In sync with the Milan Design Week 2024, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana renew their dedication to nurturing emerging talents in the realm of design and furnishings by bringing back their innovative Gen D project for its second edition. Preserving the core of the project — constructing a cultural intersection between selected designers by Federica Sala and the deep-rooted skill of Italian artisanship — Gen D has served as a platform for eleven creative minds to learn and master some of the principle artisanal techniques of the Italian tradition.
Designers from around the world, including South Africa’s Thabisa Mjo and Chinese designer Mingyu Xu, have blended production efforts from their home countries with those in Italy. This is akin to the Mexican Mestiz, stationed in San Miguel de Allende, and Jie Wu from China, now based in London. In his work, South Korean Byungsub Kim reinterprets his nation’s traditional mother-of-pearl cabinetmaking, while Austrian Laurids Gallée, positioned in Rotterdam, infuses contemporary irony into his woodworking. The artist duo Touche-Touche, namely Carolin Giezner and Théo Demans, take a more conceptual approach, forming experimental projects from their Atelier Zavantem in Brussels, aimed to constitute new interactive spaces.
Traversing two cultural worlds are English designer Hannah Lim, synthesising her mixed English and Singaporean cultural legacy into her works, and Ella Bulley, whose material-focused and artisan transforming works, even though rooted in London, echo her Ghanaian cultural inheritance. Riccardo Cenedella from Turin makes sure to use reclaimed materials, signifying the core of his design research. These works will be on display at via Broggi 19 in Milan from April 16 to 21, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Attendees can register at dolcegabbana.com/home/
Numerous companies have contributed to the creation of works and provision of materials include Arredolegnodesign, Atelier ZAV, Autoproduzione, Bottega Nove, Cc-tapis, Fonderia Artistica Battaglia, Forbicioni Studio, Fornace Mian, Friul Mosaic, Galimberti Action, Gentili Mosconi, Giovannozzi Marmi, Houtlander, Incalmi, Poliart, and Ranieri Pietra Lavica S.r.l.
