Milan Design Week is that moment of the year when Milan is transformed by beauty attracting a very large and international audience to the city.
For me, every year represents the perfect opportunity to see colleagues and friends again.
In the myriad of events I always try to select the most interesting ones and which above all can be a source of inspiration for my work as a Fashion Designer.
This year I decided to share with you my personal selection of events in which I had the pleasure of participating.
My passionate journey into Design Week 2024 began in via Gesù, in the Montenapoleone area, and precisely at the Bagatti Valsecchi Museum, the location chosen by Prada Frames for the collaboration with the Formafantasma collective: the third edition of the symposium is called "Being Home".
A very elegant Alice Rawsthorn, one of the most influential contemporary design critics, introduced the theme of the day, "Being Expansive", describing the place where we were, that is, the ancient and fascinating library of the Museum, and then introducing the young architect Jack Self, who made a speech about the concept of home and property, starting from the etymology of the term up to the developments in current society. The speech stimulated various reflections among us. The silence and the setting made this experience unique, which ended excellently with a snack on the Museum terrace on a sunny day that was perfect for enjoying to the fullest.
The event that I remember with most pleasure was the Opening of the exhibition “Emotions of the Sun” at the Senate Garden. Veuve Clicqout, French brand of champagne, in collaboration with the legendary photographic agency Magnum Photos. They presented at the Senate Garden the works of eight photographers (Steve McCurry, Alex Webb, Trent Parke, Olivia Arthur, Lindokuhle Sobekwa, Cristina de Middel, Nanna Heitmann and Newsha Tavakolian) who interpreted the strength and beauty of the sun.
I was in the good company of a friend, Dan Rubinstein, a New York journalist very famous at the moment for his podcast The Grand Tourist.
During the event I also had the chance to meet Sarah Andelman again. She is the legendary founder of the Parisian concept store Colette, now working as successful curator of artistic events.
Hermes, which for me has always been synonymous with absolute class, presented an installation this year that I personally chose as the most exciting due to its closeness to my taste and as a source of inspiration.
The unmistakable style and timeless elegance of the brand this year is told on the one hand with a composition of raw materials including bricks, stones and slates with shapes inspired by natural elements, and on the other with a series of archive creations from the brand like a 60s jockey's jacket or a 50s cape. The installation is located in the La Pelota space in Via Palermo.
This year Loewe experimented with lamps with an installation at Palazzo Citterio in Brera. “Loewe Lamps” in fact presents very particular and original lamps. The one that struck me most is a completely woven bamboo lamp created by Chikuunsai Tanabe, a Japanese artist, also creator of some of the bags on display. Bamboo in Japan is considered a very noble material and linked to spirituality.
The other lamps filled the space with their perfect lighting that brought out the colors of the leather and the workmanship.
Silk and cashmere armchairs perfectly and elegantly embellish the space of Loro Piana Interiors which paid homage to Cini Boeri on the centenary of his birth with the installation "A Tribute To Cini Boeri" in the Cortile della Seta.
The exhibition is dedicated to the iconic pieces designed by the great Italian architect with furnishings that celebrate the most joyful, playful and contemporary part of Cini Boeri's design idea, in full line with the values of my brand.
A brand that season after season is increasingly emphasizing the connection with nature is Zegna, which in the showroom in via Savona presented the book "Born in Oasi Zegna" which recalls over 100 years of Zegna history through a carefully curated series of evocative images and inspiring anecdotes.
Equally suggestive and inspiration permeated the immersive experience that Zegna gave us on the lower floor of the showroom. The visual, tactile and olfactory experience lived there wanted to bring the Oasi Zegna into the Design Week, and so it happened. It was therefore like being in the stupendous 100 square km nature reserve in the setting of the Biella Alps founded by Ermenegildo Zegna as an indisputable model of social and environmental awareness.
The place typically chosen for a break or as an office and meeting place for all professionals or artists has always been the Bar Basso and I also meet many friends there.
This year my American friend, the artist and illustrator Rob Wilson presented there a series of illustrated postcards in collaboration with the AUGUST journal.
For me Rob, also the author of the banner of this blog, is truly an artist similar to the aesthetic values of my brand. A stop on my tour of the city with Rob was also my showroom and most likely a collaboration has already been born! (Coming soon.)
Finally, the collaboration between the designer Thom Browne and the luxury homeware company Frette is very interesting: at the Palazzina Appiani a row of beds one after the other are arranged with the logic and precision of a barracks. The installation was also the set for a performance called Time to Sleep, featuring models dressed in Thom Browne.
From this Design Week I will bring with me a breath of contemporaneity, style, elegance, colors and beautiful memories.
