The Milan Furniture Fair, called i Saloni by the Italians, happens each May in Milan Italy. It is one of, if not the most, prestigious furniture trade shows in the world due to the prominence of Italy’s place in design history and current product offerings that continue to delight the rest of the world. The show is now over, but we were so lucky to get a glimpse into the show and see some of this year’s top introductions by mainly Italian and other European manufacturers.

The show is situated on Milan’s fairgrounds, which is quite large and offers extensive space to see over 1700 vendors and their displays. There are 22 buildings that house all of this, and so it’s virtually impossible to see everything even in the week that the show is around. The pavilions are divided up by type of products, and eight of these are devoted to mainly commercial and retail companies, such as Moroso, Vitra, Molteni, Fiam, etc. There are five pavillions devoted to kitchen design, and then another two for bath. We focused mainly on the design companies providing furniture for contract use, but even that was a challenge to see it all.

Trends were abundant, as were plenty of sightings of cool things that we will expect to see in the US in the future. Like most trade shows, the products on display range anywhere from already on the market in the US and Europe, to prototypes that may never reach the point of mass manufacture. But seeing all of this helps to put today’s market in context and give us some strong ideas about where the world of design is headed.

One thing we noticed right away was a desire to tell the story of “process”, whether it be about how a product comes to life or how it can be deconstructed (or easily constructed). This is most likely a reaction to how products can easily be treated as a commodity that can be knocked off, as many of us today are craving authenticity and honesty in our world. Kartell went so far as to use this concept in their booth, showing how all their new products have come to life in sketches, videos, and prototypes.

Another trend emerging is the softening of furniture. What do we mean by that? For many years, minimalism and clean design only allowed crisp, hard edges and uniformity of materials, many of which were metal. Not so any more! We can easily see this trend in chair design, where almost everyone had a side chair that had wood legs and either an upholstered or hard seat in a different material. We also saw this trend in lounge seating, where cushions are overscaled and loose. We saw this in tables with the top being one material and the base being wood. There was also the addition of rope and woven details, mixed in with wood. This trend seems to come from the idea that we all desire materials that not only speak to authenticity (wood over man-made materials), but also that we respect nostalgia. As we move into uncertain times in a world dominated by technology, and natural and man-made crises, we are looking to more familiar things that make us comfortable.

Other popular trends that we have already started to see emerge here in the US are the growing use of communal tables (mixing the familial with the familiar), blending globalism and multicultural influences into design objects, and more casual and relaxed living (since work, home, and life are all blended).

For more design insights from Royce, visit www.repeatnorepeat.com or follow her on Twitter @RepeatNoRepeat.