BMW i & Garage Italia Customs – Memphis
In the 1980s, Milanese design collective Memphis, comprising Michele De Lucchi and Ettore Sottsass, radically broke with the rules of functionalism and astonished the world with its brightly coloured and wildly ironic geometric furniture sculptures. Currently, the postmodern Memphis disciples are experiencing a great revival, with BMW i and Lapo Elkann's Garage Italia Customs inspired by their iconic designs for their latest collaboration.
Louis Vuitton – Objets Nomades
Since 2012, Louis Vuitton has commissioned contemporary designers to produce experimental travel furniture and objects by hand for the Objets Nomades collection. At the Milan furniture fair, within the Palazzo Bocconi, 10 classic luggage-inspired sculptures from the collection, created by India Mahdavi and Tokujin Yoshioka, will be presented for the first time. It’s a pity these are only prototypes.
Tom Dixon – Multiplex
Star designer Tom Dixon brings the legendary multiplex cinema and shopping centre on via Manzoni to life during the Salone del Mobile. There is a furniture installation with marbled pendulum lamps, a first look at a future collaboration with Ikea, and a rich festival-like program — it’s worth a visit to simply travel back in time to the glamour of 1950s Italy.
Mini Living – Breathe
Just last year, Mini showed that you do not necessarily need a lot of space to live more beautifully. This year, in collaboration with New York architectural office SO-IL, Mini has created a flexible and translucent residential installation — an urban cocoon, if you will — which offers six room segments, a roof terrace, and space for up to three people. When can we move in?
Capitalism is Over
Design has always been political, but even more so in 2017, as is shown in the exhibition Capitalism is Over by Raumplan, which focuses on industrial production processes and can be seen in the Cascina Cuccagna. The But it is so cool photo series, which deals with the history of Olivetti and his iconic typewriter, seems particularly interesting. If you’re going to be enjoying a Negroni at Baro Basso in the evenings anyways, you may as well stop by the show — you won’t regret it.
