Milan 2011: Fuorisalone trends

Thursday 14 April 2011

designlabel Vij5 at Venture Lambrate, Milan 2011
WGSN-homebuildlife highlights the emerging trends seen at the off-fair districts of Milan Design Week (Fuorisalone) including Zona Tortona, Venture Lambrate and Brera.

Stone: Stoneware is the material of the moment. Smooth, sculptural marble furniture and tableware was seen at +Stone and Marsotto, while mineral composites were seen at Cappelini. In contrast, rough, elemental forms were offered at Studio Toogood and Nilufar. After the recent trend for raw, unfinished clay and wooden products, the strong presence of stone shows a development in the trend for reconnecting with nature through the earth and the elements

Under wraps: Highlighted as an emerging trend by WGSN last month, furniture and accessories that have been bound with lengths of thread or rope are a prominent trend at both Zona Tortona and Brera. Combining functionality with decoration and upcycling with craft, designers exhibiting at Boffi in Brera chose to wrap parcel tape around a tubular steel chair frame to provide a innovative and upcycled seating solution

Super simple: One of the prevailing trends at both Zona Tortona and Ventura Lambrate is for unadorned, simple furniture with a homemade twist. Seats, tables, lighting and decorative accessories are minimal in both form and construction; materials used are sturdy and durable. The overall impression is of furniture that will last, and that can be repaired easily – tying into both the current resurgence of craft, and the increasing desire for authenticity amongst consumers

WGSN-homebuildlife subscribers can read our full live report from Fuorisalone here.