Milan was pretty intense this year, with so many people everywhere—the queues were possibly the worst I’ve ever seen. It felt like an influx of a whole new demographic was introduced via the shows hosted by major fashion brands like Gucci, Loewe, Bottega Venetta, Saint Laurent, and so on. A lot of car, tech, and alcohol brands were there again, too, which transformed the week into a cultural event rather than one purely focused on design. This has brought with it a sense of overwhelm due to the increased scale and diversified focus, along with some confusion and plenty of frustration. When has Milan Design Week become so much about marketing rather than design?

On the flip side, Milan’s undeniable charm and magnetism are impossible to resist. Design week consumes the city, and the energy is palpable. It’s a time of catching up with old friends and making new ones, gorging on design while bumping into your creative heroes around every corner. To quote a friend of mine, it’s just like Design Christmas!

This is enough to make anyone forget the cyclone of chaos that comes with Design Week—traffic congestion, long queues, and the overwhelming scale of events that only seem to grow, inducing major FOMO. There's also the solemn backdrop of global wars, unprecedented human suffering, the escalating cost of living... Not to mention the irony of attending the biggest global event responsible for adding more stuff to an already overstuffed world. It’s a lot to reconcile. Max Fraser from Dezeen wrote an excellent piece “Has Milan design week become a victim of its own popularity?” which is probably the best analysis of the week I’ve seen.

Some of my favourite shows from the week shared common traits—a point of view, sharp curation, a sense of curiosity and humanity, and a commitment to restoring the importance of materials and craftsmanship, representing values beyond individual objects. Back-to-origin-type stuff. Interestingly, none of my favourites were particularly ‘Instagrammable’. Perfect, if you ask me, because you just had to be there to fully appreciate their brilliance or have the discipline to look beyond the superficial, a skill many of us seem to have lost. (Oh, in case you’re wondering, I’m talking about WonderPowder at Dropcity, the Korean Craft Show at Rossana Orlandi and the almighty Hermes at La Pelota.)

I also loved seeing many material-focused exhibitions and radical explorations of resources, like Hydra 100R’s cool take on post-consumer aluminium or Dzek’s iteration of linoleum tiles derived from linseed oil, developed with Christien Meindertsma. I think the reason material explorations really land right now is summed up so well by Dzek, stating: “21st-century materials have an environmental mandate that their 19th-century predecessors did not. A tangible design emergency calls on us to reconsider every part of the built environment in order to reduce the human impact on climate.” Amen.

I hope you enjoy the 2024 issue of Milan Unpacked in partnership with Space, your exclusive opportunity to delve deep into the world of Milan Design Week. Expect to see plenty of visual busting inspiration via Installations and experiences, including Heritage brands and Fashion houses; group shows including Alcova, Dropcity, Baranzate Ateliers & Capsule Plaza; material explorations courtesy of 12 designers and brands; and products from major and independent brands and galleries.

By the way, this report is quite comprehensive, so we split it into 3 volumes to give you a chance to absorb and enjoy it. Volumes 2 and 3 will be live on June 11th and 25th, respectively.

Grazie mille,