Fashion, luxury more involved than ever before in Milan Furniture Show

By

Dominique Muret

Translated by
Benjamin Fitzgerald

Published
Apr 3, 2017

For six days, Milan is set to concentrate all its efforts on furniture and design. Kicking off Monday April 4 and closing Sunday 9, more than 300,000 visitors from 165 countries are expected to arrive in Milan for the 56th edition of the Milan Furniture Show (Salone del Mobile Milano). Outside furniture design, the upcoming event is expected to attract both fashion and luxury professionals, as the pair get more involved in furniture and home collections.

More and more brands are taking part in all kinds of events during the trade show: collaborations with celebrated design names, capsule collections and standalone store openings, as well as cocktails, parties and exhibitions.

For the last ten years, the Italian fashion council has had its own 'Milano Moda Design' calendar and released last year a dedicated website, milanomodadesign.it, allowing industry personnel to directly follow the initiatives promoted by fashion houses. Around fifty brands have joined to the official program of the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana (CNMI) including Armani and Diesel, as well as Etro, Fendi, Missoni, Versace, Trussardi, Ermenegildo Zegna and Roberto Cavalli.

One of the most anticipated exhibitions this year is Louis Vuittion's 'Objets Nomades', a series of pieces by some of today's most creative designers created for the luxury fashion house. Meanwhile, Marni's installation always proves very popular. For this edition, the Milanese label has launched its project Marni Playland, transforming its showroom into a gigantic playground with objects and sculptures boasting playful design inspired by the world of toys.
 

Meanwhile, there are other fashion brands looking to use this Milan design week as an entry into the home and furniture with their collection debuts. Such is the case this year for ready-to-wear label Twinset Simona Barbieri, which is bowing its first home collection in partnership Somma 1867, which forms part of the Gabel group. The textile manufacturer has been tapped to produced the Twinset Casa colleciton, comprised of curtains, cushions, towels and more.
 
As for the rest, more than 2,000 companies are expected to attend both the official trade show, held at the Milan Fair, and the "Fuorisalone", the concurrent "off" program with a myriad of presentations across 11 districts in the city. Nearly 1,000 events have been announced.