PSFK Review: Salone Del Mobile 2007, Milano

Last week we dashed by Milan to get a quick fix on the design trends being reflected in the work at Italy’s global design fair Salone Del Milano. In 24 hours we visited i Fuori, the Zona Tortana and many more show spaces. Here are some of the observations we made from our in-out trip:

Playfulness - There seemed to be a lot of playfulness and this was led by Marcel Wanders with his show of flooring tile prints, oversize bells and delicate packaging. We saw it at the amazing wall of straws at the Moroso show, in the cutlery from Maarten Van Severen, the cushions from Fatboy and the little and very sweet Elephant from Vitra. A special mention must be made to Boaz Cohen & Sayaka Yamamoto for their work on show at the Satellite - especially their see-saw bookcase. All photos tagged ‘playful’

Hidden - From time to time we spotted a lot of hiding and privacy control: the chair that eats your suitcase from Campeggi, the set by Zonatta, the secret statuette in the Takeo paper book and the corrugated-paper chairs from Molo that can be folded away. All photos tagged ‘hidden’

Orange - Orange was the color that was out in force - accenting, highlighting, beaming. Orange was employed by Vitra, by the Brits, Toolbox, cBox, on display at the Castella and proud and round on the spectacular curved chairs by Kartell. All photos tagged ‘orange’

Delicate - Amid the commotion, there were fragile moments highlighted by the Tokujin x Moroso and Marcel Wanders chairs and in lampshades too. All photos tagged ‘delicate’

Folded - There were a number of designers experimenting with folded simple furniture made from a single piece of metal: the Mosquito chair from Michael Bihain was probably the finest example we saw, but there were also wonderful examples by Tom Dixon, M+K Design, Driade and the student designer Adele Rotella. All photos tagged ‘folded’

The big disappointment was the lack of eco-consciousness at the event. We spoke to design critic Cristina Morozzi on the way to a show and she also said she shared a disappointment. It was only the younger designers who seemed to be caring for the environment - making products out of sustainable wood or recycled materials. Meanwhile the big brands seemed to be churning out their high designs in lacquer, metals and rare woods at high costs.

Salone Image Bank On Flickr