SALONE DEL MOBILE 2020
A look ahead: Salone del Mobile 2020/21
Representatives of the international press recently gathered in the Aula Magna of the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan to witness a preview of the Salone del Mobile 2020. Beauty, ethics and sustainability are apparently the goals that will form the main focus of the Milan-based furniture exhibition this year. “Sustainability needs to be more than an abstract word – it needs to be a vision,” said Claudio Luti, President of the Salone del Mobile. Meanwhile, Emanuele Orsini, President of the Federlegno Arredo Eventi, the Italian association of the wood and furniture industry, called upon Italy’s politicians and institutions to support producers’ efforts to manufacture sustainably through tax-related measures. According to the sociologist Francesco Morace, it’s no longer about militant implementation of ecology, but rather fostering an intelligent cyclical economy that spans the generations.
More than 2,200 exhibitors are expected at this year’s Salone del Mobile, among them a good 600 young designers under 35 years of age, who are able to present their work to a broad audience for the first time at the Salone Satellite. “Design for our Future Selves” reads the motto of the Salone Satellite in 2020, which aims to stimulate design that supports social inclusion. In the presentation of schools and universities, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Pakistan and Paraguay are all represented for the first time.
Parallel to the main fair, other events include the biennial international kitchen exhibition EuroCucina as well as its supporting event FTK (Technology For The Kitchen), which offers a look ahead at the development of intelligent electrical appliances for the “smart kitchen”. Meanwhile, insights into the future of bathrooms will be provided by the Salone Internazionale del Bagno, the international fair for bathroom design, while the “Workplace 3.0” exhibition area looks at the development of technology and design for workplace creation. “S.Project”, the sector-spanning format that debuted at the Salone last year, is set to serve as a B2B platform once again in 2020.
The manifesto of Salone del Mobile, which was launched in 2018, is to be supplemented with the notion of beauty and presented in a very special way: The director Davide Rampello has teamed up with filmmaker Luca Lucini to create the audiovisual installation “La Scatola Magica. Dieci parole per dieci autori”, which will be shown from April 21 to May 3, 2020, in the Sala delle Cariatidi in the Palazzo Reale. Ten prominent names in Italian cinema – Francesca Archibugi, Pappi Corsicato, Stefano Mordini, Wilma Labate, Bruno Bozzetto, Luca Lucini, Claudio Giovannesi, Gianni Canova, Donato Carrisi and Daniele Ciprì – will each interpret one of the concepts in the manifesto in the form of a film d’auteur.
Chinese media representatives were excluded from the press conference in Milan because of the country’s consequently isolation aimed at stemming the spread of the coronavirus. In brief video messages, numerous Chinese editors, such as Beryl Hsu, Editorial Director of AD China, expressed their thanks for the sympathy and support offered by the Salone del Mobile. Claudio Luti emphasized the tremendous economic significance of China for the Italian furniture market, noting how its representatives are an important part of the international family.
