As usual, Milan Design Week was a visual feast, both at the fairgrounds and off-site, where various districts converted storefronts, courtyards, gardens and cafes into semi-exclusive showrooms.
All told, the range of venues was as impressive as the novelties on display. Droog choose to exhibit a new line of joinery within an actual hardware store and Max Lamb rented out an old car garage to show off his growing collection of one-off chairs. Meanwhile, Philippe Malouin, working with Caesarstone, installed a swing set inside a gilded palazzo where Napoleone Bonaparte once resided. Visitors rode the swings, surrounded by frescoes all over the walls and ceiling.
Salone del Mobile still remains the biggest fair of its kind, and this year the focus was on lighting. Taking over four of the main halls, Euroluce presented the biggest brands on the continent, and some from beyond. The blown-glass collection – somewhat recalling water-filled balloons – at the booth of Vancouver brand Bocci was a surefire crowd-pleaser. Vibia presented an endlessly modular light scheme by Toan Nguyen; and LG Chem showed the latest evolution of OLEDs, in pendants and wall fixtures that seemed the technology’s most practical iteration yet.
Here are 50 of our favourite moments captured during the week.