The era has shifted from design to style construction.
Salone's new S project
The only Maruni wood industry selected from Japan

Now that new furniture has been produced for 58 years since the Milano Salone del Mobile started, it is not easy to create a completely new design language. At this point, design is moving in the direction of building a style. It is now necessary to combine various elements such as not only furniture, but also accessories, rugs, artwork, and even display methods and spaces, making it necessary to devise a style. This is the era of interior stylists or interior decorators.

The S Project, which was newly assembled from 87 selected companies at this year's Salone, is a reflection of this idea. In order to create a style, manufacturers with different product content will exhibit at the same venue and aim for mutual synergy. Maruni Woodworking was the only Japanese company selected. Among the 87 companies are FLOS, which announced new products from nendo led by Oki Sato, B&B Italia, a leader in Italian modern furniture, and LOUIS POLUSEN, known for Nordic masterpiece lighting. ), including brands such as Fiera HALL 22 and 24, the venue for the S project, were lined with HIROSHIMA chairs designed by Naoto Fukasawa, one of Maruni Woodworking's most famous works, creating a clean and relaxing space.

Based on these current trends, it seems that the Japanese companies that participated this time, including the Fuorisalone held in the city of Milan, have a different perspective. Although they have only a short history of participating in Salone, they seem to be more interested in promoting their company's image and philosophy than aiming to expand the market. In 2019, there were particularly many installations. It seemed like Milan Design Week was being viewed as a venue for presentations rather than a commercial activity.

The number of Japanese companies exhibiting at Fuori Salone is increasing.
brand image and philosophy,
and transmitting tradition and innovation.

One of the venues where Japanese companies were concentrated was Super Studio Pyu, located in the Tortona district in the center of Milan. Five Japanese companies exhibited here, including Lexus, Canon, and Toshiba. Lexus already had long wait times from the day of the press preview, and during the public opening period there were long lines at the entrance. The installation titled "LEADING WITH LIGHT", created in collaboration with the artist collective Rhizomatics led by Moto Ishibashi and Daito Manabe, combines both the show and audience participation, using the BladeScan® style lighting technology of the future. Applying AHS (Adaptive High-beam System).

Countless spotlights illuminate intensely and brightly in response to the relative movements of the dancers and a group of wall robots. They compose and transform the shape of space. Lexus' point of view is seen in the use of dancers to add softness to the high-tech space. It can be interpreted as affirming the evolution of technology, which we cannot help but feel acutely in our daily lives, and proclaiming the possibility of coexistence.

At an exhibit with the theme of "Affinity in Autonomy (robotics that coexist)," Sony introduced through an experience the near future of living with artificial intelligence. A special film light effect that wraps around the entire space and BGM music effortlessly separate you from reality and transport you back in time to the future by passing through the darkness.

The cubic and spherical robotic installations use sensors to detect our presence and approach us with natural movements. Their movements and materials are delicate and can be easily accepted.

This method of expression may be unique to the Japanese people, who have their origins in animism. The corner featuring the robot dog Aibo was popular. A child asks his mother to buy batteries to bring his dead dog back to life. The world depicted in the world of anime has already arrived.

Grand Seiko, which is participating in Milan Design Week for the second time following last year, presented an installation themed around the consciousness of time and the essence of time, "THE NATURE OF TIME." Based on the concepts of "fluidity" and "constant change," we will be exhibiting installations and objects titled "FLUX." Ando from the design studio we+, who was in charge of the installation, said, ``The clock is a tool that keeps accurate time, and the visual time brought about by the Japanese view of nature.We aimed to create an exhibition that juxtaposes these two notions of time.'' He used GS's unique spring drive mechanism and ripples of light to express the message that "time passes."

Ventura Centrale at Milan Central Station is the central area of ​​Fuorisalone, just like the aforementioned Tortona district. AGC, which changed its company name from Asahi Glass last year, exhibited at Milan Design Week for the fifth time. This year's exhibition, the first since the company name change, was an exhibition that introduced molding technology for two items: glass and ceramics, which is appropriate for AGC, which provides a wide variety of materials and solutions in addition to glass. Through the exhibition, which refers to the technique of making a hemisphere from plate glass and two ceramics made by 3D printing, glazing and firing the ripples on the surface of water, the precise modeling of digital data and the fluctuation of the craft work. Multiplied by.

→Continued from Japan's presence at Milano Salone (Part 2)