This year, Cultura designers Joelle Beans and Olivia Benge were able to attend Salone de Mobile (Design Week) in Milan, the largest trade fair of its kind in the world. It was a wonderful opportunity to view releases (and art) from brands raising the bar for craft and innovation in the interior space. Plus, we had the opportunity to catch up with developments in Haworth’s roster of lifestyle brands, including Cassina, Poltrona Frau, and Cappellini. Read their thoughts, as well as top takeaways about what new trends mean for the workplace, below.
Joelle: In the commercial furniture world, especially in North America, our biggest convention that you typically hear us talking about is Neocon. This year, we were fortunate enough to attend Salone de Mobile in Milan this April. Because each showroom is in a different location, the entire city gets behind the design week – there is something to look at around every corner. Milan in and of itself is beautiful and being able to experience the history of the area, the architecture, and listening to so many different languages around you helps shift your perspective and look at the world around you in a different way. It was a fantastic experience that fed my design heart and reinforced the many reasons why I love what I do and where I work.
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Top Takeaways:
Joelle: I loved the juxtaposition of modern within old, traditional settings. From a modern art install in a derelict building complex, to a showroom in an original 18th century Italian palazzo, the items enhance and complement the physical space like they have always been there vs recently put there because the space was “interesting”.
Olivia: I believe that we can have more fun when it comes to design, and I have always said that. I love unusual color combinations and interesting patterns and mixed textures, and I loved seeing this all over Milan. Rich jewel tones, large scale geometric patterns, velvets, woven leathers and stone. Not a plain beige showroom in sight.
Joelle: I noticed newer takes on earthy, rich, colors and materials but with drama – lacquers, colored glass, marbles with color/movement, shine, or heavily patterned. Beautiful way to make a statement without being “gaudy, gauche, or “trendy”.
Olivia: One of my favorite things I saw at Design Week was not even a piece of furniture. It was something ridiculous and silly, but I could not help but love it: the Cassina spiral staircase fully upholstered on the outside in a cinnamon-colored faux fur. Certainly not for everyone, but a bold choice that I feel must be respected purely for the drama of it all. It doesn’t need to be something that you can visualize in your home to be good design, in fact sometimes the point is just that it looks awesome where it is and probably should never be repeated. I would though.
Joelle: The attention to detail and craftsmanship was in everything. Quality over quantity, intentional finishes, human centric.
Joelle: Technology is being deployed in intentional ways to support rather than replace a human counterpart. From scanning finishes for defects, cutting patterns to maximize every square inch, to using programs to precision cut joinery, they all allow the craftsman to be more precise, focus on those details, and bonus…the whole process becomes more sustainable!
Olivia: My favorite trend at Design Week ties into this boldness; the standout pieces of furniture were classic, iconic designs that are at least half a century old, but were shown with a twist in either color or material. In the lobby at Cassina Headquarters was a display of three Le Corbusier chairs in beautiful jewel toned upholstery with matching chrome frames. Cassina’s showroom showcased chairs from the 20’s through the 80’s, all upholstered in matching neon yellow velvet. One of the chairs in this display, a chair from the 60s, was also shown fully upholstered in denim with copper-colored metal for the frame. I wondered why we don’t upholster chairs in denim more often.
I’ve seen these chairs in many showrooms and in photos from interior design pages I follow, but they still caught my attention and still stole the show like the divas they are. Partially because color and texture can change the entire feeling of a piece of furniture, but mostly because beautiful design doesn’t go out of style.
Joelle: Design was everywhere. The whole city was involved. Art and furniture installations in piazzas or just on a building, interactive exhibits around random corners, and “pop-up style” museums/exhibits in random buildings.
Joelle: And the food: need I say more?
Until next time …Ciao!
