“supersalone”: all you need to know about the event of the year

At a time of huge change, the ability of the Salone del Mobile.Milano to reinvent itself will be the main driver of a happening that will chart a new story. It will make all the difference for the entire design community.

Conceived by the Salone del Mobile.Milano and curated by Stefano Boeri, the event at the Rho fairgrounds from 5th to 10th September will see them reaffirmed as the epicentre of international design and a place with manifold opportunities for interface, exchange, connections and reflection.

It will be a “supersalone”, a large exhibition of design, and the first in the sector to open its doors after months of pandemic distancing, reaffirming the centrality of the art of design and innovation that has always been upheld by the Salone del Mobile.Milano and by Milan. The great news for the September event is that it will be open every day not just to professionals but also to a wider public increasingly tuned into and passionate about good quality furnishing.

The proposed format will be that of a large design library, designed to valorise the new products and creations brought out by the companies over the last 18 months along with their traditional products. This fluid and dynamic exhibition set-up will allow visitors to navigate freely inside a huge national and international archive of excellence and savoir faire.

The layout will consist of seven long parallel sets with modular vertical walls on which most of the exhibiting companies’ products will be showcased. With circularity in mind, all the display materials and components have been designed to be dismantled and reused. Furthermore, with the onus on sustainability and thanks to Forestami, a welcome area planted with 200 trees will be set up at the East Gate of the fairgrounds. After the event, the trees will be relocated to Milan’s metropolitan area.

The event will be punctuated with themed areas and itineraries: arenas for talks on knowledge sharing and deepening, dedicated lounges for commercial and business company meetings, areas reserved for young students at design schools and an exhibition curated by the ADIs of ventures awarded the Compasso d’Oro, food courts conceived and set up in partnership with Identità Golose - The International Chef Congress, and socialising and relaxation areas. A packed public programme of meetings with some of the leading figures on the contemporary scene will further enliven the six days.

The event’s DNA will be built on a series of cross-pollinations, openings up, fusions and extroversions conceived not just by Stefano Boeri but also by an international and multidisciplinary team of co-designers - - Andrea Caputo, Maria Cristina Didero, Anniina Koivu, Lukas Wegwerth and Marco Ferrari and Elisa Pasqual of Studio Folder – with the collaboration of Giorgio Donà, co-founder and director of Stefano Boeri Interiors, all brought together to generate a real cultural and creative short circuit, a happening that will flesh out a new story and make all the difference.

It will certainly be a different edition, but one intimately connected with the Salone del Mobile.Milano, given the undisputable quality of the products on exhibit and the prestige of the participating brands. The event will, of course, comply fully with the health regulations and protocols imposed throughout Italy to combat the spread of Coronavirus.