Time for the first-timers: the “new” brands at the Salone tell us all about themselves

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YO2, Funny and Fancy Objects, design Marcantonio, courtesy YO2

Bringing wallpapers, carpets, outdoor furnishings and lamps, here is a selection of companies that will be making their official entry to the fair this year

Some, like Jan Kath and JANUS et Cie, have already had a foretaste, during the supersalone in September. Others, such as Limonta and Fatboy, are first-timers. Many new names catch the eye as you leaf through the catalogue of this edition of the Salone, and you just have to ask some of them to discover that what unites them is the desire to amaze, fascinate and envelop with the story of their way of living and interpreting design.

INF_Limonta-Wall_Multipli-Wallcovering_Piero-Lissoni_salone-milano — Limonta Wall, Multipli Wallcovering, design Piero Lissoni, courtesy Limonta Wall

Novelties and collaborations

The great novelty for Limonta Wall is called Multipli, created by Piero Lissoni, who is entering the world of wallpaper for the first time. To develop it, he dipped into the Limonta archive, going back over a hundred years, and drew out geometric and floral designs. “Multipli, a wallpaper collection by Piero Lissoni” is a decorative collection in which 9 cylinders for rotogravure printing are combined in 7 color variants with tones ranging from the softest whites to grays, taupe and all the way to bolder colors such as blue, red and green. There were three key elements in the collaboration, they explain at Limonta: reinterpreting and enhancing some designs from the centennial archive, engineering the design anew with the combination of different printing cylinders, and the pleasure of wallpaper that can be associated with different sections and frames.

Wallpaper, as well as carpets, are again the elements that characterize Yo2, which will make its entrance to the Salone del Mobile with a broad range of innovations and important collaborations. Among the many, here is the evocative Arcimboldo collection designed by Pietro Ferruccio Laviani, four subjects that the brand describes as “a dreamlike collage, where memories, images and colors come together. Each carpet is a story made up of details that take us into a metaphysical world where reality and dream become a new colorful, romantic and melancholy story.” A poetic and delicate collection, as well as ironic and singular, is Funny and Fancy Objects designed by Marcantonio, a true surprise.

INF_Jan-Kath_collezione-Spectrum_salone-milano — Jan Kath, collezione Spectrum, courtesy Jan Kath

Traditions and suggestions

Speaking of surprises, Jan Kath, a German brand specializing in the design and manufacture of hand-knotted carpets, will present Savonnerie Surprise. The inspiration for the series of carpets comes from the desire to reproduce the antique through a contemporary and original filter that sublimates a visionary and original aesthetic. All this, as a testimony to a concern for history and the roots of ancient textile art. “We are happy to be taking part in this new edition of the Salone del Mobile in Milan. At the stand, Sanchir Kath will offer the opportunity to discover the secrets of loom knotting with a live demonstration,” the company explains. “After years when relations have been difficult, we are very happy to return to Milan, a city that plays a strategic role for the showcase and opportunities that the Salone del Mobile offers, as well as being stimulating and full of new ideas.”

Another long-awaited novelty speaks of textile traditions, this time bound up with ancient Sardinian lore. Mariantonia Urru uses a technique termed pibiones, which uses needles, with the thick woolen yarn being wrapped around them to create a very compact curl, resembling a small grape, called a pibione in Sardinian. The many woven goods one display include collections of Ortigu carpets and cushions, with inspiration drawn from the bark of the cork oak, and Scivu, a tribute to the beach of that name on the Costa Verde. In much the same way, the Is Arutas collection of cushions refers to the famous seafront of the Sinis peninsula, known as the “beach of grains of rice”.

inf_Mariantonia-Urru_Baglioni-Resort_salone-milano — Mariantonia Urru, Baglioni Resort, Spagnulo&Partners, ph. BarbaraPau, courtesy Mariantonia Urru

Innovation and fun

Together with tributes to the most refined traditions of the past, technical innovations and social pleasures will be coming to the Salone for the first time. This seems to be the premise of Fatboy, a Dutch design brand now part of Calligaris Group. “For more than twenty years, Fatboy has been showing the world that things can be done differently. This year, Fatboy will be showcasing at the Salone del Mobile for the first time. Fatboy will show their timeless icons like the Original Bean Bag, Edison the Petit lamp, Headdemock and Paletti modular outdoor lounge couch and the newest innovations. Spoiler alert: Fatboy will launch their biggest indoor innovation ever during Salone del Mobile.” So say the brand, adding that, during the Fuorisalone, they will present some “surprising activities” around the city, to be unveiled on social media.

Straddling refined craftsmanship and the most innovative materials, JANUS et Cie, the American brand specializing in outdoor furniture will also be making its official entry to the fair, presenting a series of novelties ranging from cocktail tables to a surprising pool table, all the way to the Cascata Fixed chaise lounge, sculptural seating that combines a contemporary shape with accurate ergonomics. Strong and made of 100% recyclable polyethylene, its silhouette evokes the art of origami and it is designed to be used both by the pool and in the water.

The Swedish brand Gemla will also be attending the Milan Furniture Fair for the very first time in June, presenting an upcycling project of cushions made from leather scraps, and two furniture novelties that skillfully combine the traditional craft techniques of steam bending wood with a modern, contemporary design. One of them is Gemla Open, an elegant lounge chair whose curved backrest is made of paper twine that is woven back and forth across the looped backrest (a cord construction designed to be easily repaired and maintained in future). The open weave is also a nod to the history of Gemla and their manufacture of tennis rackets, hence the name: “We hope that Gemla Open is just the right new design icon for modern lounge spaces,” says Benny Hermansson, owner, and CEO of Gemla.