Best of Milan Design Week 2019: Fashion x Luxury Spotlights
Milan Design Week 2019 ruled luxury calendars last week, with brands from Dior to Fendi, Hermès and Louis Vuitton, all present. Here, we highlight the best of the luxury fashion showcases and show you where to shop their product.
This month, like clockwork, on the coat-tails of the European Spring — the Mediterranean fashion luxury hub of Milan erupted into bloom with a bevy of beautiful creations from designers, brands and visionaries, as the annual Milan Design Week event unfolded across the city from April 8 to 14.
Stunning installations, sustainable eco- innovations, coveted crafts, futuristic creations and limited capsule collections and collaborations cropped up in iconic locations and across several streets; converting Milan into a veritable walking wonderland of art, furniture, décor & design — and a heaven for collectors and lovers of luxury.
As it does every year, the event — dubbed “Fuorisalone” in Italian — transformed the space of several neighborhoods in the historic center of the city (Centro, Zona Tortona, Ventura Lambrate, Fabbrica del Vaporore, Brera, Porta Romana and Porta Garibaldi e Corso Como) into a kaleidoscope of current trends as interpreted by design companies, architects, designers — and brands — with fashion and luxury labels particularly present in 2019.
Here, we look at some of the installations from fashion and luxury brands which turned heads as proceedings unfolded this week — with particular focus on the Salone del Mobile furniture fair — and pin-point where you can find some of the product which premiered at the event.
LOUIS VUITTON
It's been seven years since Louis Vuitton first introduced its ‘Objets Nomades’ collection — an annual imagining of forty-five experimental objects, dreamed up by a selection of hand-picked and renowned designers every year and then elegantly crafted to life using the maison’s much-lauded savoir-faire.
This year, for the 2019 instalment of the Milan Design Week, Louis Vuitton again graced luxury lovers and art aficionados alike with its showcase — unveiling a selection of creative, functional and innovative furniture and objects, and welcoming two new design studios to the fold: Atelier Biagetti and Zanellato/Bortotto.
The former, Atelier Biagetti, brought a glass and leather dining table — dubbed the ‘Anemona Table’ — to the collection; while Zanellato/Bortotto offered the ‘Mandala screen’, an object that tells of the young Venetian couple’s travels in the Orient.
Their creations joined the symphony of objects exclusively on display at the Palazzo Serbelloni in Milan during Fuorisalone 2019 — other items of note included Atelier Oï’s ‘Serpentine table’ and Tokujin Yoshioka’s ‘Blossom vase’; the Campana Brothers’ ‘Cocoon swing chair’ and the ‘bulbo armchair’; a tray by India Madhavi; and four creations from Marcel Wanders: a set sofa and armchair in ash and leather, a lamp, and a vase in Murano glass.
Shop the Louis Vuitton ‘Objets Nomades’ collection here:
eu.louisvuitton.com/eng-e1/art/the-objets-nomades#the-collection
LOEWE
For its fifth year at the Milan Furniture Fair, LOEWE presented an exclusive collection of baskets, hand-made quilts and calligraphy, custom crafted from its core material of leather.
Tasking a fleet of prominent international artists — hailing from Japan, the US, South Korea, Ireland and South Africa — the luxury house challenged the designers to interpret the theme of basketry, swapping traditional materials such as bamboo, cane and straw for leather to a series of handmade, limited edition works that set a new standard for the future.
During the festival, the coveted art pieces, from designers including Jennifer Zurick, Yoshiko Ichinose, and Jiro Yonezara, were only be available to buy at LOEWE’s Milan store, however — from May 30 — LOEWE Baskets will be available at selected stores and loewe.com.
DIOR
Joining forces with Dimore Studio, Dior took to Milan Fashion Week with gusto, setting up residence in the picturesque Casa degli Atellani home during Salone and debuting a collaborative collection of 14 pieces in league with the locally-based design studio — with items including vases, trays, candlesticks, place settings, frames and more bearing the French fashion house’s signature marks.
Following the show, the collection will only available for purchase by special order for one year. Stay tuned to Tidlrs for details!
COS X MAMOU-MANI
For its eighth consecutive year at Salone del Mobile, fashion brand COS brought us a tie-up with architect Arthur Mamou-Mani and his team, which merges architecture with design, technology and nature — culminating in an ethereal installation made entirely from 3D-printed bioplastic bricks.
Flowing through the courtyard and into the gardens of Palazzo Isimbardi, the architectural design was crafted from 21st century technology — with each bioplastic brick made from PLA – a material that is fully compostable and created using renewable resources; including wood pulp from fir tree cones — which gave the installation its name: ‘Conifera’.
To celebrate the installation and Salone del Mobile 2019, COS has curated a special edit of its collection, which you can shop here:
cosstores.com/en_eur/explore/projects/event/cos-x-mamou-mani.html
FENDI
Harking back to its roots and taking inspiration from the concept of a bourgeois Roman house from the 70s, FENDI once again linked with world-renowned architect and interior designer Cristina Celestino introduces its “Back Home” collection as part of the FENDI Casa exhibition during Milan Design Week.
Ensuring the Roman luxury house’s signature Pequin striped motif was always centre-stage yet re-imagined creatively, the brand showcased the FENDI Casa installation with its newest pieces designed by Celestino, produced by Luxury Living Group — a range of sofas, carpets and armchairs, lamps, double mirrors, tables and chairs crafted from interesting materials and textures, including marble, onyx and metallics.
The pieces of the ‘Back Home’ collection presented at the Milan Furniture Fair will be on sale in September from FENDI Casa with prices ranging from 1,500 to 35,000 euros.
GUCCI
Bringing a bright and playful vibe to Milan Design Week, Gucci launched a one-of-a-kind pop-up boutique for the event — located at 19 Via Santo Spirito in Milan — the doors of which will stay open until June 2019.
Nestled within the walls of a luxurious home — complete with a grand marble fireplace, panelled doors, coffered ceiling and baroque, branded wallpaper — the temporary store houses the new Gucci Décor collection produced by the Florentine company (and historic porcelain manufacture) Richard Ginori, which was acquired by Gucci in 2013.
Perfectly adorning real-life scenarios that include multiple lounge areas, a salon and a dining room, Gucci’s range of home accessories create a classy ode to the brand’s signature patterns and prints, and the artisanal skill of its Italian makers.
Product on offer at the store includes includes cushions and carpets, candles and chairs, plates and wallpaper, as well as other items such as incense trays, screens, and metal folding tables.
VERSACE
Never one to do things by halves, Versace stunned at this year’s event with its take on home life elevated to new, luxurious heights, inviting on two creatives — the Canadian artist Andy Dixon and the American interior designer Sasha Bikoff — to help bring its latest collections to life.
The result was an installation which wowed and will not soon be forgotten. Marking a first for the fashion house — the design duo executed a complete redecoration Versace Palazzo for Milan Design Week transforming the mansion into a rainbow fantasy of candy-colored tropical furnishings, neon-tinged walls and ceilings, bold and colorful furniture, and enormous shirt sculptures decorated with Dixon’s own version of Versace’s flamboyant prints — taking the Medusa logo to its graphic max.
Shop items from the latest Versace Home Collection here:
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
HERMÈS
ARMANI
BULGARI X TOMÁS SARACENO
MARNI MOON WALK
LEXUS X RHIZOMATIKS
By Daniela Aroche
This article was originally published in Tidlrs / Journal.
