Vieni a vedere, Bottega Veneta’s presentation during Salone del Mobile Milano, 2023. Photos: courtesy Bottega Veneta
Bottega Veneta
In Milan this year, Bottega Veneta collaborated with architect/designer/artist Gaetano Pesce to create the unique installation Vieni a vedere. Pesce utilized resin and fabric to form a narrow, cave-like structure, inside which visitors discovered Bottega Veneta’s signature Intrecciato handbag reimagined by the artist. Inspired by the mountains and prairies of Pesce’s past and present, each bag was individually painted with an airbrush technique to resemble a landscape in the artist’s life.
Echoes: 50 Years of iMaestri, Cassina’s presentation during Salone del Mobile Milano, 2023. Photos: courtesy Cassina
Cassina
For their Milan presentation, titled Echoes: 50 Years of iMaestri, Cassina brought in art director Patricia Urquiola with Federica Sala to curate a historical exhibition dedicated to the industrial development and design processes of some of Cassina’s most iconic pieces. Presented at Palazzo Broggi, Echoes: 50 Years of iMaestri was divided into five sections, mirroring the five chapters of the forthcoming book of the same title from Rizzoli, and unified through the use of the distinctive red of Cassina’s brand. The exhibition included historic pieces like Charlotte Perriand’s Banquette méandre, which Cassina reconstructed in 2012 for the Perriand retrospective at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris.
The Scoora lantern, designed by Hoffmann Kahleyss Design, introduced by Dedon during Salone del Mobile Milano, 2023. Photo: courtesy Dedon
Dedon
Founded in 1990, Dedon has maintained a commitment to collaboration as the beating heart of their engagement with furniture and design. During Salone, Dedon introduced their 2023 “novelties” in an exhibition entitled Spirit of Design: Inspired by Nature in Milan’s Garden Senato. Focusing on new fiber technologies, the presentation included the Scoora lantern by Hoffmann Kahleyss Design, the Cirql Nu chair by Werner Aisslinger, the Eqlips screen by Henrik Pedersen, the Papyon chair by Arnd Küchel, the Kida chair by Stephen Burks, the Leaf beach chair by Frank Ligthart, and the Ombii lamp by Dedon Studio.
Dior by Starck, Dior’s presentation during Salone del Mobile Milano, 2023. Photos: courtesy Dior
Dior
Dior by Starck is a collaboration between Dior Maison and Philippe Starck. For their first project together, in 2022, the French designer worked with the fashion house to create the Miss Dior armchair. This year, during Salone, Dior by Starck debuted its sibling, Monsieur Dior, the next chapter in the evolution of the Louis XVI medallion chair—a Dior icon since 1947. Starck sees the two designs as the balance of “masculinity and femininity . . . gravity and levity.” These qualities were on display at the Palazzo Citterio through a video and musical installation by Soundwalk Collective, as well as sculptural presentations of the chairs on platforms and suspensions.
Thinking Design, Making Design: Type-V Nature Architects Project, Issey Miyake’s presentation during Salone del Mobile Milano, 2023. Photos: courtesy Issey Miyake
Issey Miyake
In Milan, Issey Miyake presented Thinking Design, Making Design: Type-V Nature Architects Project, showcasing A-POC ABLE Issey Miyake’s latest collaborative project with the spin-off engineering design company Nature Architects that looks at design’s role in structure, materiality, and production. The exhibition featured prototypes of jackets, dresses, and furniture pieces, all made from one piece of fabric through A-POC ABLE Issey Miyake’s original “steam-stretch” technology.
Photos: courtesy Ligne Roset
Ligne Roset
Ligne Roset introduced their new collection during Salone, with an exhibition entitled Chiaroscuro. Designed by the company’s interior architect, Aurélie Rebmann, the exhibition showcased a range of tables, seats, and shelves by designers including Marie Christine Dorner, Michel Ducaroy, Philippe Nigro, and Christian Werner. The collection’s materials span marble, brass, dark walnut, and foam cushions blending diverse colors and styles to propose new interpretations of historic designs.
