Key trends from Milan Design Week 2015
Colour
Naturals and neutral hues of greys continued to dominate the colour trends throughout the festival. We also saw plenty of uses of pastel colour schemes.
Mulberry through to soft pink salmon palettes were the newer colour focuses at theiSaloni furniture exhibition.
Burnt orange and blue accents were also often seen combined with neutrals.
We also saw the result of newer technologies opening up new achievable colours, in line with predictions from Heimtextil, creating new, bright neon colours palettes.
Lighting
We saw some spectacular installations using light, with technological advancements helping to create slimmer designs than ever before, leading to some stunning possibilities and solutions, such as the ultra-thin LG Chem OLED lights.
Eco Design
Recycling and environmentally friendly design were once again key themes of many of this year’s dislays, with a lot of use of recycled materials.
Cardboard as a material was a prime example of this, as seen on the stunning lighting work from Graypants.
3D Printing
Still a growing trend, companies and designers are finding ever more innovative ways to make use of the possibilities that 3D printing offers. We saw some fantastic examples of products made using this technology throughout the week, including jewellery, shoes and lamp shades.
Installations
Milan Design Week is often best remembered for its eye-catching installations. Here are some of our favourites from this year:
Moooi
This was the show-stopper, as established brand Moooi teamed up with photographer Rahi Rezvani to put on an outstanding exhibition showcasing their new carpets, alongside their stunning lighting and other products.
The impact of the huge canvas photography, printed by Exposize, with music playing in the background created an unforgettable experience.
Our design team has been busy exploring one of the world’s most prestigious design shows. And as usual Milan Design Week 2015 did not disappoint, serving up a feast of visual delights and a wealth of inspiration. We take you through the key trends spotted at the agenda-setting show in Europe’s design capital…
Materials
Natural materials continued to play a prominent part in a host of forthcoming designs, with wood being used in a variety of creative ways, with a combination of dark and light shades, rough and smooth finishes and even charcoaled effects.
Concrete is once again a strong trend, used in products and on a larger scale for interior backdrops.
Already seen as a revitalised trend for 2015, marble was popular in sculpted objects and even in huge slabs for striking effects.
Matt or bright variations of copper proved a hit too, with various metals being showcased throughout.
We also saw various forms of glass being used, while creative use of fabric led to a host of detailed and interesting surfaces.
Structure and Form
Structure and form was key across the week, from flowing forms to ridged, angular structures. We saw shapes that mimicked nature too, with flowing bubble-like natural forms proving very popular, as seen in Tom Dixon’s latest exhibits and the fluid metal furniture from Tipart.
Lattice frameworks were also a strong theme across many different products, including lighting displays.
Peugeot - Fields of Sound
A huge 36 sq m field of more than 5,000 Plexiglas blades swayed with the music, each subtle change in the pianist’s touch of the keys translated into a shift in movement across the blades.
Mini & Jaime Hayon present Urban Perspectives
The installation focused on the Mini Citysurfer, a flexible scooter that provides a more personalized way of getting around town. This collaboration between the car manufacturer and artist Jaime Hayon was designed to present a vision of urban mobility for the future.
