Milano Design City is the city’s quest to restart through design, a ten-day event with new projects, exhibitions and openings by local and international design players

As part of ths two-week event is the opening of Dimoremilano’s new spaces, presented through an elegant apartment in Milan’s via Solferino. Through an installation titled Solo, the works of modern masters blend with contemporary designs in an evocative dialogue between styles. Photography: Silvia Rivoltella

Earlier this year, Milan became the first European city to be hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, which forced the cancellation of all design events (including Salone del Mobile and Fuorisalone). Through collective creative and entrepreneurial initiatives (such as a manifesto drafted by nine Italian furniture companies titled ’Design Doesn’t Give up’), the design community has continued to foster engaging conversations and develop new projects, a series of efforts that are now erupting in an off-season design event supported by the City of Milan and Fuorisalone. Titled Milano Design City, the two-week initiative features a series of showroom openings, launches, debates and events (both physical and digital) that very much feel like the city has re-gained its creative energy.

Brassless by Nilufar

BRASSLESS: New Accords for the Metallic Wave, is a show curated by Studio Vedèt as part of the ongoing FAR series that sees Nilufar Gallery being taken over by a generation of young designers. Set in the spaces of Nilufar Depot’s Caveau, the exhibition includes works by Odd Matter, Objects of Common Interest (pictured) and Destroyers / Builders with a special contribution by Martino Gamper. As the title suggests, the group show is a provocative stance against the ubiquitous metal that has been popping up everywhere in design (Nilufar included), celebrating material diversity.

Viale Vincenzo Lancetti, 34

Tropical Milan by Erez Nevi Pana

Erez Nevi Pana’s body work is entirely dedicated to the exploration of alternative, ethical materials that can serve our everyday manufacturing needs. After an exhibition exploring vegan design in 2018, the Israeli designer collaborated once again with Milanese curator Maria Cristina Didero to go one step further, growing his own design materials (namely, banana tress he could source fibers from). His project Tropical Milan includes a film that portrays a futuristic dystopia, a narrative in which the city becoming a jungle, and a capsule collection of three furniture pieces (a bag chair, a rocking chair and a hammock), made of banana fibre grown by Nevi Pana, that represents the designer’s optimistic reaction to that future vision.

Via Cesare Correnti, 14

1+1+1 at Assab One

Now in its fourth edition, Assab One’s 1+1+1 exhibition format brings together the work of creatives from different fields under one roof. Curated by Federica Sala, this year’s exhibition features new works by Michele De Lucchi in collaboration with AMDL Circle (who also designed a logo for the project), contemporary artist Loris Cecchini and design consultancy Pentagram, participating to the project with the collective name & Friends. For the occasion, Cecchini created a web of modular organic structures, De Lucchi used large-scale rugs to create architectural structures, and Pentagram partner and writer Naresh Ramchandani collaborated with over 20 different creatives on a series of Home Poems. Created in London during lockdown, Ramchandani’s collective project is based on finding poetry and joy in everyday life: a playful punctuation to the exhibition that demonstrates how humour is a much needed element in our lives. Curator Federica Sala was inspired by the traditionally choral nature of the exhibition, giving communities a unified voice.

Until 14 November. Via Privata Assab, 1

Latteria by Keiji Takeuchi for Fucina

MEGA, Piazza Vetra 21

Norwegian designer Daniel Rybakken’s way with light features a mix of technical precision and poetic imagination. His new project for LucePlan is a slender lighting panel (that can be applied to walls or ceilings alike), based on his recurring modus operandi of a ‘geometry of light’. The Cassette’s rigorous form is a pleasant contrast with the depth of Rybakken’s design thinking focused on the fascinating effects of light on an environment. Corso Monforte, 7

A corner of Dimoregallery’s [fil] NOIR project, based on an aesthetic that is ’material, theatrical and kaleidoscopical’.Via Solferino, 11. Photography: Silvia Rivoltella

A corner of Porro’s showroom featuring a dining scene which includes Gabriele and Oscar Buratti’s Jeff table with GamFratesi’s Voyage chairs. Via Durini, 15

Ever pushing the boundaries of marble manufacturing, Salvatori present Piero Lissoni’s Curl chaise, which was created using cutting-edge technologies to remove superfluous material leaving a slender design. The Italian designer was inspired by Michelangelo’s approach to sculpture, which combined an engineering perspective with an elegant silhouette. Via Solferino, 11

Designer Ferruccio Laviani created an installation for Foscarini’s showroom. ’Every time I think about new displays for Foscarini, I do it as if I had to create an installation inside a gallery,’ explains the designer. ’For this occasion, I have imagined a free, empty space where elements in natural wood fill the setting, creating pathways between abstract, almost childish forms that multiply in space, becoming simultaneously dividers and backdrops between one lamp and the next.’ Corso Monforte, 19

Mario Cucinella’s Flexia lamps were one of the focus products of Artemide’s Corso Monforte installation. Inspired by papyrus folding and origami techniques, Flexia combines Artemide’s lighting expertise with Cucinella’s focus on a sustainable and holistic approach. The lamp’s flexible wings include a light-diffusing surface as well as acoustic panels, a demonstration of the company’s multilayered attitude towards lighting products. A decisive sustainable stance is at the heart of this project, which features recycled fibres, textiles made from PET bottles and an internal panel made from waste materials. Corso Monforte, 19

Moroso presented an installation titled Glowing Fall, featuring new pieces including Patricia Urquiola’s Ruff armchair (pictured), a threedimensional experiment in binary geometry. Via Pontaccio, 8. Photography: Leonardo Duggento

Since 2011, Giorgetti Atelier presents a new domestic interpretation to the company’s sleek collections. This year’s new setting celebrates some of its latest exclusive design collaborations including the Host bar cabinet by New York-based hospitality designer Adam D. Tihany (pictured). Via Serbelloni, 14

Calvi Brambilla created an immersive atmosphere for Flos’ professional space, dedicated to showcasing the company’s contract solutions. Here, the installation features Vincent Van Duysen’s Infra-Structure Episode 2 system, which is accompanies by B&B Italia’s re-edition of the Camaleonda sofa by Mario Bellini. Corso Monforte, 15

Presented under the MiArt aegis with an exhibition that blends art and design is the late designer Alessandro Mendini’s Tre Primitivi project for Italian surface manufacturer Alpi. Featuring three large-scale pieces of furniture, the collection is made using a rendition of Mendini’s first project for Alpi, a 1991 design inspired by pointillisme. The designer’s furniture is shown in conversation with artist Andrea Sala’s threedimensional work with an exhibition titled Lucido, ancora più lucido, in collaboration with Galleria Luisa delle Piane. Schiavo Zoppelli Gallery, Via Martiri Oscuri, 22. Photography: Andrea Rossetti

ITALIAN DESIGN MILAN EXHIBITIONS FEATURES