The Best Designs from Salone del Mobile 2021
Milan's furniture and design fair returns with new decor and luxe collaborations galore.
The design world, as one might guess, is an extremely tactile one: the nubby silk of a rug, the buttery leather of a floating sofa, the silky birch grain of a Danish wood table. Which is why it felt so important to celebrate this year's Salone del Mobile, delayed 18 months by the pandemic. Editors, designers, architects, and buyers reunited to peruse showrooms and revel in new collections, some of which had been secreted away since 2020. The design houses delivered, from Dior's fabulous display of Louis XVI chairs and Hermès's artistic textile display to Artemest's curated commissions of water-inspired objects and Supersalone's acknowledgement of the students who graduated to little fanfare (and a lot of anxiety) last year with the "Lost Graduation" exhibition. At night, with notebooks full of specifications and camera rolls of photos, everyone gathered at (where else?) Bar Basso. And if the Aperol Spritzes felt slightly out of season from their usual April appearance, no one minded. Below, our favorite design moments from Salone del Mobile 2021. Saluti!
Dior Medallion Chair
In 1947 Christian Dior selected a Louis XVI-style chair to seat guests at his atelier and the chair has become a signature of the house ever since. This year, Dior commissioned 17 artists and designers, including Pierre Yovanovitch, India Mahdavi, Studio Dimore, Nendo, and Nacho Carbonell to re-imagine the Louis XVI design. The resulting collection is a beautiful homage to not only the house of Dior, but of the architectural value of the simple chair.
Gucci Cartoleria
A tucked away "cabinet of curiosities" on Milan's Via Manzoni, featured Gucci's new lifestyle collection rife with whimsy. Guests were invited to peek inside a miniature Gucci "mouse house," while pencil pouches chattered, notebooks flapped in the air, and a toy train spun around on a ceiling.
Kama Rugs at Villa Necchi
Editors flock to Villa Necchi Campiglio when they get a free moment at Salone del Mobile. The 1930s home was once a party house for the jet set and is now a perfectly preserved architectural gem (much of the buildings from that era were destroyed in WWII). G.T.DESIGN's Kama rugs were installed in the Milanese mansion to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the brand.
Tod's Recycled Event
Tod's commissioned American artist Willie Cole to use salvaged materials from the shoe brand's Le Marche atelier to create works of art in celebration of Tod's new sustainable Mosaic collection.
Poltrona Frau's Boundless Living
The sumptuous Italian furniture brand expanded into outdoor furniture, collaborating with designers like Roberto Lazzeroni and Ludovica & Roberto Palomba, and using fabric from none other than Loro Piana.
Tom Dixon x Valextra
What happens when a British designer collaborates with an Italian handbag company in their spare John Pawson-designed showroom? Nothing short of design magic. Dixon created sculptural LED lights inspired by circuit boards to illuminate Valextra's Milan flagship.
Artemest x Aqua
Working with Milanese architects Ciarmoli Queda Studio, Artemest founder and creative director Ippolita Rostagno commissioned Italian artisans to create pieces on the theme of water. The resulting works, which spanned from literal (like this ethereal marble Splash Vase by Upgroup) to metaphorical, were displayed in the fountain at the Senato Hotel Milano.
Hermès
In a particularly cerebral display by Hervé Sauvag at La Pelota, Hermès filled huge volumes with hand-embroidered rugs, a paper mache-inspired chair by Studio Mumbai, and wooden furniture by Jasper Morrison, among other domestic delights.
Armani / Casa
Is barbecue with Giorgio Armani a reality or a pandemic fever dream? Both. The designer's new collection for Armani/Casa was inspired by Armani's life in lockdown and celebrates being outdoors and having fun at home. This included an Armani-designed barbecue set, gym accessories, a picnic blanket-turned-chess board, and, naturally, a bar cabinet replete with mother of pearl wrapped in a Japanese tatami-like covering.
Salvatori x Stephen Burks
Colored marble is finally stepping into the spotlight after years of being dominated by white Carrara. It was best shown off at Salvatori with designer Stephen Burks's mask-like mirrors inspired by African masks.
Golden TV
Sneakers at Salone del Mobile have never been chicer. Golden Goose debuted its new concept store in Milan's Montenapoleone shopping district, including a shoe lab where customers can sketch out their dream shoes on the wall, then work with a sneaker master to create the custom pair. The concept references the lifestyle brand's beginnings in Veneto, where each shoe is still handmade by expert cobblers, while also implementing futuristic technology and flair.
D Studio
Louis Poulsen, B&B Italia, Maxalto, Azucena, Arclinea, and Flos have joined up to create a super-showroom in Milan where their pieces, like B&B Italia's new cork collection and Louis Poulsen's PH2/2 Question Mark are on display in fully realized vignettes.
Ginori 1735
Status-symbol porcelain maker Ginori 1735 expanded into fragrance for the first time, collaborating with designer Luca Nichetto to release candles inspired by Catherine De' Medici. La Compagnia di Caterina De' Medici draws on the story that De' Medici brought her own personal perfumer with her to France, introducing the French court to the benefits of having a signature scent.
La Double J
American journalist turned Milanese fashion insider, JJ Martin of La DoubleJ opened her first boutique earlier this year and now has expanded into home decor, starting with a mix of tableware in her bright, geometric designs.
Carl Hansen & Sons
Relaunching an icon is a seriously sweat-inducing endeavor, especially when the original maker was your father. The Danish designer duo Fabricius Kastholm reinterpreted the 1964 Plico chair by Jørgen Kastholm, working with CEO Knud Erik Hansen (whose grandfather founded Carl Hansen & Son), for what has to be the most impressive multi-generational collaboration at Milan design week.
Barovier&Toso
This 700-year-old Venetian lighting company still has new tricks, including this stunning Opera lamp highlighting a complicated glassmaking technique, rostrato, to create beautiful fragments of light.
Bocci x Carwan Gallery
Omer Arbel of Bocci and Nicolas Bellavance-Lecompte of Carwan Gallery of been friends and collaborators for years. Naturally, they decided, that Bocci's latest lighting, gorgeously complex pendants, were best shown in Lecompte's own Milanese apartment.
SuperSalone
Let's not forget the main impetus for Salone del Mobile, although smaller than usual, visitors enjoyed the compact format, which was easily viewed in one day (versus the whole week one could spend at the fiera in a normal year) and included an Italian food court highlighting local chefs and a display of trees to create lovely green spaces (the trees will later be replanted around Milan).
Cassina
Cassina's new collections were designed by a veritable roll call of who's who in the design world—Michael Anastassiades, Jeffrey Bernett, Philippe Starck—alongside never-before-seen reissues of designs from Charlotte Perriand. Shown here is Soriana from Tobia Scarpa in a punchy clementine hue.
Nilufar Gallery
Nina Yashar is one of the undisputed queens of Milan and her displays across Nilufar Gallery and Nilufar Depot are destinations. We particularly loved Bethan Laura Wood's solo show, a trippy Memphis-inspired display that celebrated her ten years with the gallery.
Olivia Hosken is the deputy managing editor of House Beautiful, where she oversees operations across the brand's print and digital platforms. She also writes about design and architecture and was previously the style & interiors writer at Town & Country and the managing editor of Dwell.
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