Milan 2010 - Our Highlights

Overall, it wasn’t a classic year for Milan and the volcano managed to distract people from the lack of innovation. Manufacturers were understandably cautious about investing in potentially expensive new techniques as the global markets slowly recover, and on the whole, true innovation was sidelined in favour of “tweaks” and extensions to existing product families.

Milan 2010 will probably go down in history as The Year of the Volcano, but that’s not to say it didn’t have it’s highlights……

Established & Sons: Jumper Chair by Bertjan Pot and Lighthouse by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec in collaboration with the venerable Italian glass company Venini.

Cappellini: Alodia Stool by Todd Bracher

Swarovski Crystal Palace: Amplify by Yves Behar. Once again, the Swarovski Crystal Palace was one of the big draws at Zona Tortona with people queuing outside at all times of day.

One of the busiest designers this year was definitely Luca Nichetto with a host of new designs for a variety of manufacturers, including Skitsch, Tacchini and Established & Sons. Of his three new pieces for Skitsch, our favourite was the Shogun sofa.

And finally…….a mention for the fun and cosy Valdemar by Martin & Christian for Normann Copenhagen. The lounge chair as private hide away has been around for a while now, but Valdemar’s exaggerated scale and personality gives it an edge.

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