop for presenting furniture…
Moooi still remains one of our favourite designers. This years’ ‘A Life Extraordinary’ exhibit featured unique pieces inspired by extinct animals – drawing attention to humans’ place on our planet – and questioning our motives for the future.
Partitions don’t have to be expensive if you just want to ‘screen’ off sections of a room. Moooi installed gauzy black fabric on their showroom space – which worked best because of the lowered level lighting – also making this a great idea in retail or residential projects…
Italian Terrazzo is everything...
As always, textures are a central component to design…
Lighting has emotions too…
Louis Vuitton was as exceptional as ever…
Pop ups + neon = a combination of dreams…
Millennial pink is still going strong…
We dropped in to Acne Studios. Just because.
Layered polycarbonate makes a great reception desk…
Cement is the answer to the housing crisis…
It’s all in the details details details…
In Italy, white goods are anything but white…
That we have squad goals…sometimes…!
…And finally…we learned that Milan is, of course, the most magical backdrop to a design event. For those who haven’t graced the city’s rustic yet modern streets, then we urge you to go next year.
