Showcase of excellence in quality and innovation, the Salone del Mobile.Milano is currently finessing the upcoming edition, which boasts a new format for the classic section and two events providing unprecedented visualisations of contemporary design and the workspace.
International sectoral benchmark  the Salone del Mobile.Milano will will take place concurrently at the Fiera Milano Rho from Tuesday 4th to Sunday 9th April, open to professionals every day from 9.30 to 6.30, and to the public on the Saturday and Sunday. 5 exhibitions this year: the Salone Internazionale del Mobile, the International Furnishing Accessories Exhibition, Euroluce, Workplace3.0 and SaloneSatellite.
“The Salone del Mobile is on the home strait and both the companies involved and the organisers are looking forward to mid-April with great optimism. This positive mood is driven by the sector’s upbeat performance during the first ten months of 2016, and it will hopefully maintain this trend over the next few quarters. Italian furnishing continues to gain ground on almost all the international markets. The Salone del Mobile’s strong international vocation saw the return of 67% of the high profile foreign professionals with solid buying power at the last edition”, said Salone del Mobile.Milano president Roberto Snaidero, during the press conference held in Milan at the Metropol Cinema.
The Salone del Mobile is reprising its role as a major resource for the Italian system, thanks to its ability to attract professionals, visitors, designers, buyers and journalists to Milan from all over the world, a strength that has helped Milan become the capital of furnishing and design, as has its with its powerful bond with the city and its institutions. The Italian communication campaign slogan Be the First to see the Latest is further affirmation of the Salone’s role.
“As always, Milan will be ready for and even more equal to this extraordinary international event, which brings in huge numbers of people from all over the world”, said Mayor of Milan Giuseppe Sala. “The Salone del Mobile has always been a test bench for our city, which is proud to be seen as the capital of design and keen to retain its pre-eminence, demonstrating again this year that it is the ideal context for an event of such importance. Because Milan, together with the Salone, has the power to highlight and throw into great relief the entire sector, from the talented young designers to the great international names, to the innovative startups to the historic companies.”
Following the successful launch of the last edition of xLux – the section devoted to timeless luxury reworked in a contemporary vein – the Salone Internazionale del Mobile has brought in an innovative format for classic furniture and furnishing accessories, in Pavilions 2 and 4, under a new name, Classic: Tradition in the future, and with a more homogeneous, balanced and fluid layout.
The two biennial exhibitions will be running in full synergy with the Salone Internazionale del Mobile, Euroluce in Pavilions 9-11 and 13-15 and Workplace3.0 inside Pavilions 22-24 dedicated to the workspace, as well as the International Furnishing Accessories Exhibition and SaloneSatellite.
The 20 years of SaloneSatellite will be celebrated with the SaloneSatellite 20 Years Collection – a special edition of bespoke pieces designed by international designers whose careers took off at SaloneSatellite – and with “SALONESATELLITE. 20 Years of New Creativity”, a large exhibition curated by Beppe Finessi at the Fabbrica del Vapore.
Alongside the purely commercial exhibitions, the fair will feature two events, at the fairgrounds, tying in with the two biennial themes, light and the workplace. The first, DeLightFuL, a portmanteau for Design, Light, Future, Living, is curated by Ciarmoli Queda Studio, which produced Before Design: Classic for the last edition of the Salone del Mobile.Milano, and will feature a short fantasy film d’auteur by multi-award winning director Matteo Garrone.
The second event, A Joyful Sense at Work, curated by Cristiana Cutrona, is a visualisation of the evolving workplace scenario of the future, using innovative content to recast the theory of office product and workplace design with four installations, each representative of the cultural characteristics of the international architects’ areas of provenance. America, Asia and Europe will be produced by Primo Orpilla and Verda Alexander/Studio O+A (United States), Arash Ahmadi/Ahmadi Studio (Iran), Ben van Berkel/UNStudio and Jeff Povlo/SCAPE (Holland) and Alfonso Femia and Gianluca Peluffo/Studio 5+1AA (Italy).
Back for a second edition, space&interiors, the only other event officially connected with the Salone del Mobile.Milano, puts the spotlight on architectural finishes. Curated by Migliore+Servetto Architects, the exhibit will showcase interior surfaces, floors, doors and finishes at The Mall – Porta Nuova, in Milan’s Brera Design District from Tuesday 4th April to Saturday 8th April 2017.
www.salonemilano.it