Made in Italy in Shanghai

The Orbit's Orbit. Installazione performativa - Ph. XELEVATION

An event held at The Orbit from 8th to 10th November featured 65 iconic Italian furnishing products in a highly scenic and impactful immersive experience

A special project bringing art and design into dialogue recently closed in Shanghai. Accompanied by the ITA – Italian Trade Agency, the Salone del Mobile.Milano, a partner of China’s leading art fair West Bund Art & Design, presented The Orbit’s Orbit, a performative installation devoted to Italian design by the artist Matilde Cassani. A unique project valorising the design industry, also serving to strengthen the dialogue between two increasingly intermeshed cultures.

The Chinese market is a strategic one, becoming the 7th highest wood-furnishing supply chain export destination during the first seven months of 2024, for a value of 286,9 million euros. It is a hugely important sector, capable of generating significant business opportunities for Made in Italy, fostering the building of solid and lasting relationships.

salonemilano, shanghai — Antoniolupi, ALBUME LUX, design by Carlo Colombo; BORGHI, design by Gumdesign

The installation took shape inside the building designed by the architect Thomas Heatherwick, bringing design, art and culture together and fostering dialogue and cross-pollination between East and West. Developed on circular axes housing 65 iconic products by 36 of Italy’s leading furniture brands, the epicentre was occupied by a stage that hosted a performance, staged in collaboration with a local school. The event also featured a packed series of talks, providing opportunities for interface and debate, sparking conversations and actively involving visitors, affording them a direct experience of the products being showcased.

Alongside Maria Porro, President of the Salone del Mobile.Milano, the many guests included prominent figures on the international design scene, such as Ma Yansong, founding partner of MAD Architects; Paola Antonelli, Senior Curator, Architecture & Design, Director, Research & Development at The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA); André Fu, founder of André Fu Studio and André Fu Living; Wu Bin, designer and architect, founder of W.DESIGN and Aldo Cibic, designer and architect.

shanghai, salonemilano — Kartell, MASTERS, design by Philippe Starck

Companies involved:  antonilupi, Artemide, Barovier&Toso, B&B Italia, Baxter, Caccaro, Davide Groppi, Desalto, Edra, Ethimo, Flexform, Flos, Flou, Frigerio, Gessi, Glas Italia, Kartell, Living Divani, Martinelli Luce, Mattiazzi, Meridiani, Molteni&C, Nardi, Pinetti, Poliform, Porada, Porro, Riva 1920, Rugiano, Saba Italia, Scavolini, Tacchini Italia, Technogym, Turri, Villari and Visionnaire.

salonamilano, shanghai — Saba Italia, PIXEL, design by Sergio Bicego; BABY GEO, design by Mauro Grasselli

15 November 2024

The latest outdoor furnishing, championing sustainability, material and colour

Comfortable and sustainable, outdoor furnishing lends itself to many different interpretations, channelling innovation and constantly evolving aesthetics

Marilena Pitino

Stories

The biology of light, according to Manuel Spitschan

What does chronobiology have to do with design? Manuel Spitschan, professor at the Technische Universität München, explains why light is essential to our well-being. And why designers should know more about it to design better.

Giulia Zappa

veduta dall'alto di Piazze sonore, via Corridoni

Sustainability

The Piazze Aperte scheme is really changing the face of Milan

Since 2018, the two local governments helmed by Mayor Giuseppe Sala have closed more than fifty of the city’s streets and roads to traffic – but not to people. And this is just the beginning