1. What was the object that represented the lockdown the most for you?
2. What object represented the restart?
3. What are the main projects you’ll be showing at the Salone (or Fuorisalone)?
Matteo Ragni
Milan
1. The exercise bike: I’ll admit that I too yielded to the idea of getting a muscular body by buying one. Now its stands in solitude in my living room.
2. Definitely the recent reissue of Moscardino in steel with the Alessi trademark, a piece originally produced by Pandora Design in Mater-bi.
3. After two years of intense artistic direction for Twils: we will be showing new products in a booth of 430 sqm, items designed by us, Achille Castiglioni, Luca Nichetto, Robin Rizzini, but also young international talents like Terence Coton and Yuetong Shi. With PdiPigna, at the Circolo Filologico in Milan, we will present a new collection of notebooks illustrated by Olimpia Zagnoli (on cover), as well as collections by Gio Ponti and Enzo Mari, and historical reissues of Nero Oriente and Bella Copia.
Elena Salmistraro
Milan
1. Surgical masks. An object that forced its way into our lives. I had the pleasure of designing one, for an art project in collaboration with the MAXXI in Rome and Alcantara.
2. I connect it with a collection, Posidonia, designed for Natuzzi. A project that began and was developed in that period, and was released last year. This was the first time I had approached an entire collection: a sofa, an armchair, a lamp, a carpet and cushions.
3. At the Salone there will be my carpet collection for Illulian, handles for DnD and a tea set for Bosa. The Pantelleria line for Lithea is being expanded, like the line for Scapin, and the Spire washstands for Flamina will be on view. New tables, already presented, will arrive for Cappellini, as well as jewelry designed for Alessi.
Inga Sempé
Paris
1. The object linked to the lockdown period is the mask. They were hard to find in France, so I sewed thousands of them and gave them away to people in the street.
2. The Tripot stool designed for the small Swedish firm Articles, directed by the designer Björn Dahlström. The first prototypes (made in Italy) arrived just at the end of the lockdown. They allowed me to go back to working with my hands, with real material, no longer just digital work.
3. For Ariake I have created a large mirror behind which you can hide anything; for Glas Italia I designed two curved mirror cabinets; and for Articles, I will present Tripot, a triangular wooden stool.
Philippe Starck
Paris
1. My A4 tracing paper pad and my 092B Japanese pencil, with which I always draw with, are no longer in production, so I bought the entire stock, thanks to which I was able to create even more than usual, with the utmost happiness, because I was not traveling and knocked out by jetlag.
2. It is definitely my A4 tracing paper pad and my Japanese pencil, because thanks to that I was able to continue working on all the projects. For me there’s never a stop, so there cannot be a restart.
3. We will present new creations with Axor, Baccarat, Duravit, Kartell, Glas Italy, and also, with a new manufacturer, an “eternal chair.”
Patricia Urquiola
Milan
1. Definitely books. I’ve always been a very avid and curious reader, but the lockdown gave me extra time to read and study, to delve into themes and titles that interest me.
2. The passport, when we began to travel again.
3. With Cassina, I will present a new piece of the Sengu family: a boldface reinterpretation of the sofa, which becomes Sengu Bold. With a group of young artisans of Murano glass, we have created the Sestiere vases. For Flos we’ll be showing Almendra, a new modular lamp. With Moroso the focus is on Anorak, returning to the theme of the garment that dresses the sofa. There will also be new collaborations, like the Galateo installation for Buccellati, the projects for the Moroso showroom, and those of the trade fair stands of Kettal and Cimento. And much more.
Vincent Van Duysen
Antwerp
1. The new Kummel blanket from the Relaxwear collection by Loro Piana. I like to feel warm and comfortable, but I am also a fan of this collection because Loro Piana and I share the same values and preferences: the selected materials, the exquisite craftsmanship, the tradition.
2. The pandemic never stopped me, because we began with new jobs. So I cannot say that there was a “stop and restart” for me. In that period I began working on various new projects and products all over the world, for large manufacturers and iconic brands.
3. There will be new collections designed for Molteni&C | Dada, Bulo, Kettal and Flos.
Studio Klass
Milan
1. One of the projects that is a symbol of the lockdown for us was Touch Down Unit, designed for UniFor and conceived for the world of the office. The idea was to have an extremely compact workstation that makes it possible to carry out a series of activities, for those who do not have an assigned desk.
2. As soon as the lockdown period ended, we were invited by Molteni&C to work on a new retail concept for the B2B world: Contract Atelier, a space where clients are accompanied in an experiential path, with the possibility of choosing any type of solution, material, finish and service for their projects.
3. At the Fuorisalone 2022 the Contract Atelier space will open at Via Cavallotti 15 in Milan. We will also present a new upholstered chair for Fiam Italia.
