Milan 2010

Mangas Naturales collection by Patricia Urquiola.
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Report by Mariel Brown and Zoe Stavrou from the trends and strategy team at global design and innovation company, Seymourpowell

This April we once again joined the multitude of design lovers (a record 329,563 visitors) heading to Milan for the 32nd edition of the International Salone del Mobile. Little did we know that an untimely volcano eruption would mean our stay would be an extended one! So, with all that extra time to look around the fair, what trends did we find?

This year we observed a gentle progression and softening of last year’s ‘crunched’ themes and a growing sense of both nostalgia and the need for escapism. What felt particularly positive about the show was the level at which designers and manufacturers across the board were engaging with the issue of sustainability.

Contemporary classics

The utilitarian trend of the last few years has been noticeably softened. An accomplished example of this was Partricia Urquiola’s Klara armchair for Moroso. The design works on a simple, linear aesthetic that is harmonious in its curved yet essential shape, which is reminiscent of the first serial productions of the early 20th century.

Another elegant example of this trend was the Bessy lounge chair by Stefan Diez for German brand E15. Made of oak-veneered plywood with a simple fabric cushion, this armchair is a modern interpretation of a classic lounge chair that has an enduring, almost timeless appearance.

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Forms that appeared to have been ‘blown up’ were seen in many guises throughout the fair. An innovative example of this was Marcel Wanders’ Sparkling chair for Italian manufacturer Magis. The product is made of transparent plastic (PET) and is produced using the same blow moulding technique commonly used for bottles of water. By using this technique, Wanders kept plastic usage to a minimum and the result was a chair that only weighs in at around 1kg.

British designer Tom Dixon’s new Void Lamp has a similarly turgid form that allowed him to innovate with the quality of light that the lamp gives off. Its spun double walls reflect and soften the light emitted from a concealed halogen bulb.

Established & Sons collaborated with Italian glass company Venini to give the tradition of glass blowing an exciting refresh. One such project was the Print Lamp by Sylvain Willenz. The Print Lamp gathers within a single bubble of blown glass components usually found as separate items in pendant lighting. The shade, the colour, the reflector and the diffuser have effectively all been produced within one elegant gesture.

A personal favourite from the Established & Sons and Venini collaboration was the Bouroullec Brothers’ Lighthouse Lamp. Here the emphasis was on creating a sense of vulnerability. The idea was to light up a voluminous round glass structure that would be supported by a delicate aluminium stick.

Retrographic

One the most distinctive themes to emerge this year was the use of graphics and geometric patterns, coupled with a distinctly retro colour palette. With their Paper Plane chair, Nipa Doshi and Jonathan Levien skilfully combined shades of mustard, grey, black and beige, with a grid-like surface pattern with a subtle pinstripe of metallic thread. Although not initially noticed, this gave much delight to passers-by as the light bounced off the thread, turning heads with its subtle shimmer.

Other standout pieces include Patricia Urquiola’s Silver Lake collection and Redondo sofa for Moroso. Again, shades of mustard, brown, maroon and grey dominated, but with flashes of terracotta, white and yellow. Both pieces were treated very differently: Redondo exuding softness with its quilt-like surface detail and cocooning form, and the Silver Lake collection a more geometric aesthetic. The contrasting use of materials was particularly noted.

Quirky pieces such as the Amsterdam Armoire by Scholten & Baijings, were inspired by typically Dutch design, but with a twist. The proportions of the piece and the spherical feet made from pink glass, coupled with the use of pastel shades and a geometric surface pattern, had a flavour of Ettore Sottsass’s 1980s post modernist designs for Memphis, as did the ‘Phase Bureau’ by East London’s Patternity and furniture designer Toby Winteringham.

Their collaboration on the Phase range of furniture debuted at the Salone Satellite this year, fusing bold pattern with traditional marquetry.

Knit one, purl one

Where weaving had captured many designers’ imagination last year, this year knitting and wool made a comeback, adding cosy warmth to a number of pieces. The Mangas Naturales rug collection by Patricia Urquiola is a lovely example of this trend. ‘Mangas’ (engl. Sleeves) is based on a patchwork of different wool knits, to create a collection of various typologies with different shapes, going from Manga corta (short sleeve) to Manga de campana (bell-shaped sleeve). The result is a series of eight enchanting carpets with a wonderful variety of textures and colours.

Charmingly imperfect could be one way of summing up the suitably named Granny pendant lamp by Australian design group Pudelskern. Each Granny is hand knitted from Tyrolean sheep’s wool and is signed by the designer.

Equally quirky was Bertjan Pot’s Jumper chair for Established & Sons. Jumper consists of one continuous oversized woollen knitted cover that is created on a ‘Knit and Wear’ machine usually used for producing garments. The resemblance to a jumper is completed by the addition of buttons that fix the cover on to the underside of the chair.

Interestingly, wool was not just used to idiosyncratic effect. Bonbons by promising young Serbian talent Ana Kras is a sophisticated family of lamps created from wool leftover from a collection by knitwear company Ivko-knits. The wool was wrapped around coated steel wire frames to stunning effect.