5 Installations from Milan Design Week We Still Can’t Stop Thinking About
Even though Milan Design Week is behind us now, we're still in a tizzy over all the new products, materials, and technologies. There were a surprising number of real-life takeaways to be had from the event, but also just straight-up design inspiration, which for us came in the form of the epic art installations. There were so many good ones—Milan Design Week is kind of like gallery-hopping on steroids—but a few really spoke to our plant-loving, ’80s-obsessed selves. A week of ruminating revealed five clear favorites, which you can find below. We have a feeling we'll be turning to these exhibits for ideas all year long. . .
Photo: Courtesy of Cos1/5Conifera by Cos x Mamou-Mani
From afar, the woven "bricks" at Cos's eighth Salone del Mobile installation, a collaboration with architecture firm Mamou-Mani, look as if they're woven from straw. Nope. The cone-like shapes are actually 3D-printed out of fully compostable plastic made using renewable resources. To bring the structures to life, they created open-source software inspired by silkworms' cocoons. Set against the architecture of the 16th-century Palazzo Isimbardi, the exhibit feels extra futuristic. We've officially caught the 3D-printing fever, and it's time to put our money where our mouths are by buying things like a seashell-inspired lamp 3D-printed from corn‑based materials.
Photo: Courtesy of Versace2/5Versace Home
At the Versace palazzo in Milan, the fashion house and designer Sasha Bikoff created an installation to celebrate Versace's latest home collection in collaboration with artist Andy Dixon. We can only call it Memphis Group–meets–outer space. We're not surprised we love the curvy platforms backlit with neon, but who knew that we'd suddenly have patchwork wall-to-wall carpeting on our wish lists? According to AD PRO, Sasha made the wavy pattern just for this exhibit using the brand's 1980s textiles. Designing your own custom carpet might not be in the budget, but the wacky modular rug tiles by Kinder Ground are a good alternative.
Photo: Casper Sejersen3/5No Man's Land by Raf Simons
In celebration of his new fabrics for Kvadrat, Raf Simons created three installations within an installation: a trio of prefab buildings by Jean Prouvé (!), a textiles workshop showcasing the fabrics, and a real flower garden leading the way by florist Mark Colle. The loose, effortless display of blooms made us forget why sculpted boxwoods and perfectly trimmed rose bushes even exist. Let's go scatter some wildflower seeds in the yard (you can literally buy a bag of them for this purpose) and call it the best day ever. If you're lucky, your backyard will look remotely similar to Piet Oudolf's gardens.
Photo: Courtesy of Advantage Austria4/5Pleasure & Treasure by Advantage Austria
With a name like Pleasure & Treasure, there was no way Advantage Austria's showcase of 40 of the country's top designers wasn't going to be good. Architects Michael Vasku and Andreas Klug filled the entire Sala Reale in Milano Centrale train station, once the royal family’s private waiting room, with a sea of foam that people had to wade through to get to the exhibits set on cloud-like, bubblegum-pink platforms. A good reminder that design should be fun! Case in point: Designer Merve Kahraman's Beice sofa, meant to "mimic the feeling of sitting on cotton candy clouds."
Photo: Andrea Martiradonna5/5Tides by Kwangho Lee x Wang & Söderström
Tides is the ocean in a dream state, a.k.a. how every bedroom should feel. In place of your usual sea creatures and coral, there are designer Kwangho Lee's squiggly stools and design practice Wang & Söderström's amorphous vessels. A solar eclipse glows a soothing pink on the wall. Splashes of light on the floor resemble psychedelic pools of water. Yep, we'd happily take a nap in here. Good news: It just so happens there are a bunch of wall sconces for sale that make it possible to re-create this mystical orb at home.
