Showrooms and Parties

Milan Design Week Showroom Events

International Gathering Women in Lighting

On 9 June, three years (and a hundred initiatives!) after the first gathering in Milan, Women in Lighting held a special networking event at the Vess Bistrot. Hosted by WiL Italian Ambassador Girogia Brusemini, Ogni casa è illuminata, and lighting designer Chiara Carucci, the evening event gave visitors the opportunity to enjoy drinks, catch up, and mingle with their international lighting counterparts. The event welcomed a whole host of lighting representatives from across Italy and beyond; visitors included [d]arc media’s Helen Ankers and Sarah Cullen, Katia Kolovea, Content Curator and Social Media Manager of WiL, independent designers Giacomo Rosso, Giusy Gallina, Sara Elise Sartore, Swathi Madhi, Gisella Gellini, and Camila Blanco, while representatives from the likes of Metis Lighting, Studio Switch, Ghidini Lighting, and formalighting were also in attendance. www.womeninlighting.com

Showroom Party Tekna

During this year's Milan Design Week, Tekna hosted another intimate evening party, sharing some of its space with British light source brand Tala. Together with its Italian partner Pollice Illuminazione, Tekna presented new products along with some of its top sellers. Its newest collection, in collaboration with GioBagnara, was the centerpiece during this design week. Lighting pieces including the Blake table lamp and Walcott wall light demonstrated the new high-end Italian leather finish. Various colour ways allow the flexibility to mix and match different colour tones and stitching to suit a space and aesthetic. Each of these Tekna pieces are carefully treated and assembled by hand. tekna.be

Battiti Foscarini

Laboratory of pure experimentation on light, the Battiti project is an experience of total freedom where artist, workshop, materials and LED technology come together. Foscarini, an independent company in the world of decorative lighting, intentionally free of constraints on design and production, breaks away from conventional approaches and continues its explorations on light with Battiti: a project of pure research based on collaboration with Andrea Anastasio and Davide Servadei of Ceramica Gatti 1928 to open up new interpretations of light, which in this case take on the character of a material in dialogue with ceramics. Activity driven solely by the desire to explore new expressive languages, meanings and modes of utilising light. “In this sense, it is almost a gift we have given to ourselves," explains Carlo Urbinati, Foscarini President. "A moment of active reflection, to get away from the territory we inhabit as a company, a place in which light, though interpreted and enhanced by the creativity and sensibilities of designers, is always and in any case also a matter of function". www.foscarini.com

Floating Ideas Gabriel Scott

Canadian luxury brand Gabriel Scott celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2022 and to mark this special milestone, founder Scott Richler commissioned six inspirational designers and architects [Michelle Gerson, Sybille de Margerie, Kelly Hoppen, Guan Lee, Alessandro Munge, David Rockwell] to reimagine its best-selling and most iconic product, the Welles Chandelier. The reimagined pieces were shown at a formal presentation called ‘Floating Ideas’ as part of 5VIE Design Week. Founder Scott Richler comments: “I am delighted to be working with such high calibre designers to celebrate Gabriel Scott's 10th anniversary. The designs they have proposed are original and a real testament to the spirit of the Welles chandelier, which is now five years old. The project title ‘Floating Ideas’ came to mind because, when you float an idea, you want to see what it inspires in others - and how far it can be taken." The modern piece showcases expert craftsmanship: a series of hollowed polygons branch out into a modular system of interconnected configurations creating a stunning optical illusion. Each new piece is in-keeping with Gabriel Scott’s core design principles: versatile aesthetic, customisable and timeless. To ensure differentiation between each studio’s design, Gabriel Scott provided a specific brief, which offered advice on design direction as well as technical execution to ensure that each piece is a workable and buildable product. Read a full interview with Scott Richler and the six designers in darc's issue #45. www.gabriel-scott.com

Nemo Monforte: The Opening Nemo

Together with two new designs by Le Corbusier and Charlotte Perriand, Nemo's contemporary collection is enriched with solutions that express new paradigms of innovative lighting approaches in unexplored spaces and methods. Published in a new book entitled The Accent X, the latest innovations were unveiled in the new concept of Monforte Showroom, a project by Locatelli & Partners. "I believe that Massimiliano Locatelli with the Nemo Monforte project has successfully provided the opportunity for a reflection that overturns the typical lighting space design concept seen so far," states Federico Palazzari, CEO of Nemo Lighting. "As soon as the concept was presented, we had no hesitation in proceeding: this project is an experiment characterised by classic and contemporary hints, totally in line with Nemo's culture". The idea, driven by the desire of providing the company with the right framework to showcase lighting proposals, turned into a unique architectural experience. Locatelli conceived the space by combining five materials "for five houses with five stories": cement, iron, wood, glass, and rubber were selected to dichotomise areas capable of enhancing lights. Inside the new Nemo world, lighting finds its own expression according to the context in which it is placed and reflected, creating a full range of new exhibition paths. The new front sign lettering gives a different entrance disposition and modified perspective of the shop windows invites you into the space. The interior is designed to be modular through the use of pivoting doors that can be adapted to the needs of the collections: a place where simplicity and elegance of materials express themselves. A unifying floor echoes the golden section created by Le Corbusier at La Tourette. www.nemolighting.com

New Showroom Lodes

Situated in the heart of Brera, the new space is part of a prestigious building on Via della Moscova 33. Visitors to the showroom will find Lodes’ latest lighting collections, including Volum by Norwegian architects, Snøhetta, Flar by Patrick Norguet, Ivy by Vittorio Massimo, along with other new items from the Diesel Living with Lodes collection. Spanning over 200sqm with three large display windows, the space is the brand’s first showroom worldwide. Not only does the new space serve as a showroom for architects and interior designers, it also provides customers with a relaxing, feel-at-home environment to experience Lodes’ quality designs and meet its team of experts in-person. The showroom is divided into two levels: the ground floor is characterised by a traditional Venetian terrazzo floor where a large collection of Lodes lighting products are displayed; on the mezzanine floor you will find a comfortable business area for contract clients. After the opening, the new Milan showroom will see Lodes host a series of events and workshops for industry professionals and end-consumers. www.lodes.com