Le FRENCH DESIGN to display the best of French creativity at Milan Design Week 2022

From June 7-12, at the Institut français Milano, Le FRENCH DESIGN - a platform promoting the best in French furniture and interior design - will showcase Voyage en Intérieur, Le French Art de Vivre (A journey into the interiors, the French art of living) to commemorate the 60^th edition of Salone del Mobile.Milano. As part of the programming at 5vie Design Week, the exhibition will highlight the self-produced works of a cohort of French designers who were chosen as winners of the second edition of Le FRENCH DESIGN 100 - a biennial design awards ceremony organised by the platform. In essence, the purpose of this initiative is to identify the 100 best objects and spaces that exemplify the pinnacle of what French design has to offer. Following its showing at Milan Design Week 2022, the exhibition's second leg will take place at Le FRENCH DESIGN Gallery in Paris from June 22 till July 20.

As the only design award in France that casts a spotlight on the immense creativity and international influence of French designers, Le FRENCH DESIGN 100 celebrates both established names and upcoming talents based on their ability to best represent the core values of French design. Besides its role as the awards' parent body, Le FRENCH DESIGN is a major player in the development of emerging French brands, propagating the canon of French design and lifestyles across the world through exhibitions, conferences, and a strong online presence.

The organisation also aids newer companies in their creative transformations through the promotion and incubation of their ventures. Finally, it analyses trends in modern-day lifestyles while facilitating studies and projects borne of collaborations between practitioners from a wide range of disciplines to imagine the living environments of the future. It is affiliated with VIA (Valorisation de l’Innovation dans l’Ameublement – Promotion of Innovation in Furniture Design), a discussion platform and exhibition venue established in 1979 by CODIFAB (Committee for Development of the French Furniture and Wood Industries), in association with the Ministry of Industry to promote creation and innovation in the domains of home and professional lifestyle design as well as furniture.

In this regard, the work on show at the exhibition during Milan Design Week will offer a curated view of the richness of France's design sector as a whole. This extends from its considerations of sustainability, to the many essential artisanal and industrial skills associated with it, the diversity of its functions, as well as the role of bespoke creations for the hospitality, retail, and residential sectors. In doing so, the organisers hope to draw attention to what they perceive to be a renewed air of dynamism in the context of French design.

Designers displaying their work at the event include prominent figures such as India Mahdavi, Jean-Michel Wilmotte, Laura Gonzalez, Bruno Moinard Editions, Charles Zana, Gilles & Boissier, Humbert & Poyet, Le Berre Vevaud, Isabelle Stanislas, Studio Catoir, studio razavi architecture, Suduca & Merillou, Ludovic Roth, Maison Dada, Margaux Keller, Pierre Gonalons, Pool Studio, Reda Amalou, Thierry Lemaire, and Tristan Auer. From sculptural lighting and product design pieces to innovative furniture designs and interior projects, the elegance, heterogeneity, keen sensitivity to material qualities and reverence for craftsmanship in France’s design scene will be on display for all those visiting the exhibition.

The exhibition will also pair the design pieces on show with an assortment of contemporary artworks, chosen by a trio of eminent Milanese galleries proposed by Isabelle Valembras - Dahirel, Art & Design Consultant - Monica De Cardenas, Antonia Jannone and Viasaterna. Paying heed to French design traditions, which possess a lengthy history extending as far back as the 18^th century, the dialogue between the design objects and art pieces is meant to reference the ties between French art and design that have existed throughout their parallel evolution, emphasising their uniqueness within the larger global contexts of both fields.

Hence, the showcase will also pair the wares of the aforementioned practitioners with the work of artists including Elena Ricci and Alessandro Calabrese, represented by the gallery Viasaterna; Gianluca Di Pasquale, represented by the gallery Monica De Cardenas; and Velasco Vitali, represented by the gallery Antonia Jannone. It is this very dialogue between art and design that elevates the scope of the exhibition, combining threads throughout the years that have shaped the face of French design as we know it, while giving due attention to the distinctive values that have set it apart from design communities in other parts of the world.

STIR takes you on a Milanese sojourn! Experience Salone del Mobile and all the design districts - 5vie, Brera, Fuorisalone, Isola, Zona Tortona, and Durini - with us. STIR’s coverage of Milan Design Week 2022, Meanwhile in Milan showcases the best exhibits, moods, studios, events, and folks to look out for. We are also excited to announce our very own STIR press booth at Salone del Mobile - Hall 5/7 S.14, Fiera Milano RHO.