Road to Salone 2024: the American tour to promote the 62nd edition kicked off

Paris, London, Berlin, Copenhagen. After the extraordinary success of Road to Salone 2024 in Europe, the discovery tour of the 62nd edition, scheduled from 16 to 21 April, crosses the Atlantic. After Miami Art Week in December 2023, Salone del Mobile.Milano is featured in Dallas, New York, Las Vegas and Chicago.  

The journey by stages in the heart of the United States includes a new round of encounters, accompanied by digital insights, co-designed and coordinated with the support of the ITA – Italian Trade Agency, Miami Office, in charge to promote Italian design nationwide in the US, in collaboration with local branches of the AIA (American Institute of Architects), for a dialogue open to the whole design community in a key market for the sector. The US is in fact an important catchment area for business, it is the second largest market for Italian furnishing. Made in Italy enjoys an excellent reputation and design products, in particular, recorded important sales volumes also in the first 9 months of 2023 (albeit down on 2022), with a value of over 1.2 billion euros. 

On the days open to journalists and professionals, with a rich panel of exceptional guests including architects and designers, the evolution of the trade fair will be the theme: from the reorganization of the trade fair’s spaces, for an unprecedented experience that puts the visitor at the center, to the biennial EuroCucina and the International Bathroom Exhibition, and celebrations for the 25th anniversary of the SaloneSatellite, which this year will feature a major exhibition in the city hosted in the spaces of the Triennale Milano, from 16 to 28 April. It is also be a further opportunity to reflect on the challenges of housing, hospitality and the contract sector today and tomorrow and the way architecture is created, thanks to the involvement of special guests. 

Maria Porro, President of the Salone del Mobile.Milano, had this to say: “The Salone is back on the road with the intention of presiding over an extremely important market, the American market, which, despite the reflections and economic complexities of the last year, is once again one of the main outlets for Made in Italy design products – the second most important after France, accounting for a value of just over 1.2 billion euros – as well being an incredible place of experimentation, not least in design terms. It is also a point of reference for the contract sector, large residential projects and the hospitality industry, in which Italian design firms are increasingly involved and protagonists. The Salone’s role is becoming increasingly important and strategic, geared to supporting, promoting and communicating the excellence of Italian furniture in this market. The Salone represents a peerless link between the global economy and our furnishing manufacturing system, which we have a responsibility to convey around the world, whilst also being a magnet in Italy for all industry professionals in April. That is what we are working towards, that is why we are here.” 

The tour opened on Tuesday 23 January in Dallas at The Joule Hotel with an encounter where Maria Porro, President of the Salone del Mobile.Milano, talked with architect Adam D. Tihany, one of the international pioneers of the hospitality sector. This was followed by a presentation held in conjunction with AIA Dallas for the Texan trade sector, which illustrated the event’s twofold value, for both commerce and the trade fair. The events were attended by Peter Darby, President, AIA Dallas, Zaida Basora, Executive Director, AIA Dallas, e Carlo Angelo Bocchi, Director, Italian Trade Agency Miami.
 
On January 25th the tour reached New York in an exclusive press event to be held at the iconic AKA Nomad Hotel, with a speech held by Michele De Lucchi, architect and founder of AMDL CIRCLE and industrial designer Stephen Burks. At a subsequent encounter organized in collaboration with AIA (American Institute of Architects) NYC, at a prestigious restaurant in Midtown, the architect De Lucchi participated again alongside the studio Lombardini22, responsible in 2024 for the re-design of the routes and layouts of the event, Carlo Angelo Bocchi, Director, Italian Trade Agency Miami, e Jesse Lazar, Executive Director, AIA New York.

On February 20th, appointment in Las Vegas and on 22 February, in Chicago, where the encounter will be held in the White City Ball Room of the historic CAC Chicago Athletic Club building and as a special guest it will have Qiyao Li, Associate Principal from the famous engineering, architecture and urban planning firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM), invited to talk about sustainability and urban regeneration in relation to the project for the Olympic Village for the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. 

Follow us on Instagram to view the most interesting parts of the tour live, with exclusive content and interviews with the guests. And to be informed about the previews and news of the 2024 edition of Salone del Mobile.Milano, scheduled for April 16-21, sign up for the newsletter.