"Fuorisalone is all of us, together, without imposed rules.” That is how Paolo Casati, Co-founder and Creative Director of Studiolabo describes the intention of Fuorisalone. Milan Design Week and all the districts and programmes that make up the week-long festivities have become a way to encourage community within creative practices. This year Fourisalone built on this idea of interconnection with Materia Natura, a central interpretative key hoping to give rise to new languages and visions. The theme prompts the city—and its temporary inhabitants—to radically rethink the relationship between humans and the environment they inhabit.

Materia Natura builds on the themes previously explored by Fuorisalone such as Forme dell'Abitare, Tra Spazio e Tempo and Laboratorio Futuro. It sets up a continuity of thought that speaks and values mindful design and culture. One of the most pertinent points of discussion at this time deals with sustainability making this year's theme even more in line with the contemporary creative and design process. The continuity of Fuorisalone and its evolution is further explored in the interview with Casati below which explains how “Milan is Fuorisalone, and Fuorisalone is Milan.”

Devanshi Shah: From the time Fuorisalone was set up to now, what is the biggest change people will see in this edition?

Paolo Casati: The beauty of Fuorisalone lies in its ability to continuously evolve while remaining true to its essence. From an organisational standpoint, the post-COVID effect that characterised the 2022 and 2023 editions, marked by proactive approaches and heightened efficiency, has waned. This year, we are witnessing a return to a less structured and more spontaneous organisational approach. However, this shift doesn't compromise quality; instead, it promises discoveries as we explore different areas of the city and venture beyond its geographical boundaries to places like Varedo (Monza and Brianza) with Alcova.

Expect to encounter fewer large-scale, sensational events tailored for mass audiences and more intimate gatherings with meticulous curation. Over time, we have seen a significant presence of fashion brands and a growing intersection with the art world, with installations aimed at engaging audiences rather than merely showcasing products or solutions.

Devanshi: What inspired the theme of Materia Natura? What do you think it says about our contemporary world?

Paolo: The theme Materia Natura emerges as a reflection of what we observed and experienced during the past design week, where nature took centre stage in various forms within the proposals of different companies. These diverse forms served as the inspiration to introduce the element of materiality, which is understood in its various aspects and becomes fundamental in the relationship with the project.

The word 'nature' is a strong reference to the most urgent and current issues of our present, emphasising the importance of promoting projects oriented towards increasingly sustainable and environmentally respectful solutions. At the same time, the word 'material' opens up and nourishes a natural dialogue with design, creative thinking, planning and the inclination to imagine infinite and possible transformations.

In essence, the theme Materia Natura proposes an evolution of the concepts addressed previously and becomes an extension of the themes from previous editions of Fuorisalone: Forms of Living / Between Space and Time and Future Lab, outlining a path that supports the values of a conscious design culture, speaking of sustainability without necessarily using the term.

Devanshi: The theme talks about creating a “conscious design culture.” Can you elaborate that?

Paolo: For us, promoting a culture of design is paramount, which means fostering a critical capacity that provides designers with the tools to tackle the challenges of our everyday lives. The theme serves as a pretext to promote lateral thinking, define objectives and stimulate suggestions from professionals tasked with designing our space and the general public, who must be creatively engaged on urgent issues.

Devanshi: Fuorisalone has commissioned POV by EX. and Giorgio Ferrero. Can you tell us more about the inspiration behind this commission?

Paolo: The involvement of Andrea Cassi and Michele Versaci—former members of the EX., a research and design group that operates at the intersection of art, landscape, technology, and architecture—along with Giorgio Ferrero (Mybosswas), stemmed from an idea by Nicola Ricciardi. The decision, aimed at making the concept behind Materia Natura even more pervasive, was shared by me and the Studiolabo team involved in the project. It emerged from the evaluation of how design and architecture serve as tools for dialogue, enabling the relationship between material and nature while placing humanity at the centre of this delicate interplay.

EX.'s experience with the development of the Bivacco Corradini/Black Body Mountain Shelter and the Bivacco Berrone provided insight into how their interdisciplinary vision could offer a significant contribution to the theme. The work POV, produced by them under the direction of Ferrero, affirmed this.

POV is a photographic and audio-visual work composed of five different scenarios investigating the fragile relationship between humans and the environment. It portrays a log of wood in Val Susa (Piedmont, Italy), a block of ice, a block of lava stone, a block of marble and a slate slab. These five elements - more than one to illustrate the multiplicity and complexity of material and nature—represent the impact of humans on the environment, bearing the marks of actions that transform natural material into an object, synthesising the manipulation of the element and highlighting the gap between human intervention and the natural component.

