Milan Design Week 2024: 20 Highlights from Salone del Mobile and Beyond

In just six years, Alcova has broken out from the pack of Salone satellite fairs to be in a league of its own. Always staged at an architecturally important location, usually off the beaten path but invariably worth the schlep, this year's edition took a noticeably more elegant approach by setting up at a pair of modernist buildings in nearby Varedo, Villa Borsani and Villa Bagatti Valsecchi. Borsani, today the home of the archives belong to the famed architect Osvaldo Borsani, boasts a stunning early fireplace by the artist Lucio Fontana, whose father, Luigi, co-founded FontanaArte with Gio Ponti. It's hard to stand out next to such a work, but the young Colombian designer Lucía Echavarría managed it with exquisite craftsmanship, styling the property's living room with a collection of 120 one-of-a-kind pieces, including seating, lighting, and screens. Echavarría started out with an accessories label known for its headpieces, and she's translated her signature materials, like tamo straw, to make lamps and side tables with a marquetry technique known as enchape de tamo. Working with the Mayfair gallery 32 St. George at LAMB, this was Echavarría's second showing of her furniture designs. — EM

The Nilufar Gallery on Via della Spiga glows at night these days. A blood-red octopus hangs from the ceiling, casting a sinister light on passersby. It is a striking lamp (pictured) by Christian Pellizzari, who started out in fashion and has now turned his attention to design. For Nilufar, he created a new collection of ceiling, wall and floor lamps drawing on the natural world, in this case not a cephalopod but plant life he noticed in Tangier during early morning strolls. He showed Nilufar founder Nina Yashar prototypes in various colors, and naturally she went with a deep, dramatic red. Elsewhere in the gallery, Joe Armitage's muscular chandelier looms large in the Senato room, where the moody Lantern Stack series by New York-based Brit Anna Karlin nicely matches the sensual lines of the Crown sofa by Gal Gaon. Meanwhile, the Como-based atelier Draga & Aurel turned Chez Nina into its own planet, with resin and lucite tables and poufs in futuristic, cotton-candy shades evoking a whimsical, extraterrestrial world somewhere between Terry Gilliam and Wall-E. — EM

It speaks to the quiet elegance of the Italian furniture company Molteni&C that in its 90 years it had never published a comprehensive book touting its rich history. That changes this September with the publication of Molteni Mondo: an Italian Design Story by T&C contributing editor of design and architecture Spencer Bailey, who has wrangled a who's who of devotees for the project, including Pritzker Prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel, who wrote the foreword. He is among the design eminences who have added to the legacy of the brand, including Jacques Herzog, Tobia Scarpa, and Patricia Urquiola—Molteni also produces a Gio Ponti collection in collaboration with the Ponti archive. At the fairgrounds, where Molteni always commands impressive real estate, creative director Vincent Van Duysen evolved signature pieces, like the Augusto sofa (seen here), which is now available as a modular system. In other words, to forge a path forward, Molteni looked to the past. There's a lesson in that for all. — EM

Ralph Lauren’s presence in Milan goes back far, and became permanent when the brand moved into Casa Campanini-Bonomi in 1999. Today, it is better known as Palazzo Ralph Lauren, and it’s been typically used to show menswear collections and other trade appointments. That is until a Ralph Lauren Home Fall 2022 collection that was inspired by the 12,000-square-foot Rationalist gem on Via S. Barnaba. Since, the label’s been more eager to show off its outpost in the design capital of the world, and it was there that the Fall 2024 home collection was unveiled. Called Modern Driver, it is inspired by the founder’s “longtime passion for the beauty of the automobile.” Cars are never far from a Ralph Lauren mood board. In fact, its 2003 RL-CF1 chair is based on the designer’s own McLaren F1 race car. Here, the technology that’s used to develop Formula 1 cars is put at the service of sleek furniture craftsmanship. More importantly, the collection was the first to debut under the auspices of a longterm strategic partnership with the manufacturer Haworth Lifestyle Design, which will enhance Ralph's made-in-Italy production power. — EM

The British fashion designer Boateng Ozwald enjoys a multifaceted practice known for its tailoring that has also seen him dip his toes in costume design and various collaborations, most notably with British Airlines. But in 30 years he had never tried his hand at furniture design. That changed when the Italian heritage house Poltrona Frau approached him for a partnership that made its debut in November. Now, he has added new pieces to the line-up, including armchairs, like the Martha and the Ginger, that mine the designer's Ghanaian heritage. Poltrona enlisted the help of other A-listers for its Salone berth, including an inaugural collection with another Brit, Faye Toogood, who seems to be everywhere in Milano—she also worked on a furniture capsule for Tacchini and a rug collection for cc-tapis. Her contribution for Poltrona, Squash (pictured), includes an armchair, side table, carpeting and a mirror that's immediately recognizable as a Toogood. — EM

