Salone del Mobile in Milan designs the fair of the future

The Salone del Mobile returns to its historical period – that is, in April – but it will not be “everything as before”. In the sense that this year more than ever, among the many innovations it will show to the world, there will be not only objects and projects, but the very way of presenting them, i.e. a complete rethinking of the way of doing and going to a fair, from the format to the layout. A great experiment that not by chance starts from Euroluce, the biennial dedicated to lighting that has always been one of the most advanced points of the sector in terms of innovation, research and patents. «If in the past one came to see the story of the object that produces light, i.e. the lamp, today light is an architectural project and is linked to technological processes» explained the president of the Salone Maria Porro, «Hence the need to a new exhibition format with a different layout».

Concretely, from the perpendicular and parallel «roads» we pass to a circular path, imagined with the Lombardini22 studio which deals with thinking about flows in large spaces. There will therefore be public spaces and special cameos that take into account the various vocations of a Salone which over the years has become not just a place for business but also for entertainment and knowledge. «It is a business event but also a moment of dialogue between technology and poetry, between architecture and design» continues Maria Porro, who announces «a top-level cultural offer made up of exhibitions, talks, workshops, installations». All curated by Beppe Finessi and with Formafantasma designing the public space. And with an opening night again at La Scala, with an event designed ad hoc for the Salone.

In this reflection on the future of the trade fair world there was also a rethinking of the location of the various worlds of the Show. In the meantime, everything will be on the ground floor with no more ups and downs, and the Salone Satellite will be moved inside Euroluce. «It makes more sense to put the design of the future, the one that comes from schools and the creativity of young talents, in the most advanced pavilion», concludes Maria Porro, while Marva Griffin, who has been at the helm of the Satellite for 23 years, reveals something of the theme of 2023 edition: «This was decided by the design schools and institutes to whom we asked “Where is design going?” They’ll tell us.”

In short, a large investment despite the moment of uncertainty due to the international situation, between the war in Ukraine and the closure of China. A relaunching and looking ahead that has so far rewarded a sector that still has good news to share: «Despite a thousand difficulties, the wood-furniture supply chain is preparing to close 2022 at +12% compared to 2021, after the slowdown recorded in last quarter», comments Claudio Feltrin, president of FederlegnoArredo. «A result which, according to the surveys of our Study Center, is also reflected in the results of the Furniture Macro System (with sales of 4.58 billion euros) which in the first nine months of 2022 recorded a +12.7%, with a trend that in Italy reached +14.7%, while exports recorded +11%».