With previews of new products, events and installations pouring in from studios and brands alike, it seems its high time for Design daily to show a few tasty previews of Milan 2017.........It's interesting which brands are prepared to show everything in advance of the fair and which ones keep it all close to their chest.
Philipp Mainzer table for E15 - an impressive combination of monumental form and honest materials - brass and timber with a natural, un-machined edge.
As 2017 is a Euroluce year lights are bound to feature large and the pick of the previewed designs comes from French brand Petite Friture. There has been a lot of interest in simple geometric lighting in recent years but the Celia-Hannes designed 'Kling' lights for Petite Friture adds a little French deco into the mix. The result is delightful and timeless.
Rather than write about everyone of these new product designs D.d has chosen to resort to captions only for this post (theres a lot of new product to get through!).
'Fractious VR' by Carlo Contin for Subalterno1 Gallery. This and may other pieces by the galleries artists will be on show at the Anthropocene exhibition at Ventura Lambrate - Via Conte Rosso 22.
The 'Chains' pendant lights by Sylvain Willenz for Petite Friture uses ribbed PET felt for its can-like shade and can be purchased as singles or in clusters as shown.
Another collection extension - accessories for the award winning 'Maki' bench from Crassevig. The benches feature repeating holes allowing for drop in accessories such as coat stand or tables
'Dots' by Sylvain Willenz for Belgian lighting company tossB, might use simple bent tube and the ubiquitous spherical globes but the result is quite exceptional.
New Zealand brand Resident will again show at Salone - this time at the fairgrounds as part of Euroluce. The 'Circus' pendant above is by Resident Studio, the coffee table is their first collaboration with British based Canadian designer Philippe Malouin - its called 'Offset'. If thats solid oak it going to way a ton/tonne!
Edward van Vliet has a lot going on this year at Salone including launching this interesting geometric pendant light called 'Pluto'. It's open exagonal brass frame enclosing a perfect sphere of tinted glass.
The 'OI' table lamp by Taiwanese designer Meng Hsun Wu will be on show as part of the Age of Man exhibition curated by London based Australian Golnar Roshan. The lamp features a thin marble disc which rotates to allow the LED mounted in the base to be reflect light in numerous ways. Meng Hsun Wu is based in the Netherlands.
Spanish lighting brand Vibia will launch a new lighting concept 'Algorithm' by Toan Nguyen. Glass spheres are suspended in a curvilinear plane.
While Euroluce is a pretty slick affair with lots of shiny metal and glass, there will be plenty of furniture and lighting pieces elsewhere that use more tactile, natural materials. Timber and stone remain popular materials but the way in which they are worked has completely changed in recent years with a massive take up of c'n'c technologies. From timber companies like Mattiazzi to stone specialists like Salvatori and CItco, computer controlled cutting techniques are allowing the designer to experiment with extraordinary shapes.
The 'Stammplatz' chair by Alfredo Haberli for Quodes
'Dispersion' is another interesting piece in the Age of Man show at Ventura Lambrate. It is a mirror that changes its appearance by blowing on its face. Designed by Nila Rezaei, it is a comment on the the pollution caused by oil exploration.
The floor mirror above looks positively ancient but is actually quite hi-tech. This is best explained by the designer:
"In order for the user to reveal the reactive surface of the (Dispersion) mirror, the user is forced to blow into a wind sensor located on top of the frame, encouraging them to participate in the act of ‘Repair’. The interactive mirror is coated with two types of black thermo-chromatic pigment mixed with bio-resin, as a metaphor for an oily surface, which visibly transforms to become clear when heated. A custom made heating system is attached behind the mirror which activates via the ‘wind’ sensor through a micro-controller, results in a slow transformation of the surface from black to clear (Copper). The Dispersion Process takes 7-8 minutes, forcing the user to slow down and contemplate the man-made activities that are destroying our planet and the ways to love and restore it" Nila Rezaei.
Citco is a stone specialist from in Italy They have shown their incredible ability with designs by Zaha Hadid's studio in the past but this year have taken a group approach with work by some of designs biggest names such as Ora Ito, Arik Levy, Jean Nouvel, Daniel Libeskind, Ferruccio Laviani and of course Zaha Hadid Design. The cabinet on the left above is called 'Dama' and is by Stefano Bigi. The 'Ginevra' table is on the right. Don't overlook these are being made from carved marble............
Ora Ito's 'Venus' lounge carved from solid marble is a limited edition of 8 made by stone specialist Citco.
Gino Carollo's 'Origami' table for Bonaldo. Laser cut slabs of steel.
And just to prove it's not all hard-edged design and relentless seriousness, Studio Job and Seletti have teamed up to create what they refer to as "Fast Food Furniture". The Dutch duo of Job Smeets and Nynke Tynagel have revisited the Claes Oldenburg 'Floor Burger' of the 60's and created a 'Hotdog Sofa' and 'Hamburger Armchair' in its image - complete with pickled cucumber armrest and sliced tomato back cushion. Less in the McDonalds vein is their 'Tiffany Tree' lamp and 'Banana' lamp - billed as "affordable unlimited edition design". I wait with baited breath to see the real thing but in the mean time I have to be content with the studio's delightful sketches.
At the complete other end of the spectrum there are brands and studios that would rather die than produce something from synthetic materials or which might be seen as Pop Art inspired. There appears to be a growing interest in limited edition work worldwide and this is fueling a resurgence in exotic materials and traditional craftsmanship. It can border on conservative good taste but it also has the positive effect of maintaining industries that without this type of support would be disappearing.
L.A based Brazilian designer, Alexander Lamont, presents a new collection of furniture called Atlantica. The 'Copan' cabinet above uses shagreen - a sharks skin leather that has been part of French interiors since the 17th Century. Partnered here with hand-blown glass and cast bronze, the cabinet extolls the value of traditional rarified materials.
Stay tuned to Design daily in the coming weeks to receive more new design from Salone del Mobile and Milan Design Week.