Mission: Milano!

Most Illustrious│Bosa Bosa, iSalone, Milano

Elena Salmistraro pays homage to Italian design masters with this table decoration collection: Achille Castiglioni (on the centenary of his birth, in 2018), Riccardo Dalisi, Michele De Lucchi, Alessandro Mendini are transformed in three-dimensional totem figures that reference the peculiar features of each designer while matching them to the product that made them famous. www.bosatrade.com  

Super Position│MDF Italia MDF Italia, iSalone, Milano

Design by Jean Nouvel, this bookcase family carries hallmarks of both designer and manufacturer: formal, lightweight, extremely graphic in its use of overlapping horizontality; a simple design in extruded aluminium assembled by using an invisible junction system. www.mdfitalia.it  

Poppies│Missoni Home Poppies, Missoni Home

On a black and white backdrop, the precious hues of a field of exuberant poppies and colourful butterflies pop with colour. Colours and textures create layers on a reversible jacquard, like a painted canvas. The undulating flower stems decorate the double cushion of the backrest, in pure cotton reversible jacquard. www.missoni.com  

Inciso│Gessi Inciso, Gessi, iSalone

Marking the Italian bathware company’s first collaboration with American designer David Rockwell, the formal gestures of early plumbing fixtures and the architectural sensibility of modern metalwork inspired this solid brass collection of faucets and accessories. www.gessi.com 

Legato│Matter Made Legato, Matter Made

Luca Nichetto gets around! His handiwork was visible at booths for Kristalia, Ethimo, Coedition, MDF Italia, and more, including this lighting system for Matter Made. Every lamp is anchored on a rigid structure in aluminium made of several tiers, individual modules that allow for different combinations. The double directionality of the light sources creates a play of reflections and shadows between the cones, emphasizing the volumes. www.mattermade.us  

Rilievi│Cedit Rilievi, Cedit, iSalone iSalone

Designed by Zaven (a.k.a Enrica Cavarzan and Marco Zavagno), this new collection of highly tactile, space-defining interior coverings puts ceramic tile into an interesting new perspective. 3D elements with different geometric forms and colours can be rearranged on large slabs, giving new life to previously dull transforming two-dimensional walls. www.ceditceramiche.it 

La Belle Étoile│Slamp Slamp, Belle Etoile, iSalone, Milano Slamp, Belle Etoile, iSalone, Milano

Designed by Adriano Rachele, this swirling confection of white texture printed on transparent polymers is inspired by the graceful twirling of a ballerina. Available in suspension and wall versions, the lamp is purportedly unbreakable, and the LED source can be quickly changed thanks to a magnetic hanging system. www.slamp.it 

Vitrail│Magis Vitrail, Magis, iSalone, Milano Vitrail, Magis, iSalone, Milano

Inga Sempé was inspired by Venetian mirrors found in antique shops, which were often a central mirror surrounded by other smaller pieces of glass: a simple and attractive way to both frame and reflect. This collection combines clear and contrasting coloured mirrors held together by an injection moulded rubber frame, and come in a variety of formats. www.magisdesign.com 

Tape│Minotti Tape, Minotti, iSalone, Milano Tape, Minotti, iSalone, Milano

Designed by the Japanese studio Nendo, at first glance the soft enveloping curve of the shell that forms the armrest and accommodates the soft back cushion is what dominates this collection of seats, but upon closer inspection one notices the clever ribbon detail that appears to hold the light bronze-coloured metal legs externally to the structure, hence the name. www.minotti.it 

Mullit│Sancal 

A “cushion with legs” was what Clara del Portillo and Alex Selma of Yonoh were going for with this poufy seat and back cushions set against the visual lightness of wooden or metal legs that look like toothpicks. A subtle ruffle has been used on its back, as well as a flange, to further the cushion motif. www.sancal.com 

Vimini│Kettal Vimini, Kettal, Milano, iSalone Vimini, Kettal, Milano, iSalone

Inspired by Nanna Ditzel and her Basket chair, Patricia Urquiola’s Vimini (which means wicker in Italian) consists of a basket with large backrest cushions. Seen from the side and back it has that modernist look, but the braiding is traditional. www.kettal.com 

 Tapio│ Paola Lenti Tapio, Paolo Lenti, Milano, iSalone

Designed by Francesco Rota, this line of indoor seating is composed of two different elements, augmentable through a combinations of fabrics, colours and finishing. The bearing structure is made of ash heartwood and is finished by hand in Mano Opaca, a transparent oil-based varnishing, which let the wood’s natural veins show through. www.paolalenti.it 

 Gu MAD Architects for Sawaya & Moroni Gu, MAD Architecture, Moroni, Milano, iSalone Gu, MAD Architecture, Moroni, Milano, iSalone