How does an online Italian design retailer with over 1,500 different designers put on a show for the Fuorisalone? Placing a fraction of them within a mansion that was built between 1905 and 1907 and was the former home of an Austrian prince. Titled, l'Appartamento, Artemest invited six design firms—Elicyon, Gachot, Rottet Studio, Studio Meshary AlNassar, Tamara Feldman Design, and VSHD Design— to transform various rooms with their signature styles. For Ippolita Rostagno, Artemest's founder and creative director, it's a thoughtful way to "celebrate authentic Italian beauty." For visitors, it's an easier way to shop in bulk. — IM

Loewe's eighth presentation during Milan Design Week was its most ambitious showing yet, with 24 international artists showing their interpretations of the humble lamp at Palazzo Citterio. Genta Ishizuka, the winner of the Loewe Foundation's Craft Prize in 2019, created a piece finished with layers of glossy lacquer that emits a gentle glow. Dame Magdalene Odundo's lamp, a departure from the burnished vases the artist is known for, sees sheets of leather protrude from a central ceramic column. The brand is also offering a collection of homewares and bespoke designs created in collaboration with the artists. Bamboo artist Hafu Matsumoto, for example, reinterpreted Loewe's Puzzle and Hammock bags. — IM

Long gone are the days when neutral-colored bathrooms reigned supreme—at least, according to Kohler's booth at the Salone fair. Instead, the brand, working with the design studio Yabu Pushelberg, opted for whimsy with a collection that exploded with color and energy. Curiously, the lighting design for the presentation was inspired by the circadian rhythm, allowing the "natural hues of the sun to guide the flow of visitors in the space." — IM

Designer Samuel Accoceberry splits his time between Paris and the elegant seaside town of Biarritz in the South of France. Naturally, sea life imagery figures prominently in his work. Now for a collaboration with Pierre Frey, Accocebarry has introduced the Callista line: an armchair and sofa inspired by the often-referenced sea mollusk. Its curved arms and back envelop those who take a seat, offering a sense of protection and comfort. — IM

Cini Boeri, who died three years ago, is often remembered as one of the great pioneering women in Italian design and architecture. Could it be that she might be the mother of modular furniture? Aside from the Ghost Chair (1987), a product of Boeri melding a single glass sheet cut and bent to form a curvaceous chair, Boeri also created the Serpentone (1967), a sofa that could be literally bought "by the meter" and Bobo armchairs and sofa that was offered in four sizes to accommodate a user's desired level of mobility. For what would've been her 100th birthday, Loro Piana paid homage to Boeri by outfitting some of her most notable designs in the brand's most exclusive interior fabrics so that they can be enjoyed and revisited once again. — IM

T&C contributor Martina Mondadori's magazine, Cabana, is doing a weeklong takeover of the original, 88-year-old Sant Ambroeus on Corso Giacomo Matteotti to mark its 10th anniversary. Only seven more decades to go, Martina! Cabana, which has since expanded into something of a lifestyle brand, is also opening its first brick and mortar store off Via Montenapoleone, the Madison Avenue of the city, where it will sell textiles, accessories, and tableware, including a limited-edition series of tabletop linens in collaboration with the famed restaurant. Cabana's homewares were used by Ashley Hicks in his redesign of the restaurant's private dining room. — EM

Has there ever been a Thom Browne show without theatrics? During the Fuorisalone, the American designer marked his partnership with the bedding heritage label Frette by having models sleep before a live audience. Dressed in Thom Browne tank tops and underwear, the performers dressed and undressed around a series of midcentury cots outfitted in Frette bed linens within the 19th century-built arena hall of Palazzina Appiani. It might've struck envy in the attendees whose schedules have been anything but restful. — IM

A yacht in the pool is always a bit of a surreal sight. Yet, there it was: a gleaming Azimut Seadeck floating in the swimming pool of the Bagni Misteriosi. This wasn't just any case study in daring. It was also part of a design installation, "Mooring by the Moon" curated by AMDL CIRCLE, commenting on the relationship between humans and the environment. It was a fitting context in which to display the Seadeck series, the first hybrid motor yacht for families and the most efficient ever designed by Azimut. Developed in
collaboration with Alberto Mancini and Matteo Thun & Antonio Rodriguez, working in yachting for the first time, this Seadeck is part of an invested effort by the company to reduce the environmental impact of its production machinery. All aboard! — IM