Loewe Chairs, Loewe’s presentation during Salone del Mobile Milano, 2023. Photos: courtesy Loewe
Loewe
In the courtyard of Palazzo Isimbardi, Loewe showcased the protagonist of its latest project, the humble chair. Loewe Chairs brought in artisans to reimagine what once were considered rustic objects and transform them into colorful and whimsical one-of-a-kind items. The presentation included thirty stick chairs, both antique and newly crafted by British firm Westonbirt Woodworks, and eight paper loom chairs created by Belgian company Vincent Sheppard, all embellished with a different weaving technique, in various materials such as leather, raffia, shearling, and felt, among others.
Cabinet of Curiosities, Louis Vuitton’s presentation during Salone del Mobile Milano, 2023. Photos: courtesy Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton
Continuing their long-standing partnership, Louis Vuitton and Marc Newson collaborated to present the Cabinet of Curiosities. Newson’s reworking of the quintessential Vuitton travel trunk utilizes leather-covered cubes in three sizes to transform this iconic piece into a new field of use and design.
Molteni & C’s presentation during Salone del Mobile Milano, 2023. Photos: courtesy Molteni & C
Molteni & C
For Milan Design Week, Molteni & C and the brand’s creative director, Vincent Van Duysen, invited visitors to experience the company’s production center and pavilion in Giussano. There, guests could view new designs—including the Mateo table by Van Duysen and the Tuscany chaise longue by Naoto Fukasawa—against the backdrop of artist Roberto Ruspoli’s mural Virgilio’s Dream. The surrounding grounds and courtyard, drawing from the ancient Roman domus, elucidated the connections of indoor and outdoor, private and public space.
Poikilos: New forms of iridescence, a show by Objects of Common Interest at Nilufar Depot, curated by Studio Vedèt. Photos: courtesy Nilufar
Nilufar
Throughout Nilufar Gallery’s spaces sprawled The Bright Side of Design, an exhibition of old masters and contemporary creators. From Osvaldo Borsani’s twentieth-century modernism to Draga & Aurel’s futurist Space Couture presentation, Nilufar Gallery’s selection looked both backward and forward. Taking the intergalactic to the fantastic, the presentation also included the site-specific installation Poikilos, on the themes of light and magic.
Perceptions, Poliform’s presentation during Salone del Mobile Milano, 2023. Photos: courtesy Poliform
Poliform
In the courtyard of Milan’s San Simpliciano cloisters, Poliform debuted their new collection of outdoor furniture. The presentation, entitled Perceptions, sought to enrich discourses around design’s relationship with ecology through new work by designers such as Emmanuel Gallina, Jean-Marie Massaud, Soo Chan, and Marcel Wanders. The installation featured a symphony composed by Caterina Barbieri, lending the collection a sonic element.
Prada Frames symposium during Salone del Mobile Milano 2023. Photos: courtesy Prada
Prada
Held at Teatro Filodrammatici, this year’s Prada Frames symposium investigated the theme Materials in Flux. Inspired by the research of British anthropologist Tim Ingold, who views materials as interconnected, endlessly changing living entities, the conversations centered on Prada’s exploration of opportunities for low-impact production using innovative materials. The symposium’s aim was to explore the concept of waste, investigate the dynamics that regulate waste infrastructure and their value systems, and analyze the complex relations between materials and ecosystems. The program brought together scholars and professionals from various fields of research, including Beatriz Colomina, Sophie Chao, Tim Ingold, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Elizabeth Povinelli, and Mark Wigley.
BomBom Outdoor, Roche Bobois’s presentation during Salone del Mobile Milano, 2023. Photos: courtesy Roche Bobois
Roche Bobois
Debuting their new collaboration with artist Joana Vasconcelos, Roche Bobois presented BomBom Outdoor during this year’s Salone. Based in Lisbon, Vasconcelos has exhibited her artwork internationally, primarily utilizing textiles in her sculptural interventions. Her singular aesthetic served as the launching pad for these fluid, organically shaped sofas, rugs, and cushions, all designed for outdoor use. Inspired by the colorway of Lisbon’s Old Town, a combination of pastels and sunset tones bring the artist’s and Roche Bobois’s DNA to a surreal, eye-catching collection.
