Milan Design Week report by Portland design reporter Damon Johnstun.Damon Johnstun

Portland design reporter Damon Johnstun will cover the 60th edition of Salone del Mobile, the prestigious furnishing and design show, June 7-12 at Fiera Milano Rho in Milan, Italy. The trends and products that debuted during Milan Design Week last year are showing up in showrooms. Here are highlights:

Although attendance at the Milan Design Week in 2021 was down significantly due to COVID-19 travel bans, it didn’t stop brands from going all out, but differently than in previous years.

The drop in visitors left more time for attendees to interact more deeply. Many of the designers, owners and public relations people were relieved to reconnect in a less stressful atmosphere.

There were fewer exhibitors and everything felt smaller, but this reduced distraction made the top trends even clearer.

The new luxury is touch. From fabrics like the trendsetting Dedar boucle to woven 3D wallpaper at the Salvioni showroom on Via Durini, every brand showed extremely tactile items.

Pottery at Nilufar and Archiproducts as well as rostrato, or beaded glass, Opera light fixtures at Barovier & Toso by Philippe Nigro emphasized the human hand in the creation of objects.

Salvatori stone company continued as a trendsetter with rounded marble in soft deep brown set in a chevron pattern.

The coronavirus pandemic and climate change drove designers to invite even more nature inside. This trend went beyond the obvious houseplants to interior jungles like that created at Storage Milano.

Designer Khaled El Mays’ collection at Nilufar Depot felt like an enchanting jungle room on acid.

Images of nature dominated murals by Federica Perazzoli at Nilufar and wall coverings at Dimorestudio.

The use of unadulterated natural materials such as the Armadillo furniture series by Philippe Nigro was clearly on the minds of designers across every spectrum.

Chunky, smooth shapes in furnishings grounded a world of uncertainty. The childlike forms offered comfort. This design language was seen in the luxurious remodel of the Four Seasons Hotel in Milan.

B&B Italia re-released several iconic pieces such as the Up 6 in cork. Swedish designers Mira Bergh and Josefin Zachrisson created Seats outdoor furniture that is playful and comforting.

Arched lighting at Palazzo Litta, curved seating at Nilufar Depot and Nilufar’s Brassless exhibit at Alcova also exemplified the trend.

From boho to disco, the ‘70s decade of massive social change serves up the perfect inspiration for today.

Ruching and rounded corners work to soften the clean lines and hard edges of the past. Baxter Milano showcased this with the Milano Bed designed by Paola Navone and the Barret chair by Draga & Aurel.

At Dimorestudio, browns replaced black and the work of architect and industrial designer Claudio Salocchi was highlighted where designer Emiliano Salci created retro wall graphics.

Architect and designer Mario Bellini not only inspired much of the trend but his work has surged in importance as seen with Bambolongue at Nilufar Gallery and Bambole at B&B Italia.

Mikado, the freestanding bookcase designed by Federico Peri, mixes metal, glass and leather.

French architect and designer Jean-Marie Massaud reinterprets the classic club chair from a bulky form into a light and comfortable deconstruction.Damon Johnstun

French architect and designer Jean-Marie Massaud reinterpreted the classic Le Club chair from a bulky form into a light and comfortable deconstruction for Poliform.

Australian furniture maker Fred Ganim ventured into a stone project with Mass. Damon Johnstun

Australian furniture maker Fred Ganim and UK-based marble-furniture maker Agglomerati ventured into their first stone partnership with Mass. Ganim used Palissandro marble to sculpt a curved monolithic base with movable cantilevered shelves that appear to float parallel to the ground.

Patricia Urquiola created a comfortably proportioned modular sofa system for Cassina.Damon Johnstun

Inspired by the cyclical rebuilding of Japanese temples, Patricia Urquiola created a comfortably proportioned modular sofa system for Cassina filled with 100% recycled fiber to fit even the most unconventional layout.

Edra’s first outdoor collection, A’mare designed by Jacopo Foggini mimics the color of water in the sun. Damon Johnstun

Edra’s first outdoor collection, A’mare designed by Jacopo Foggini, mimics the blue-green color of water shimmering in the sun. The furniture is built of polycarbonate “sticks” that reference vernacular wooden furniture. The overall effect is spectacular.

