supersalone-2021: Milan Furniture Forum returns
Sep 8, 2021
Friends, congratulations to everyone on the opening of the long-awaited iSaloni.
After a year and a half of ascesis, Milan once again confirms its status as the capital of world design: from 5 to 10 September the Furniture Forum takes place here. Italian President Sergio Mattarella and other key figures have visited the Rho Fiera exhibition centre to stress the importance of the event.
The Salone del mobile was first held in 1961. Since the mid-1990s the show has been the largest furniture show in the world (before that the title was contested by IMM Cologne) and this year it marks its round anniversary.
The first exhibition after the pandemic is being held in a completely different format - Supersalone. It is intended as a rehearsal for the usual large-scale salon, which is scheduled for April 2022.
Maria Porro has been announced as the new president of the forum. She is the first woman in the position, succeeding Claudio Luti, who stepped down in April 2021.
In addition, the event is organised under the curatorship of the renowned Italian architect Stefano Boeri. The author of the "vertical forest" (a residential complex of two towers in the Porta Nuova area) conceived something original this time too.
The pavilions are not broken up into multiple stands, but are an integrated whole with a very simple layout inside. It's more like a small town with dozens of parallel roads and a few public spaces, areas for eating and relaxing. Instead of stands, there are wooden "showcases" by Andrea Caputo. Interior items are placed directly on the walls and accompanied by QR codes that can be clicked on to buy discounted goods. The principles of sustainability and sensible consumption are the leitmotif of the event: for example, all materials and constructions are recyclable.
Many have noted the reduction in the scale of the current event. For example, only four pavilions are used instead of 24. The most important players in the industry - Kartell, Molteni, Artemide etc. - The main players in the industry - Kartell, Molteni, Artemide and others - are showing their new collections at the exhibition, while many brands have decided to focus on showrooms. And Design Holding, which owns B&B Italia, Flos and other brands, has announced the opening of a new flagship space in Via Durini, where new products will be shown.
One of the special events at Supersalone will be The Lost Graduation Show, in which 2020-2021 graduate students will showcase 170 projects. The participants will represent 48 design schools from 22 countries.
Supersalone will also include a cultural programme: experts from all over the world will talk about the state of the market and the post-pandemic world, as well as the difference and relationship between physical presence and online communication.
The general public will have access to the exhibition all week long, whereas previously the Rho Fiera pavilions were accessible primarily to professionals.
The main figures of Salone del Mobile.Milano 2021:
- 4 pavilions open to the public.
- Over 423 brands and 50 independent designers presenting their work.
- 170 new projects from 48 international design schools.
- 200 trees from Forestami forming a "forest".
- 1,125,000 kg CO2 will not be released into the atmosphere thanks to environmentally friendly wooden "showcases".
- 110 Compasso d'Oro award-winning chairs are displayed as part of the Take Your Seat project.
- 6 films selected by the MDFF are screened daily at 4pm.
- 6 chefs work during Salone del Mobile.Milano 2021.
- 20 of the most influential personalities take the stage.
- 3 meetings are held daily: round tables at 12:00, talks at 15:00 and lectures at 17:00.
Fuorisalone events are scattered around the city as always: newcomers and old-timers among them. For the sake of the special event, in September an important tradition is revived - Triennale Milano, which becomes the centre of the so-called Supersalone City.
One of the city's most anticipated events, Alcova, takes place in an abandoned military hospital near Inghanni. According to the organisers, what attracted them to this location was the atmosphere and the sense that the previous inhabitants had left the building the night before. Historical spaces will be re-created with new installations and projects. A large-scale installation by the Italian furniture industry giant Visionnaire is planned for the same location.