6 minute read
Five by Five
from Milan Special Issue
by est magazine
FIVE BY FIVE
Five Australian designers and creatives share what things caught their eye in Milan Design Week and Salone del Mobile 2023.
WORDS | Sophie Lewis
ALEXANDRA DONOHOE-CHURCH
Managing Director and Founder Decus
Decus managing director and founder Alexandra Donohoe says SEM’s Casa SEM was a standout at Milan Design Week – with the Nuvola armchair by Hannes Peer “summing it up perfectly”. “Visually interesting, comfortable, and versatile – it converts to a three-seater with ease,” she says. “I predict a classic in the making.”
The designer also rediscovered the Siecha Zenu rug by Jorge Lizarazo for Hechizoo at the Nilufar Depot opening party. “The rug is woven from mixed metals and so unexpected underfoot,” she says. “I’m drawn to things that challenge the status quo, particularly from a materiality perspective.” When it came to lighting, Alexandra says the cast glass featured in the Folio wall lights by Barconcelli beckoned you to touch them. “On one side, smooth and glassy like a still lake, on the other, gently undulating.”
CLAIRE DELMAR
Founder Studio CD
Stylist and Studio CD founder Claire Delmar enjoyed seeing the more than 100-year-old vintage rug displayed in Hannes Peer’s exhibit at Campo Base, combined with a selection of new pieces. “It really cemented my long-standing relationship with vintage and how much it elevates an interior,” she says.
Claire saw Tobia Scarpa’s Dialogo chairs, originally designed 50 years ago and reproduced by Tacchini this year, as chairs you’ll cherish for a lifetime. Meeting with designer Marta Sala was also a highlight from the week. “It was an honour to hear Marta’s enthusiasm and how her wealth of knowledge and family background has shaped her incredible works.”
DIONE GLISOVIC
Cult Design Visual Merchandise Manager
Cult Design visual merchandise manager Dione Glisovic favoured classic design objects and furniture at this year’s fair, such as the Model 925 chair by Afra and Tobia Scarpa, re-released by Karakter, originally designed in 1966. “I loved this solidlooking armchair – it took me back to my childhood.”
The Homage to Mondrian cabinet by Shiro Kuramata for Capellini was also “very special”. “To be able to walk through and see his towering beautiful pieces in real life was amazing,” she adds.
JACI FOTI-LOWE
Founder Hub Furniture & The Front Room
Hub Furniture and The Front Room founder and director Jaci Foti-Lowe says davidpompa’s lighting on display at Alcova revealed a unique story of time and place crafted from Mexican volcanic stone. “To see the ancient stone utilised in small-scale production by local designers and makers revealed a beautiful juxtaposition,” she says.
Jaci admired the skilled stonework demonstrated with Edition Milano’s Versilia green vase and the intriguing, organic form of Belgian designer Ann Van Hoey’s pieces for when objects work. The Cinnamon armchair designed by Naoto Fukasawa attracted Jaci’s attention at Molteni & C for its extrication of intricacies to prioritise form. “Fukasawa was adamant the design should have limited seams, so Molteni developed fabrics especially to wrap and hug the round shapes.”
MARLO LYDA
Product Designer
Product designer Marlo Lyda was pleased to see sustainable materials in the limelight as part of a colourful, textural display with Habitarematerials by Nemo Architects at Alcova. “It acts as a reminder to the design community that sustainable materials are not a niche,” she says. The material used in Forest Bank by Yuma Kano Furniture presented at Alcova also had “a wonderful romance to it, archival and connected to place”.
Marlo describes the IOTA table lamp by DCW Éditions as almost neo-classical in its form, giving a big impression with few material choices. The Peach lounge chair by Annabella Hevesi for LINE AND ROUND at Alcova stood out for its interesting use of metal 3D printing. “It was an exceptional design, with its metal 3D-printed chair frame and wonderful, almost avant-garde, upholstery fixing detail. It was comfortable too!”