Finally, this process is shown through a different lens, with lights at ultraviolet frequencies invisible to the human eye, thus generating other images. In this dialogue, the world of science was also involved, as the three authors worked with UV lights to produce different colours corresponding to different wavelengths, expanding the theme of vision and challenging perspectives. The result is an artificial effect stemming from a natural principle.

Devanshi: Nicola Ricciardi curated the POV commission and is the Artistic Director of miart. Is there a potential future collaboration, considering miart takes place the week before Fuorisalone?

Paolo: The realms of art and design increasingly share common ground for activation and a language we could define as a hybrid, finding expression during the ten days dedicated to art and design in Milan. From this observation and the friendship and esteem I share with Ricciardi, the premises for a direct collaboration between miart and Fuorisalone was born.

Indeed, many contents originating from miart and designed to transcend into Milan Design Week have emerged, just as numerous Fuorisalone events feature art as a central theme. This is why we structured a collaboration aimed at producing content, routes and guides related to art in Milan during the design week, intending to promote cross-pollination between the two identities, offering Fuorisalone's vast audience quality content useful for discovering the city from different perspectives.

On Fuorisalone.it, visitors will find guides to selected Milanese galleries, Ricciardi's curated itineraries exploring exhibitions and locations across the city and lists of events involving artists or collectives within the Fuorisalone schedule.

I would say we shouldn't expect major innovations; the formula of Fuorisalone repeats itself, and this is its strength. – Paolo Casati

Devanshi: How would you define the role of Fuorisalone in Milan today? What do you see it growing into?

Paolo: Milan is Fuorisalone, and Fuorisalone is Milan. Milan is the capital of design because it has always been the stage where the best Italian and international architects, designers, and brands have been celebrated. With its design week, thanks to the Salone del Mobile and the Fuorisalone, Milan is effectively the most essential event for the international design community. During those days, it became a grand collective ritual devoted to networking and relationships.

I see various design and art formats emerging in Italy and around the world, each finding different modes of implementation without attempting to replicate the Milan model, which is practically impossible for many reasons. Each format carves out its own space, especially in the realm of collectible design. By reducing spaces and numbers, it finds its appropriate scope of application, not aiming for quantity but rather a select and restricted circle of operators and clients.

Milan doesn't compete with anyone in all of this; it continues its journey with its inherent freedom and independence. The collective ritual remains self-managed by the individuals involved because the true fortune of the model lies in its independence and lack of direction. Here, everyone can conceive and execute their projects and events without needing permission or authorisation from anyone. It's the public, all of us, that define success, coherence, and quality.

Fuorisalone is all of us, together, without imposed rules.

Devanshi: What is the biggest change or the most interesting addition people can expect to experience this year at Fuorisalone?

Paolo: I would say we shouldn't expect major innovations; the formula of Fuorisalone repeats itself, and this is its strength. Large spaces or city landmarks that were prominent in past editions may no longer be featured in the design week routes. However, as always, there will be new spaces and places, never seen before or renewed, that will be opened for the occasion.

If Alcova, after opening the spaces of the former Military Hospital of Baggio and the area of the former Milanese Slaughterhouse, experiments with two new locations this year outside the city in Varedo (province of Monza and Brianza) with Villa Borsani and Villa Bagatti Valsecchi, those from Baranzate Atelier will introduce visitors to a monumental industrial building from the 1950s, covering 7,300 square metres near Linate, at Via Gaudenzio Fantoli 16/3, with a programme ranging from art to collectible design and performances.

Ied (European Institute of Design) with THE GLITCH CAMP creates the first urban campsite for international students, occupying the area of the Enrico Cappelli Savorelli sports centre, Piazza Caduti del Lavoro, 5.

And still, Drop City reappears in the spaces of the warehouses connected beneath Central Station, Convey in the spaces of the Basic Village in Via dell’Aprile, Capsule Plaza in addition to Spazio Maiocchi in Via Maiocchi also proposes Corso Como 10—recently renovated—and Design Variation chooses Milan's Darsena, with a hidden place that retains the Milanese vocation for transformation into a 3000 square metre garage on two levels at number 14 of Viale Gorizia.

In short, let's say our visitors should expect to discover and rediscover Milan, interpreted by designers and companies in its different spaces.

Stay tuned to STIR's coverage of Milan Design Week 2024 which showcases the best of exhibitions, studios, designers, installations, brands and events to look out for. Explore EuroCucina and all the design districts—Fuorisalone, 5vie Design Week, Isola Design Week, Brera Design District and Porta Venezia Design District.