Vincent Van Duysen, the art of good living

I'll be taking Molteni&C's Gliss Master collection to the next level with Hector Night, an evolution of the Hector bedroom/wardrobe system that we developed last year. Then there's the Margou armchair and Marteen sofa. I've done an outdoor collection called Pablo for B&B Italia, inspired by the armchair of the same name that I designed a couple of years ago, which we've now added concrete side tables to. I'll be participating in Bulgari's Metamorphosis installation at GAM, with a work called Shelter, inspired by Bulgari's Serpenti collection.
We're also putting out a collection of planters called Melides, named after a fantastic place in Portugal, for Domani, a Belgian ceramics company, and it's going on show at the Bagatti Valsecchi Museum. With Domani we're also showcasing an outdoor collection called Frank Modular for Sutherland. I've designed some fabrics and rugs for Perennials, also going to the Bagatti Valsecchi, plus a new collection of outdoor spotlights for Flos. You'll be seeing a seat called Charlotte, for Paola Lenti, and a bag collection for Up To You Anthology called Trunk Bag. And last but not least, the new Kvadrat showroom at Corso Monforte 15.

We're all thrilled to be meeting up again after the long lockdown. Albeit scaled down, the Salone is back. Sure, the pandemic is still far from over and the September stand-in is much more low-key, but what's great is that the trademark top-notch design and integrity of the projects hasn't been affected. It's a pint-size version of the usual ginormous event that for me also meant a certain overexposure. There's been plenty of time to meditate and we've all become more aware of the situation. We have developed different approaches towards presenting and dealing with things. A year and a half down the track we're at last opening up showrooms and studios again, and presenting new products.

It's actually more like an exhibition or an open installation that allows every event to present its image and products in a highly consistent way. The upshot of this is that bad times teach us to be more respectful and cognizant of how we come across. For example, our presentation for Molteni will be poetic and unconventional, with less of a commercial slant. We're devoting more space to young people, and with any luck we'll see a resurgence of hope and curiosity. The doors are re-openening and so are the eyes of visitors and the world.