Is Milan's Salone del Mobile the new fashion week? The city has a rich history with clothing and accessories, as well as objects and interior design. There are some seating options on display at Loro Piana, as well as talks on the subject of design at Prada and Miu Miu. Below is a quick guide of the events you missed.
Jonathan Hkklo photographed a collaboration between Colin King and Calico Wallpaper.
The locations for this year's satellite fair, Villa Borsani and Villa Bagatti Valsecchi, are downright luxurious compared to the previous settings. The former was designed by Osvaldo Borsani in the 1940s and is an example of 19th-century architecture. You can see installations by Laila Gohar, Elhanati x Conie Vallese, Colin King, and others, but you can also take a break from the craziness of Milan. Shawn Henderson is the owner of Il Bisonte.
The box collection from Il Bisonte.
The Florentine leather goods brand has collaborated with a New York-based interior designer for the second time on a capsule collection. Each black box is handcrafted in Tuscany using the finest vegetable-tanned leather, and is inspired by the design principles of the Bauhaus. The collection is available at the flagship store.
Matthieu Blazy has a take on Le Corbusier.
During Milan Design Week, Matthieu Blazy has an installation. The seating for the fall-winter 2024 show was served by 100 wooden stools and 60 intrecciato leather stools, all of which were quickly sold out. The LC14 Tabouret Cabanon is just about the size of a carry-on suitcase and was created after finding a whiskey box washed up on a Cte d'Azur beach. The original whisky box is on display at Palazzo San Fedele from April 16 to 20.
Gucci provided the reinterpretation of an ancora cabinet. The Gucci creative director collaborated with the founder of P:S communications,Michela Pelizzari, to create a series of Italian design objects that have been rendered in the brand's new. The brand's flagship store has a floor-to-ceiling neon-green installation by Spanish architect Guillermo Santom. The archival deep dive was done by Herms.
There are references to leather riding whips on a series of lamps. This year, Herms took design elements from objects like leather hunting whips and silver necklaces and incorporated them into its products, such as lamps and lounge chairs. The brand is using its history with saddlery for the first time, and the exhibition space feels like stepping into a museum. The lamps by Loewe.
The light fixture is a work of art. The brand commissioned 24 artists, some of whom have never made light fixture before, to create an eclectic range of floor, table, and suspended lamps. The results are delightful and unexpected, with materials like bamboo, birch twigs, and horsehair, and forms that look like everything from lighters to hanging gourds. A Japanese urushi lacquer artist who won a Craft Prize in the fall of 2014 finished his lamp with layers of gloss that are stripped back to reveal gold finishing, making it look like it is glowing inside. Loro Piana wrote an Ode to Cini Boeri.
Historical designs rendered in Loro Piana. Loro Piana paid homage to Italian architect and designer Cini Boeri, who would have been 100 this year, by dressing some of her most recognizable pieces in its luscious home fabrics. The collection includes pieces like the "Strips" bed which you can zip yourself into, and the "Bobo" and "Boborelax" armchairs. Thanks to Loro Piana, the soft pieces of furniture you will touch all week will surely be from the Prada Frames Symposium.
The author and academic talks at Prada Frames.
The third-annual Prada Frames symposium brought some intellectual energy to the fair, but one too many giant negronis at Bar Basso can make you feel a little brain-dead. This year's program used the idea of home as a framework to explore the relationship between the natural environment and design. The talks were held at the Bagatti Valsecchi Museum, which was an actual home until 1974.
The chatty sofa is in the metaverse.
This is the German brand's first time at the fair, and they're making a grand entrance with a seven-piece furniture and accessories collection that extends beyond the physical world. You can actually experience this one from the comfort of your own home if you enter the "Wearable Casa" metaverse on your phone, computer, or Meta headset. The literary club of Miu Miu.
A poster for a literary club.
For the first time, Prada and Miu Miu are collaborating with a two-day literary club. This year's focus will be the works "A Woman" by the Italian writer and poet Sibilla Aleramo and "Forbidden Notebook" by Cuban-Italian writer Alba De Céspedes. On April 17 and 18, the brand will host conversations, live performances, and other events around these two writers.
A Ginori plate from the Villa Planchart collection.
Anthony Vaccarello is the creative director of Saint Laurent. Anala and Armando Planchart commissioned Ponti to build a villa for them on the highest hill in Venezuela in 1953. He also built the couple a gorgeous home and commissioned Ginori to design a set of porcelainware decorated with the symbols and motifs of the villa, including the Sun, the Crescent Moon, and the Polar Star. Frette and Thom Browne.
A bed by Frette and Thom Browne. The brand will release new bedding and bath linens, as well as a gym towel, a beach bag, and a bathrobe inspired by a trench coat. The label has a signature four stripes so you can wear it in style.