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SALONE DEL MOBILE 2015
AN INFLUENCE REPORT BY
INTRODUCTION
Salone Del Mobile is the largest furniture fair in the world. Every year trends in furniture,
industrial, lighting, object and textile design make their debut in Milan to an audience of
350,000 industry tastemakers. This is our edit of key trends which we believe will influence
the way we think about design in the year to come.
KEY TREND: FUTURE ARTIFACTS FUTURE ARTIFACTS
In recent years we’ve witnessed a period of seductive style and celluloid glamour. Good taste has reigned
supreme as the design worlds’ devotion to Hollywood Regency has spawned an army of million dollar
decorators and the use of Grecian, Lucite, Brass and Velvet touches as far as the eye can see. Milan 2015
showed us a new kind of light. Bright and natural, it’s caveman luxury with a contemporary twist.
Clockwise left to right: Daphna Laurens at Dutch Invertuals, COS collaboration with Snarkitecture, Serax, Studio Mieke Meijer at Dutch Invertuals, Subalterno1:
VENICE>>FUTURE curated by Stefano Maffei, Hiroomi Tahara wrap sofa by Yamakawa Rattan
FUTURE ARTIFACTS – OBJETS D’ART
With the advent of DIY manufacture, 3D printing is the new way to hunt and gather. The open source
Wunderkammer at Fuorisalone exhibited precious pieces pulled and printed from obscure corners of the internet.
This trend asks the question: Does high-tech have to mean highly stylized? 3D printed Incan urns are rough, free
form and lopsided. Glossy metallic planes are crumpled, flawed and hung as art. Future Artifacts is the antidote
to production line perfection. Clockwise left to right: Pleunie Buyink Surface, The Wunderkammer/ Collecting Digital Mirabilia at AtFab + Technificio +
WeMake, MINDCRAFT15 curated by GamFratesi, FLOS at Euroluce, Olivier van Herpt and Sander Wassink at Spazio Rossana Orlandi by Yamakawa Rattan
FUTURE ARTIFACTS - STYLING
Tom Dixon’s hand blown MELT (In collaboration with FRONT) fluctuates in appearance. One moment it’s
Pompeii’s molten lava, the next: Fossilized amber. The shape is high octane glamour, an organic spin on his
infamous 2013 design, the pressed metal geometric ‘ETCH’. Veronese’s Chromosome Collection chandelier is
cro-magnon with a techno twist. The perfect fusion of traditional and future crafts, each piece is hand blown
by Murano artisans and fitted with fiber optic technology. Clockwise left to right: Lasvit at Euroluce, Veronese’s Chromosome Collection,
Sedimentation urns by Hilda Hellstrom, Recession Chair by Tjep, Melt light fixture by Tom Dixon, Storywall by Analogia Project, Tables by Danuta Wlodarska
FUTURE ARTIFACTS – SEATING
Design leaders are returning to their tactile roots, in search of a sense of history. Max Lamb’s “Exercises in
Seating” at the Garage Sanremo embraced this new idea of organic ergonomics. 40 chairs created a seated
Stonehenge, and with no emphasis on uniformity the message was clear - choose your own adventure, choose
the seat that feels right for you.
FUTURE ARTIFACTS – FINISHES
Patina finishes are everywhere. Marbled, oxidized, rusted or eroded, this design trend celebrates the beauty of
decay. In our world of fast fashion and rapid consumption this movement encourages us all to treasure things
a little while longer. Clockwise left to right: Succesful Living by Diesel / MOROSO, Paysages Desertiques plates by ECAL/ Josefina Munoz, La Macina Millistone by ECAL/ Stefano Panterotto, Dust Patina by Lucie Libotte, Decrescendo - Music box by ECAL/ Lorena Sauras
EMERGING TRENDS
WORK IT OUT
Interior design is catching up to the fashion worlds’ infatuation with all things fitness. Leading the charge is
design duo Alberto Biagetti and Laura Baldassari who have introduced “Sports Luxe” to the home in the form
of retro apparatuses. Best and fairest within this micro trend was seen at Louis Vuitton’s Objets Nomades at
Palazzo Boccconigoes where Patricia Urquiola’s hanging leather swing chair looked as soft and supple as an
old in catchers’ mitt. Clockwise left to right: Louis Vuitton Objets Nomandes at Palazzo Crespi, Body building a project by Alberto Boagetti & Laura
Baldassari, Domus at Dutch Invertuals, Lee Broom, Table Architecture by David Derksen.
SWEET LIKE CANDY
Bright jewel tone colors have dominated for seasons. This year we see a return to sweet soft shades of sorbet.
Japanese design studio Nendo led the way with their collection of glowing, futuristic iridescent glass tables.
Clockwise left to right: 20Salone at Dutch Invertuals, L.O.D Luminaire by ECAL/ Kaja Solgaard Dahl, Soft Edge tables by Nendo for Glasitalia, Roos Gomperts at
Dutch Invertuals, Wooden aquarelle by Mieke Harde - Salone Satellite
SWEET LIKE CANDY - LIGHTING
Euroluce 15 (The biennial lighting fair staged as part of Salone Del Mobile) saw a similar move toward sweeter
subtler shades in the array of hand blown glass fixtures on show this year. Patricia Urquiola for Flos inspired
many with her use of 3M’s dichroic film applied to a glass shade. Heavy coppers and metallic pendants seem to
be losing dominance, making way for these delicate ceiling jewels.
Clockwise left to right: Studio Kalff, FLOS, Domus at Dutch Invertuals, Natura Morta by ECAL / Nicolas Lalande,
MEMPHIS RISING
Memphis, (The bright, playful Milanese design style of the 80’s) has been given a contemporary spin with a
fresh streamlined scale and a restrained approach to color. The shapes and palette borrow heavily from 1930s
Parisian Deco, giving this once silly style a more serious edge. The geometric, tidy anti-industrial trend is set to
make an impact In commercial interiors, a much needed remedy to shabby chic and industrial interiors fatigue.
Clockwise left to right: Lievore Altherr Molina Parentesit Arper, RH ShapeUp Chandelier, Tables at Ventura Lambrate, Morten and Jonas’s Hoff sofa,
Office furniture by Arper.
SWATCH WATCH: COLOUR PREDICTIONS
COLOUR FORECAST
The emerging color trend is offbeat and cool, bravely teetering on the edge of bad taste. It’s “Retro Futurism”
in all its glory. Fabric plants at Laive - Ventura Lambrate, Walter Knoll, Office furniture by Arper, MOD collection by Mae Engelgeer at Ventura Lambrate.
PANTONE
485 C
SWATCH WATCH
Muddy lime greens offset the new neutral: Midnight blue. Orange neons are framed by slate grey, while plum
and soft blush tones give the strong Artifact, Athletic and Memphis trends a feminine twist.
SUMMARY
With a return to organic forms (even if they’re produced in 3D) and a rise in 80’s-inspired
colours and forms, the design landscape is showing a fascinating tension between starkness
and nature. It’s this purity of space, colour and shape that we’ll be taking inspiration from in
our experience design and creative concepts.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT
THE PROJECTS* GLOBAL CREATIVE TEAM
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Jack
Xxx XxBedwani: jack@liveintheprojects.com
Nic Allum: nic@liveintheprojects.com
Emilie Sullivan: emilie@liveintheprojects.com
Lauren Sims: lauren@liveintheprojects.com
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Xxx
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