Milan Day 1
Published

The fair starts with a bevy of press previews and some big names. Here’s how day no.1 rolled out for Nicky Lobo and the Indesign team, on the ground in Milan.

Hero Image: Ross Lovegrove for Artemide – Nebula

Ernesto Gismondi for Artemide
Artemide
Took place primarily in Italian and French so I wasn’t much use. I was happy when Ross Lovegrove took the microphone for a few brief, but comprehensible minutes. As always, some big names here: Karim Rashid, Daniel Liebskind, Neil Poulton and Jean Nouvel.

Gessi’s New Showroom – Milan

Goccia Trident Showerhead – Gessi
Gessi
The three-week-old showroom is, in a word, amazing. Through a tunneled walkway and down a flight of stairs, a journey through the bathroom brand’s labyrinth takes you around the latest products, their functions and new interpretations for bathroom styling. Plus a smaller, but still impressive, section on their kitchen products. A lot of love and investment has gone into this project and we seriously urge everyone to check it out.

Gessi’s New Showroom – Milan

Gessi’s New Showroom – Milan
BassamFellows @ Agape
Bathroom brand Agape have recently taken on intercontinental brand, BassamFellows, for Italy. This year BassamFellows (BF), made up of Australian Craig Bassam and Scott Fellows, celebrate 10 years since they first launched at Milan. It’s a milestone for the timber-loving brand, and we congratulate them on their success so far (now distributed through the US, Canada, Australia, Singapore, Switzerland, Paris, Munich and Antwerp). AND they have a new chair (so comfortable you don’t need the seat pad – although they’ve designed one just in case. More from Craig later…
A Dutch afternoon – A few Netherlands-based outfits made our afternoon!

Linteloo – Netherlands
Linteloo – fun, colourful storage pieces and dumpy, comfy lounge settings. We love!

Marcel Wanders for Moooi – Cloud Sofa

Marcel Wanders for Moooi – Canvas Sofa and Heritage Cushions
Moooi – the superbrand led by Marcel Wanders had a huge launch in a huge warehouse space, accompanied by photography by artist, Erwin Olaf, who has been collaborating with Moooi for years. More from Moooi designer Nika Zupainc later…

PROOFF – Side Seat
Proof – more clever, usable pieces from the commercial-minded company who created the EarChair and WorkSofa, including a storage system with a pliable latex exterior

Tutto Bene – My Couch My Canvas by Annebet Philips
Tutto Bene – a platform for emerging designers based in Amsterdam, there were a few standouts in the form of some lamps
Not to mention a quick look in at e15 (think: pink!), the Milan Boffi showroom (busy!) and of course the collaboration between Prada and Knoll (was: conceptual).

Stefan Diez Studio for e15 – Pink Houdini
We’re heading to the Fiera (fairground) tomorrow, which is where the real fun begins, stay tuned and be sure to keep abreast of the updates as they happen via our social media channels on facebook, instagram and twitter!
Ci vediamo!
Artemide:
Gessi:
BassamFellows:
Linteloo:
Moooi:
PROOFF:
Tutto Bene:
Related Articles

Events
A rollicking good story with Richards Stanisich and Royal Oak Floors
Jonathan Richards and Kirsten Stanisich discussed practice, design process and the business of running a studio at a live audience event hosted by Royal Oak Floors in Sydney.

Events
Indesign x Wilkhahn: Melbourne, where are you working?
Our latest collaboration saw a range of designers come together at Wilkhahn’s Melbourne showroom for a discussion on the workplace dynamics specific to the Victorian capital.

Events
“A journey into a whole new material world”: Plant Life at the NGV
Curator Ewan McEoin tells us about the NGV’s new exhibition on plant-based materials as alternatives to plastics, synthetic materials and other non-renewable resources.

Ideas
Beyond the panel: What makes a design event worth attending?
Ahead of Saturday Indesign, architects reflect on why smaller gatherings, unexpected voices, candid discussion and meaningful follow-up can make meeting in person genuinely worthwhile.