Fuorisalone 2021: light on the future of design and inspirations for living

15 September 2021

September 2021 was the month of the return. Return of the Milano design week, with a completely different fair and return of the precious Fuorisalone appointment book. The city has returned to vibrate, to express itself and to breathe, in a succession of initiatives all united by one characteristic: the ability to enchant. Exhibitions and installations are increasingly inspirational moments, of nourishment for that precious resource which is creativity, a distinctive element of design and the possibility of finding housing and furnishing solutions that meet the requirements of function and beauty. And if the function of the furnishings was told along the corridors of the Supersalone – the fair itself – beauty has enveloped and permeated the many Fuorisalone venues. Intervening as an effective cure to soothe the wounds of the past months and to shed light on those to come.

After all, light was one of the recurring themes in the Fuorisalone events. A striking example is the Freedom installation (on the cover) designed by Mad Architects for the cloisters of the state university of Milan. A seagull of light with its head turned towards the sky, ready to take flight. As if to bring light and energy to the months to come, to illuminate them, warm them and instill courage. Davide Groppi‘s is also an artistic light: Buio – Utopie di luce is his exhibition hosted in the Esperiences Space. Welcomed in a series of dark corridors, the visitor is surprised by a series of flashes whose meaning is not the illuminating function but rather the genesis of an emotion. As if to want to free oneself, for a moment, from the planning logic and abandon oneself to free creativity.

The same approach is declined in a different way by Lindsey Adelman: the American designer, in the Alcova space, inserts a deconstructed chandelier. The light is scattered between the ceiling, walls and floor, becomes decoration and dialogues with a series of symbols in the Paradise installation. Also in Alcova, light is at the service of color, in the installation Much Peace, Love and Joy by the Spread Tokyo studio. An explosion of colored and iridescent flakes.

Kengo Kuma made bamboo vibrate with the Bamboo Rings installation in the cloisters of the state university: a composition of bamboo and carbon fiber with intertwined rings resulting in an almost organic shape. On the surface of the structure, sensors are integrated that spread a relaxing symphony composed by the violinist Midori into the environment.

The most elegant dress of the Fuorisalone was worn by Palazzo Litta which hosted the Design Variations curated by MoscaPartners. In the courtyard, the stylistic short circuit of “A beach in the Baroque” by the Aires Mateus studio, in the rooms a journey through the projects of international designers.

The Fuorisalone is also an opportunity to retrace the steps in the history of design. The task is entrusted to the Triennale which inaugurated the retrospective Carlo Mollino -Allusioni Iperformali curated by Marco Sammicheli. The exhibition, open until 7 November, is a collection of furnishings designed by Mollino for Casa Albonico in Turin and made between 1944 and 1946.

Superstudiopiù welcomed the “1000 vases” international exhibition, a collection of 1000 vases designed by hundreds of designers from all over the world. A moment of interesting and fun reflection around an object that has always been part of the living environment.

The initiative of the Design Discrit island was also precious, which with the Playful, young, design exhibition created an opportunity for meeting and experimentation designed especially for families. The goal was to play and interact with modular design elements. Discover how things are made, let yourself be conquered by color, without the fear of touching and changing the configuration of furnishings and accessories. To get to know design and make it enter people’s lives.

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