The Best of Salone del Mobile 2019: Dior, Missoni, Louis Vuitton, and More

Working in collaboration with French architect Arthur Mamou-Mani, fashion brand COS revealed a large-scale architectural installation entitled Conifera. On view in a 16th century palazzo, the installation was composed of 700 “bio-bricks,” which were 3D printed using renewable resources. Converging at a point between construction and design, the modular blocks interlock with one another to create giant sculptural pathways.

Tod’s No_Code project recognizes the current changes in our contemporary society, offering new solutions for the way we work, for our personal relationships, and for our constantly evolving style. In “No_Code Shelter: Stories of Contemporary Life,” Studio Andrea Caputo created an exploration of the history, background, and current meaning of a shelter through a series of eight documentary style videos, featuring names like Formafantasma, Chris Bangle, and Maurizio Cheli.Each personal video is accompanied by a complementing physical construction, each representing different codes and criteria for a typical shelter. The project also includes the No_Code Shoeker—a new category of footwear that brings together a classic shoe with a sport sneaker—designed by Yong Bae Seok.

Presented by Molteni&C, designer and creative director Vincent Van Duysen debuted his newest exploration of contemporary living, the modular Gregor seating system. Composed of a series of mix-and-match units, Gregor can be put together as one piece or reconfigured to fit an array of room layouts. The multi-purpose piece features a light design with a zinc finished steel base and a sophisticated contemporary aesthetic with polyurethane foam-filled cushions and wing-shaped armrests.

With Dimore Studio, Dior introduced a 14-piece collection of precious design objects. The Italian-American studio (founded by Emiliano Salci and Britt Moran)drew inspiration from Surrealism and Cubism—two of Christian Dior’s favored artistic movements—and created a selection of designs that play with a mixture of metals like gold, bronze, and silver, and employs clean lines and a hint of 18th century influence. The collection includes the “Basket” series, a smoked gray Plexiglas tray from the “Cubisme”series, and an umbrella stand cleverly titled Ceci n’es pas un vase (French for “This is Not a Vase”).

Missoni presented “Home Sweet Home,” an installation by Alessandra Roveda, in the brand’s space at via Solferino. For this special presentation, designer Roveda worked her magic to create a whimsical environment where rainbow crochets adorned the surface of a typical domestic environment. Friendly, soft cacti and gardening tools welcomed viewers on the outside of the “house,” made up entirely of a spectrum of crocheted yarn. And inside, every detail brought delight in kaleidoscopic textiles—right down to the basket of toast on the kitchen table.

Louis Vuitton debuted a large selection of furniture and design objects by various designers, like Raw Edges, Atelier Biagetti*, and Atelier Oi. Highlights included a yellow chair by Campana Brothers (nearly the perfect center of a great yellow dandelion) and the designs by Marcel Wanders—including a monochrome red sofa and chair, both sitting on bases made up of geometric lattice.