Is retro the design world’s new normal? Milan Furniture Fair reveals global trends
Designers at the Salone del Mobile Milano looked to the past to help navigate an uncertain present
Retro-modern is the design world’s comfort food.
As populism finds political traction, designers at the Milan Furniture Fair looked to the past for inspiration, offering reassurance in the form of high-quality furnishings to help navigate an uncertain present.
“When you are scared, you want something you know in life,” said designer Philippe Starck, sitting on an updated Caprice cafe stool and coordinated Passion table for Cassina. “We cannot start from scratch. It is impossible. We cannot use the fantastic technology which is available because it is not what people want. .... When this cycle will finish, we will explode. We have drawers full of projects, boxes.”
“Today, 95 per cent of people in Milano will think they are buying modern furniture, and they will buy retro furniture,” he told The Associated Press.
Milan design week, which combines the Milan Furniture Show with collateral Fuori Salone events throughout the city, is as much about ideas as about products, and the debate about which prevails is a constant.
Some highlights from the seven days of events that ended Sunday: