We had a chat to our “Director At Large”, Steven Berengo, to get his impression of the last two weeks out and about in Milano for the furniture fair, Salone del Mobile 2022. We asked about what the latest trends were, the latest and most impressive items from our exclusive designer’s collections, what the WOW factors were and his favourite stand. See his answers in our special blog which features an interview with Steve about the event.

HQ: Steve! Wow, looks like you have had a fantastic time at Salone! What were the trends you saw? What is going to be featured in furniture in the next 12 months?

 

Steve: It’s been a fantastic experience, especially after missing it for the last two years! We saw a lot of Bouclé fabrics in light colours, lots of natural, earthy tones across ranges - ie terracotta, greens etc. We also saw a trend towards smaller desks for home offices, which is a direct result of more people working from home as a result of COVID. We also saw a lot of new coloured marbles, including reds, pinks and greens, which were really interesting!

 

(Bouclé: French for 'curl' or 'loop', Bouclé is both yarn and an upholstery fabric made from it. The textile is characterised by its nubby, almost fleecy appearance, from the little loops in the yarn. Bouclé fabrics are commonly made from wool fibres, however, you can also find the textile in linen, cotton and even silk)

 

HQ: Looks like our designers were really pulling out all the stops for the fair! Were there any new items that we might see in the showroom in the coming months?

 

Steve: Absolutely! There were so many outstanding furnishings, although the below were my favourites:- From Gallotti&Radice, the Simpodio System (table), Bolle verticale, Lilas daybed, Cloud Infinity sofa; from i4 Mariani, the Asso and Jin sofa, Euclideo desk (not new this year but still stunning to see in person); from Pellizzoni, the Marlena chairs and Billy armchair; from Sovet; the Deod table with one big base, combining two, smaller tables with one base to create a fabulous larger table); from Desiree, both the Eliese and Hab bed; from Zalf, the Windy and Freespace; and fromBarovier & Toso, the magnificent Margritte! 

 

HQ: The fair looked amazing - was there anything in particular that was an outstanding feature/had the WOW factor? 

 

Steve: The size of the Salone del Mobile grounds - just amazing. The major furniture brands and their stands were incredible - Minotti, Poliform, Edra, Giorgetti, Flexform, Baxter - all superb and showcasing how they really are huge players in the global scene. The buzz of Milan, both during the day and at night, focused around the Fuori Salone and private parties - fantastic opportunities to meet with contacts face to face were invaluable, and in such amazing settings! 

 

The Fuori Salone experience with Palazzo Edra (also at Salone), and the Cassina and B&B Italia showrooms were stunning and inspirational - it was great to visit these brands who did not display at the Salone. 

 

A real highlight for us (which we featured in our highlight reels) was the artist Simon Berger for Gallotti&Radice. Copied from photos, he created faces by cracking glass. These limited edition art pieces were called “Unbreakable Identities”! Just incredibile!!!!

 

The Barovier&Toso experience in Venice and also the Barovier flat /showroom in Milan were simply stunning and certainly a huge highlight! We can’t wait to bring these products to Australia. 

 

HQ: So, of all the stands….which was your favourite?

 

Steve: Hands down, Gallotti&Radice. They had a heavy emphasis on neutral, earthy tones and boucle, which creates, simply, super comfortable furniture.

Friday 24 June, 2022

Report: Salone del Mobile 2022

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