The 17th edition of the Salone del Mobile in Milan, the most important international fair in the home furnishing sector and the Milanese event par excellence, like and perhaps even more than the fashion weeks for the impact it has not only on business but also on city life, which for one week becomes in all respects a showcase of innovation, excellence and design. The official event that is hosted in the Fiera di Rho is also accompanied by the so-called and much loved fuorisalone, scattered in various areas of the city.
HOW IT WAS BORN – Thus the Salone arrives at the 55esima edition: it was born as a bet in 1961 from the courageous intuition of a small group of furniture makers from the trade association Federlegno, with the intention of promoting the export of furniture and furnishing accessories of Italian manufacture and design, following the example of the exhibition Cologne Fair of fellow German furniture makers in Cologne. The starting point is the creation of the Cosmit, organizing committee of the event, while the chosen place can only be Milan, the country's economic capital, as well as a city with a trade fair since 1920. On 24 September 1961, the first edition of the Milan Furniture Fair was thus inaugurated, with 328 companies on a exhibition area of 11.860 square meters and the unexpected goal of 12.100 visitors, of which 800 from abroad.
HOW MANY PEOPLE IT INVOLVES – This year, more than half a century later, they are in the Rho exhibition centre More than 300 operators from 160 countries are expected, as well as 30 non-professional visitors arriving over the weekend, who will come to learn about the latest news from around 2.400 exhibiting companies, 30% of which are foreign. The edition opens under the sign of a general recovery of the sector (+3,5% compared to 2014, at 25 billion euro) and will focus in particular on the biennial exhibitions dedicated to the world of kitchens (Eurocucina FTK) and bathrooms (Bathroom), two sectors that more than the others suffered the repercussions of the crisis, but which in 2015 gave important signs of vitality, recovering both on the domestic market, thanks to the boost of the furniture bonus, and above all on foreign markets. This year the event is intertwined with the XXI International Triennial (also dedicated to design), inaugurated on 2 April and on stage until 12 September in 19 locations in the city.
FUORISALONE – For non-professional visitors and for many Milanese citizens, the most awaited moment, which takes place exactly in parallel with the fair, is certainly that of the Fuorisalone, also known as Milan Design Week that is, the Milan design week, scattered throughout the streets of the city and not organized by any body or managed by any central institutional body, but born spontaneously in the early eighties. The areas most affected are as always Zona Tortona, Brera Design District, Ventura Lambrate, Fabbrica del Vapore and Porta Romana, Sant'Ambrogio area, San Babila-Porta Venezia and Sarpi Bridge – Oriental Design Week. To be updated on all the events, just sign up Facebook page . or visit the site.
NOT TO BE MISSED - One of the stars of Fuorisalone 2016 is Maarten Baas, Dutch designer who returns to Milan with another of his provocative performances. After the circus set up in an abandoned garage, this time it lands in via Savona 33 with “New Newer Newest!”, an installation that reflects on the theme of novelty, deliberately contrasted with the speed with which (new) products are purchased in net. On show is the production process of a chair starting from the pressure of a mold on the trunk of a tree. Time of realization: 200 years.
A party within the party is that of Pride design: colorful and ironic, with a parade of design-themed floats that will cross the streets of the center, is the first pop parade of the Fuorisalone, organized by Seletti and Disaronno for Wednesday in the streets of the CinqueVie district. It starts at 19.30 from Piazza Cadorna, arriving in front of the Stock Exchange where the evening continues with the DJ set by Radio Dj for the presentation of the first Disaronno "Jar". Dozens of designers and brands Toiletpaper, Gufram, Pepsi participate in the float parade with a project by Fabio Novembre and Tempo.
Instead, they play with the concept of pattern and its infinite reproduction Israeli duo Raw Edges – born Yael Mer and Shay Alkalay – who this year occupy the Garage Sanremo in via Zecca Vecchia 3. Award-winning designers exhibited in the permanent collection of the MoMa in New York, at the Fuori Salone they bring a variation of the “Herringbones” project, the herringbone parquet that plays with colors created for the Stella McCartney stores.
Among the initiatives not to be missed are those in collaboration between fashion and design. Vogue Italia has selected the most interesting and among these the Visioni che project Luisa Beccaria (Fashion) and Coralla Maiuri (ceramics and design, pictured above) exhibit in Brera. One of the most fascinating locations of the Fuorisalone is theBrera Botanical Garden which this year hosts the installation “MyEquilibria”, an open-air gym designed by the designer Vito di Bari and created by Metalco Active, which winds through the centuries-old trees of the beautiful garden of the Academy of Fine Arts. The heart of the exhibition is a seven-metre-high tree with nine satellite islands where train up to 30 people. Also worth seeing is the tree designed by Stefano Boeri for 3M in the Material Village in via Tortona: an island of relaxation for the public.
Among the many things to report, the opening for the first time to the public of Palazzo Turati in via Meravigli 7, one of the offices of the Chamber of Commerce, recently restored. In Zona Tortona there is this year the original Japanese studio Yoy, formed by Naoki Ono and Yuki Yamamoto, which is on show for the first time at theFactory 31, in Via Tortona 31, with an exhibition that investigates new ways of interacting between space and objects.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT AND BICYCLES – For the occasion, as always, some services have been enhanced to allow Milanese and visitors to move around Milan more easily and fully enjoy the city. From the upgrading and extension of public transport hours Atm at BikeMi active 24 hours a day, up to the strengthening of Amsa's cleaning and waste bin emptying services. From 24 to 12 April Atm will enhance the subway service: on Saturday 17 April the urban service of the M16, M1, M2 and M3 lines will be extended until approximately 5 am. From Tuesday to Friday the M2 line will be strengthened and, in the evening, also the M1 line, which leads to the most lively neighborhoods from the Fuorisalone, such as via Tortona. Speaking of bike sharing instead, for the entire period of the Design Week the service of BikeMi will remain active 24 hours a day. On the occasion of the Fuorisalone Milan will present the first in this regard Cycling The Week, a route to move from the Ventura/Lambrate District to the Brera District, passing through Porta Venezia in Design. The bicycle as a symbol of this edition: Milan, as well as the capital of design, is increasingly confirming itself as the capital of sustainable mobility.
