Salone Del Mobile 2024 | Vikram Goyal’s design stopover in Milan

Delhi-based designer Vikram Goyal shares finds from this year’s Salone del Mobile — from lamps woven with PET bottles and Ghanaian grass to deconstructed furniture

Milan is always exciting, as Italy’s historic heart of design, manufacturing and fashion. But it is especially so during the week of Salone del Mobile. Every April, the annual furniture fair sees the streets overflowing as thousands of makers, curators, and buyers convene for a week’s worth of inspiration, conversation, antipasti and aperitivi. In fact, 2024 had a record-breaking 3.5 lakh plus people attend, to see over 1,950 exhibitors from 35 countries.

I always prefer to arrive on Sunday, to wander the fair before the crowds find it. It is when the locals come as well. This year there were more people from outside the design fraternity joining the throng, with hour-long queues at events such as the annual installation by Milanese firm Dimorestudio and the launch of French luxury brand Hermès’ interiors collection. It spilled over to the satellite fair Alcova’s takeover of Villa Borsani, Modernist architect Osvaldo Borsani’s former home, and the 19th-century Villa Bagatti Valsecchi, too. A 45-minute drive away, it featured 80 exhibitors from 27 countries.

There were several trends to be noted, across Salone and Fuorisalone (the series of fringe events and installations across the city held at the same time): innovative tables were ubiquitous, as were interesting vessels and table toppers. But the dominant one was the collaborations between luxury fashion maisons and designers — from Bottega Veneta X Le Corbusier Foundation to Yves Saint Laurent X Gio Ponti archive.

There was a strong spotlight on India, too. Jaipur Rugs celebrated the Indo-Italian connection through three collabs: monochrome carpets with Chanel-owned yarn atelier Vimar 1991; a geometric series by Italian architect Michele De Lucchi; and Zig Zag, a collection of abstract designs by studio DAAA Haus. Vikram Goyal Studio had its second showcase at Nilufar Gallery — a series of limited-edition furniture (consoles and benches) and lighting fixtures (chandeliers and wall sconces) handcrafted by Indian artisans who specialise in heritage metalwork techniques.

Here are a few exhibits that impressed, as I walked around Milan, with its gothic and neoclassical buildings steeped in stories playing backdrop to contemporary design.

At Dimorecentrale, the new multi-purpose space by Dimorestudio — one of Europe’s most in-demand design companies — there were a number of stunning exhibits. From Bonacina 1889’s rattan furniture to French fashion maison Yves Salomon’s debut furniture collection, in collaboration with Chapo Création. But Dimorestudio’s co-founder Emiliano Salci’s ‘Limited Edition’ stood out. For the seven-piece collection, the Italian designer revived and contemporarised classic pieces from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Think a chest of drawers with an organ (keyboard) shaped backrest in veneered boxwood or a lacquered wood sideboard with the base in brushed steel. All the pieces were deconstructed and reassembled, with modern accessories and lacquers in brass, gold and steel. Each piece came personally signed by Salci.

For its eighth, and most ambitious, exhibition at Salone, the Spanish luxury house commissioned 24 internationally renowned artists and designers to create lamps — using materials and styles of their own choosing. Some remarkable pieces ensued, ranging from the rustic to the futuristic.