During the Milan Design Week, visitors from around the world find themselves drowning in a sea of presentations, products, collections, events, meetings, dinners and parties. Even if one were to go about carefully selecting the best or potentially most interesting projects from the sizeable offerings, one is bound to get stuck in other situations and social calls. However, following the wandering eye, we happen to make some rather enjoyable detours and discover new initiatives that stay with us. Moreover, the appreciation or dislike of a specific exhibition or product also depends on its context: long lines, the crowd, the weather, the hurry: all affecting the overall mood and altering the perception of a project. So, let us not call this article a 'best of' list, but a selection of topics that beget reflection and correspond to several tropes and themes from personal research interests and affiliations. Think of it as a kind of diary, written at the end of long, manic days spent wandering around between Salone del Mobile.Milano and Fuorisalone.

The most experimental collectible design seduces Salone

I crossed the entire fair hoping to look at a new product that established an important point of contact between experimental design and industrial manufacturing. It happened to be found in the new sofa designed by the US designer Misha Kahn for Meritalia, a historic brand from Lombardy which, since the 1990s, has spread the philosophy of radical design in the upholstered furniture sector and was recently acquired by Italian Radical Design, a group founded by Sandra and Charley Vezza. It was certainly interesting to see a sofa by a designer born in 1989 dialoguing with the most iconic designs of Gaetano Pesce (who lived in New York, same as Kahn). The designer's approach with his current collection places imagination and non-conformity at the forefront, allowing for a touch of the irreverent in Kahn's process that includes a myriad of mediums including metal, glass, wood, textiles, resin, fiberglass, and cement. For me, this presentation also proved to be a small hope for a return to radicality in industrial design, and a possible passing of the baton between the recently deceased master and a new generation of designers that could learn a lot from him.

Many homages or reissues (more or less valuable)

Re-editions of modern design icons can be recounted to be a recent phenomenon, mainly due to our ever-increasing Retromania. However, in my opinion, it also comes to reflect a lack of courage on the part of companies. Even this year, there were several such examples around, ranging from truly exciting and in reverence, to slightly discernible reinterpretations.

At Spazio Maiocchi, the location hosting the Capsule Plaza platform, there was a 'homage' to the Saratoga sofa, a masterpiece designed by Lella and Massimo Vignelli for Poltronova in 1964. Designer Harry Nuriev was roped in to "imbue this timeless design with novel aesthetic and material qualities". The designer – of Russian origin but based between New York and Paris – applies his fashionable aesthetics that could have drawn much appreciation from Balenciaga to the Saratoga collection: he wraps the otherwise upholstered furniture in what look like bags for refuse (but biodegradable). More than an homage, the project toes a line between precarity and provocation.

Another project that seems to draw on the same subversive materiality for classic works is the interpretation of Le Corbusier’s celebrated LC2 Armchair by architect Paul Cournet, who was invited by Design Space AlUla – AlUla’s first permanent design gallery – to reinterpret Saudi Arabia's cultural and natural heritage. Cournet replaces the classic leather-covered cushions with unfinished earthen blocks. The juxtaposition between the chrome-plated metal tubing and the raw materiality of the earth is interesting, but yet again, the project's intention to either critique modern design or invite viewers to "decolonise" design practices (a theme that has been in vogue in recent years), or both, isn't entirely clear, or doesn't rise above the rather momentary quality of a provocative display. More than either, it comes across as an exercise in style foremost, making the end result itself slightly inconsistent with the conversations it hopes to ignite.

A project I truly did appreciate was Design Ancora, a Gucci initiative – conceived by new creative director De Sarno – in collaboration with Acerbis, cc-tapis, FontanaArte, Tacchini, and Venini. Gucci presents reissues of five products by some of the most celebrated Italian designers and architects of the past five decades: Gae Aulenti, Mario Bellini, Piero Castiglioni, Tobia Scarpa, and Nanda Vigo – as well as proposing a new rug by Nicolò Castellini Baldissera, inspired by the patterns of his great-grandfather, architect Piero Portaluppi. De Sarno’s decision to revive design as part of Gucci’s gene pool feels both personal and strategic: Italian designers have been global trailblazers since the 1950s, and the pieces De Sarno has selected are still produced by Italian companies. A perfect blend of “iconicity” and “Italian-ness,” Design Ancora will be sold as a special edition after the end of the Salone.

The discovery of forgotten places

Exploring the city and discovering venues that are difficult to access is a key component of Milan Design Week. Over the years, I have discovered not only many historic buildings in the centre and wonderful courtyards in Brera, but also various former industrial architectures and abandoned buildings in the suburbs. The success of Alcova may also be attributed in part to this factor: the exhibitions are conceived as experiences in dialogue with the context they temporarily invade. This year especially, a number of new architectural frontiers take the limelight, thanks to special projects that explore the theme in different ways.

The Bagno Diurno project takes visitors to a mysterious and fascinating place: the Ex Casa dell'Acqua, at the Parco Trotter in Milan. The venue comprises public and daytime baths, spaces that tell us how the dimensions of care and community have completely changed. Studiolatte and Finemateria, in collaboration with Inabita, have transformed the 19th-century building through site-specific installations and performance activities of various kinds. Particularly intense was the musical performance by singer Marta Del Grandi, who imagined taking the first bath of the season in the forgotten pool of the Ex Casa dell’Acqua, reawakening the ancient memories and history of the place.

The performative dimension of design

The intermingling of different artistic languages is certainly one of the themes I follow with greatest interest. The dialogue between design and performance, specifically I believe, is one of the most interesting trends of recent years. Among the studios that best interpret this philosophy is Lemonot, which presents a performative, suspended and inhabitable sculpture at BASE Milano through their project Talamo, an ancient term with multiple meanings. Since classical times, it has alluded to the bridal chamber, and in literature and poetry, by extension, the nuptial bed. Lemonot has designed a soft, fluid landscape, constantly changing shape due to its movement between the floor and ceiling, moulded by the force of gravity and interactions with the most disparate bodies which alter, or indeed define, its topography.

I found a similar ethos in 'We Mediterranean', an initiative curated by journalist Paola Carimati with Matilde Cassani Studio, Francesca Lanzavecchia, Sex & The City, Studio Ossidiana and Piovenefabi. The 'We Mediterranean' project is conceived as an itinerant event with the idea of building bridges – “a common home” – between the different cultures that populate the Mediterranean. At Drop City, they present an installation that would, however, lose its meaning if it were not activated by daily activities: discussions, performances, readings and convivial moments.

(Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position of STIR or its Editors.)

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.