I know I am bit too late with this news, but I still like to
share my experiences which I had during the Salone del Mobile 2013. It seems to
be one of the biggest events in Milano and I was really looking forward to
participate in it. And - lucky as I was – I needed even to contribute to make
it a success.
The initial objective of the Salone the Mobile (furniture
fair) is that the big brands present their new furniture designs. But already
for years there is an alternative event - called fuori salone – which opens the possibility for young designers to
present their work. Young designers which are full of (crazy) ideas.
During the visits I made I obviously had a sharp eye for all
the designs related to food. A short overview can be seen here,
here
and here.
After a few days of strolling through the city I concluded that there were
different types of food design. I
will guide you through the exhibition along these themes.
First of all the return to traditional, low-impact and very
simple designs. In this time of economic and climate crisis every young
designer tries to go back to the roots of the profession. They redesign
utensils which are there for centuries. The students from the Faculty
of Design and Art in Bolzano took the apple as the objective of their
design. This resulted in cutters, mashers and grandma’s tricks to add iron to
your diet.
Another consequence of the crisis is the greening of
products. Light weight packaging, square bottles which save space or the use of
recycled materials. But also low-tech solutions for more advanced products.
Like an espresso machine grown on both sides with moss. What is green about
this expect from the color and the fact that ‘nature’ is included?
Then there where the people who took food as their
inspiration. There was the Padiglione
Italia at Ventura Lambrate where food was used literally or more conceptual
to make a new product. But I was most happy to see the tablecloths made by an ADI student
presented during Goodesign. The
girl used a recipe (in this case the recipe for making risotto alla Milanese)
and used the colorants of the ingredients to color a table cloth. Very simple
idea with a beautiful result and a recipe included.
Last but not least there was the possibility to be part of
different food experiences. In Lambrate there was the Diesel
Foscarini Social Café Club were the visitors could have a coffee, an
alcoholic drink and/or something to eat while surrounded by other visitors,
some good music and the works presented. Another food experience I fortunately
visited was at a very special place just
out of the outer city ring. The visitors of the exhibition where welcomed by a
well-dressed cameriere offering a
glass of prosecco. During the visit a luxurious aperitivo was served with plates like spaghetti nero and a cheesecake all freshly made by the
in-house-cook. Grazie
My suggestions for those who want to stay up-to-date on the
newest furniture: simple, green and innovative. You need to decide yourself
what design suits you.