Audrey Large’s 3D printed work at Nilufar opens a dialog between real and digital.Damon Johnstun

Eindhoven-based French designer Audrey Large’s 3D printed work at Nilufar opens a dialog between real and digital. She digitally models shapes with figural references that remain intentionally abstract. She prints pieces that will fit on a 3D printer and then assembles them into the larger work.

Bethan Laura Wood's Meisen project was inspired by Western modernists popular from 1912 to the 1950s. Damon Johnstun

British designer Bethan Laura Wood started this project as an exploration of handle forms as jewelry for furniture. The name “Meisen” came from Wood’s love of the exuberantly colorful kimonos inspired by Western modernists popular from 1912 to the 1950s. Wood worked with APLI software to create vibrant bespoke wood veneers seen at Nilufar.

Bijoy Jain of Studio Mumbai reimagined the club chair Lignage d’Hermes and the black stone Sillage d’Hermes table.Damon Johnstun

Pritzker Architecture Prize-nominated Bijoy Jain of Studio Mumbai is the first architect born in India to collaborate with the French luxury brand Hermes.

Inspired by club chair Lignage d’Hermes, the wood frame is covered in a new type of cellulose microfiber from Puglia, Italy and then hand-painted. The black stone Sillage d’Hermes table is hand engraved in a radial pattern and turns gray when etched.

Gabriele Salvatori and Piero Lissoni were inspired by the traditional Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered goldDamon Johnstun

For the Lost Stones collaboration with Salvatori, Gabriele Salvatori and Piero Lissoni were inspired by the traditional Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold.

Unlike the Western perception of perfection, the breaking and repair not only are an acceptance of imperfection but become even more valued. Because stone is brittle, there is a large amount of breakage. This offers a solution to create an even more valued product out of what was previously wasted.

Rossana Orlandi, the gallerist and international design tastemaker, continues her quest to convert waste plastics into great design. Her international Guiltless Plastic project, set at the Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci, showcased solutions in upcycling one of the most available resources.

Orlandi takes the view that plastic itself is not the problem, but that we need to figure out transformational ideas to create useful and desirable products.

The Circular Lab arena made from liquid containers defined a lecture area in the museum’s courtyard.

At her Rossana Orlandi Gallery in Milan, Orlandi presented a tile made of recycled eggshells by Nature Squared and designer Elain Ng. The wall and floor tiles are handmade in the Philippines.

More Damon Johnstun design stories:

• Archiproducts is an online design wonderland

• Your home office deserves a standout modern chair designed by Eames, Saarinen, Citterio

• Designer Antonio Citterio’s guide to contemporary Italian elegance

• Minimalist master Piero Lissoni is surprisingly funny: Milan Design Week

• Step into Dimore Studio’s evocative world: Milan Design Week (photos)

• Quietly elegant office chairs come home: An interview with Jeannette Altherr

• Hive Modern hosts Italian luxury furniture boss Patrizia Moroso

• Christian Lacroix’s Sacha Walckhoff creates carpets for Moooi

• Paris-based designer’s elegant work documented in new book ‘Joseph Dirand Interior’

• ‘Milan is the capital of design’ says Nina Yashar of Nilufar galleries

• Furniture impresario Giulio Cappellini in Milan (photos)

• Papilio chair inspired by swallowtail butterfly: Naoto Fukasawa in Milan

• Modern furniture inspired by the Mini Cooper: GamFratesi in Milan

• Gallery owner Rossana Orlandi: Starmaker of furniture designers

• Designer Bethan Laura Wood’s lighting inspired by lollipops

• Architect, furniture designer Vincent Van Duysen: ‘Timeless modernism’

• Lighting designer Michael Anastassiades: Simplicity from complexity

• A $100,000 pool table: ‘The price for the pursuit of perfection’

• Ferruccio Laviani: Design-obsessed people know his name, others will soon

• Bisazza interprets iconic Pucci prints in mosaic: Reflecting on Milan design shows

• Magritte-inspired boudoir and a nude pink room with a velvet loveseat: Snapshots of a furniture fair

• A glimpse into Giancarlo Giammetti’s lavish book ‘Private’

• Barcelona’s early modernist masterpiece: Mies van der Rohe’s Pavilion

• Baccarat partygoers in Milan treated to iconic crystal luxury

• Self-taught multicultural designer Philippe Nacson invests in a new future: Design City

• Design Week Portland kickoff party: Nonstop visual wows

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