Drawing reference from skeletal structures (“gu” translates to “bones” in Chinese), the design’s joints create a network of sinuous forms similar to that of connective fibrous tissue. Each surface of the chair fuses into one another, forming seams that mutate from something natural into something more futuristic, making it seem more like a growing organism than a chair. www.i-mad.com 

 La DoubleJ for Kartell  La DoubleJ, Kartell, iSalone, Milano 

They made a splash debuting at last year’s Salone del Mobile with a collection of vintage printed tableware and linens, and translated that splash into big new collaborations with three historic Italian brands, most notably Kartell. This 15 piece collection spans a wide range of furniture and tabletop items, many new designs, others are re-editions of Kartell’s iconic pieces wrapped in La DoubleJ prints. www.ladoublej.com 

 Liberty Lounger│Moooi Liberty Lounger, Moooi, iSalone, Milano

Sculptor Joep van Lieshout set himself a goal: to create one chair per day for a month. He named the series Prototypes as part of his utopian project New Tribal Labyrinth: a futuristic vision focused on “the reinvention of the industrial revolution by recreating an ideal world based on the lost relationship between individuals and raw materials.” Liberty, the first lounger of this series, was handmade with no sketches and no measuring equipment: just the artist and the object. www.moooi.com 

 Pet Lights│Moooi Pet Lights, Moooi Pet Lights, Moooi

Uhuh, Purr & Noot Noot (owl, rabbit & penguin) are a series of table lamps by Marcel Wanders. Whimsical in every sense of the word, their frosted glass bodies are decorated with touches of gold, in case they weren’t precious enough as they were. www.moooi.com 

 Oryx│Jori 

This new sofa model is, according to its maker, French designer Christophe Giraud, “an ode to the proud and elegant bearing of the antelope or oryx, regally posed on its slender legs and perfectly integrated in its natural environment.” Uh huh. Well, good thing the loose cushions are super-comfy. www.jori.com 

 Newton│Maison Valentina 

This bathtub features a single slipper-style shape and a curved lip made out of gold-plated casted iron. But c’mon: it’s the balls we love! The high-gloss black and gold lacquered spheres are meant to resemble a cluster of bubbles floating in a soaking bath. There’s also a washbasin version of this, as well. www.maisonvalentina.net 

 Ami│Yamakawa  

What you see is what you get with these three basket tables. And that’s a-ok. Designed by Jun Yasumoto, the naked shamelessness of these wicker tables is almost refreshing amid the din of Milanese excess. Light, flexible and non-intrusive, the white laminate top is removable and transforms them into practical indoor containers. www.yamakawa-rattan.com 

 Kiik│Arper Arper, Kiik, Salone del Mobile, milano

This collection of seating, tables, ottomans, and consoles designed by Ichiro Iwasaki is meant for waiting rooms, corporate lounge and other meeting spaces. Modularity is the name of this game: seats come with and without backrests; tables come in triangular, circular, square or rectangular shapes; and low or raised consoles. www.arper.com  

 Eddy│Normann Copenhagen Eddy, Norman Copenhagen, Salone del Mobile, Milano, iSalone Eddy, Norman Copenhagen, Salone del Mobile, Milano, iSalone

This table lamp, designed by Simon Legald, consists of a plane steel screen with integrated LED light source that balances on a lamp base made of hand turned Italian marble: contrasting exercises of balance and density in steel and marble. www.normann-copenhagen.com 

 Love│ Zalaba Design Zalaba, Love, Salone del Mobile, Milano, iSalone

This Zurich-based, family run design studio managed by Ginger Zalaba has tapped into its already impressive lineage of design talent: her grandfather Otto Kolb, a voice in the New Bauhaus movement, designed the iconic Love chair in 1950, and Ginger has now tweaked and re-launched it for 2018. www.zalaba.com 

 Cup│Plank Cup, Plank, Salone del Mobile Cup, Plank, Salone del Mobile

Being a world-famous product designer means lots of travel, so it’s not surprising that Konstantin Grcic (whose air miles account must be ridiculous) appreciates the benefits of plastic shell suitcases. Light, flexible, strong yet good looking, suitcases made of thin vacuum-formed plastic sheets have revolutionized an entire product species, and are now the inspiration for his new chair. www.plank.it 

 Invisible Personage│BD Barcelona BD Barcelona, Salone del Mobile, Milano BD Barcelona, Salone del Mobile, Milano

In 1991, the Art Editions arm of BD began a process of producing and marketing furniture depicted by Salvador Dalí in his paintings. Three products have come out of this relationship, including the 2016 launch of the chair “Invisible personage” which appeared in Dalí’s 1935 “Singularities, c” and which has been re-issued in a limited edition set. www.bdarteditions.com