In Italy for Milan Design Week? Be sure to check out debuts from brands like Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Cassina, Flos, and more, on view at Salone del Mobile and in spaces around the city.
Courtesy of Henge.
Henge: “Beyond Matter”
Henge Showroom, Via della Spiga 34
Henge’s Milan showroom shares the presentation, “Beyond Matter,” featuring a new collection of furniture and lighting designs that are meant to complement one another when paired together or fit different aesthetics on their own. Inspired by all things new and unexpected, visitors will find the Via della Spiga space completely refreshed for the occasion of Milan Design Week. Here, featured pieces have been imagined in deep shades of gray and black, white marble, tactile upholstery in off-white or deep shades of eggplant, and more. Among our favorite debuts are the plushy Gentle sofa (including modular pieces that can be configured for spaces large and small), the Spyder X light, and the Muse coffee table.
Courtesy of MOOOI.
Moooi: “A Life Unexpected”
Salone dei Tessuti
Moooi’s “A Life Unexpected” takes visitors on an immersive experience of design, complete with soundscapes, AI fragrance activations, and new lighting and furniture pieces. At the presentation’s center, “Moooi x EveryHuman” is a bespoke room fragrance made with EveryHuman’s new and innovative AI scent design platform, inviting visitors to create their own personalized room scent in real-time or online. Also featured are designs like the Pallana light by IDEO, Nika Zupanc’s Knitty Lounge chair (featuring a surface reminiscent of an ultra-chunky knitted blanket), and a collaboration with LG OLED that merges technology and luxury through pieces like the Posé Easel television and the XBOOM 360 RP4 speakers.
Installation view, “Echoes: 50 Years of iMaestri,” photo by Agostino Osio, courtesy of Cassina.
Cassina: “Echoes: 50 years of Cassina iMaestri” and “The Cassina Perspective”
Palazzo Broggi and Cassina Showroom
Cassina has debuted two presentations for Milan Design Week. At Palazzo Broggi, located on via Tommaso Grossi 10, the house is celebrating half a century of the iMaestri collection with the exhibition “Echoes: 50 years of Cassina iMaestri.” Art director Patricia Urquiola and collaborator Federica Sala have conceived a stunning play on light and shadow that has been divided into five sections, aligned with the chapters of the newly-released Rizzoli publication Echoes (curated by Ivan Mietton) celebrating the design house’s approach. With thematic sections looking at themes like constant research, intuition, and the past and future, the immersive atmosphere finds visitors bathed in red light as they find themselves in a hidden bank vault, making their way through a display of design prototypes and artistic photos.
And at the showroom on Via Durini, Cassina is showing “The Cassina Perspective” collection. This includes additions to the house’s lighting collections by the likes of Philippe Starck and Paolo Ulian, the Moncloud seating system and Hayama cabinet by Patricia Urquiola, Barber Osgerby’s Tamburound small armchair, the Esosoft bed designed by Antonio Citterio, and more.
Photo ©Maxime Verret, courtesy of Hermès.
Hermès: “Collections for the Home”
Salone del Mobile
Hermès acknowledged the power of simplicity in its latest “Collections for the Home” line, which debuted at Salone del Mobile. The maison looked to the fundamentals of form and minimalism in all aspects of its presentation, which was enclosed in a cage-like geometric structure, powerfully showcasing designs that employed organic materials and a paired-down visual language. There were rugs, chairs, sofas, lamps, tableware, and objects—all imagined with the recognizable Hermès palette, clean lines, geometric motifs, and the occasional equestrian reference. Standout pieces included the Soufflé d’Hermès lamps by Harri Koskinen, which presented as colorful domes made from natural glass; the Ancelle d’Hermès armchair by Cecilie Manz, which bears a solid, light wood structural frame and a lightweight leather seat; and the Saut Hermès trio of porcelain plates, bearing different equestrian designs.
Flos, “Six Acts — My Circuit,” photo by Gianluca Bellomo.
Flos: “Six Acts — My Circuit”
Flos Professional Space
Michael Anastassiades has created for Flos a new track lighting system named My Circuit, which is being presented in the brand’s Corso Monforte showroom in the exhibition “Six Acts — My Circuit.” Here, a series of domestic vignettes demonstrate the endless possibilities for the system, which is meant to adapt to the functions of a room with an elegant track that becomes part of a beautiful design, as opposed to the less-than-aesthetic design of its predecessors. The presentation encompasses a series of activations and performances in collaboration with Fabio Cherstich taking place throughout the week and is accompanied by other lighting debuts, like the Skynest pendant by Marcel Wanders and a special edition of the Taccia lamp, originally created by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni in 1962.
Courtesy of Louis Vuitton.
Louis Vuitton: “Objets Nomades”
Palazzo Serbelloni
On view at the Palazzo Serbelloni, Louis Vuitton’s Milan Design Week introductions include new debuts to its “Objets Nomades” collection, a Cabinet of Curiosities by Marc Newson, and an installation of a pavilion by Marc Fornes. New to “Objets Nomades,” the maison has added 11 objects and furniture pieces by Atelier Oï, Campana Brothers, Studio Louis Vuitton, Zanellato/Bortotto, Marcel Wanders, Raw Edges, and Atelier Biagetti—including highlights like a mirrored cocoon chair, which hangs from the ceiling and reflects glittering fractals of light like a disco ball; the futuristic Binda armchair, made from a blend of rounded and sharp lines and a combination of leather and velvet; and the bubbling totem of handblown Italian glass making up the Flower Tower lamp. On display within its own environment, Newson’s Cabinet of Curiosities, sees the designer reconceptualizing the iconic form of the Louis Vuitton trunk into a display case with small leather cubes and shelves. Meanwhile, the nomadic pavilion by Fornes’s studio MARC FORNES / THEVERYMANY’s is a curious sight made of 1,600 individual aluminum sheets, assembled into a bubbly structure reminiscent of coral. Here, the maison will host activations throughout the week.
Mateo table by Vincent Van Duysen and artwork by Roberto Ruspoli, courtesy of Molteni&C.
Molteni&C: 2023 Collection
Molteni&C Showroom
Molteni&C invites us to picture a domicile dwelling of Ancient Rome, with its uncovered courtyards, inner portico, column adornments, and garden. This was the point of departure for Vincent Van Duysen when imagining the house’s 2023 collections, detailed by avant-garde notes taken from a Milanese house built and designed by Pier Giulio Magistretti in 1933. Connecting indoor and outdoor and intimate and private spaces, the collection’s natural materials (leather, glass, natural wood, and metals) and rich, earthen hues propose noble, uncomplicated pieces for the home, designed with the help of collaborators like Herzog & de Meuron, Naota Fukasawa, and Marta Ferri, who created the season’s fabrics. Now on view, the collection includes pieces like Mateo table, which includes a columnar base and a disc-like flat top; the Tuscany chaise longue, which features a chic reclined shape reminiscent of the region’s rolling hills; and the Cinnamon chair, which features a cushy rounded form that begs to be your next resting spot. The debuts can be seen with a backdrop commission painted by the artist Roberto Ruspoli, whose Virgil’s Dream was informed by the collection.
