Makers in a Palace. Future Court Suppliers?
ONE WEEK ABOUT Milan Design Week 2024
Day 4– report by Maarten Statius Muller
Fairs were once places where you could see a lot in a limited area within a short time. In Milan, this is called Salone del Mobile Milano. This fair requires considerable investments that are not feasible for many exhibitors. In recent years, there are more and more presentations in other places such as existing showrooms or temporary venues ranging from luxury presentations in the expensive city center or quirky presentations in alternative places outside the center that are more budget-friendly. This is called FuoriSalone Milano and together with Salone del Mobile it forms Milan Design Week.
Meanwhile, FuoriSalone is huge: in numbers of presentations but also the area has grown enormously with the result that more and more planning and travel is required. Milan Design Week has expanded to the point where the fair is an increasingly small part. If you are curious, want to discover a lot and your time is limited, this fragmentation can present a tough challenge with a lot of choice stress….
One of the perennial favorites in presentations of Dutch Design is Masterly – the Dutch in Milano. This takes place in the monumental Palazzo Giureconsulti next to the iconic Duomo in the heart of Milan. It is always a risk to present something new in a historic building with a rich past but the understated scenography is perfectly suited to it. Everything was well thought out by the Uniquole team: from concept, marketing to presentation: from beautiful floral arrangements to the tingling graphics by Opera Concept&Design.
Design is a very broad, diverse and complex field. The interfaces with interior design, architecture, fine art and fashion are increasing. Design weeks used to present mainly products by design labels and designers. Since 2000 more and more objects and since corona? more and more semi-finished products. In a palace I rather expect products and objects but at Masterly there are also more and more makers to be seen. Makers deserve a stage and diversity is good and important but together it becomes very diverse. Moreover, for several years now the HMC Wood & Furniture College has also been on display.
In any case, it would be great if every exhibitor flourishes and maybe even becomes a court supplier 🙂