Softwear
High fashion and tech turnouts at Milan’s furniture fair
Based on the lineup of this year’s Salone del Mobile you might have thought you were at a fashion show or a tech fair rather than a furniture design gala. Fashion houses launching homewares is a trend that has been gaining pace in recent years. Louis Vuitton, Hermès, Loewe, and Marni were just some of the big names at the furniture fair this year. In the past, fashion brands leveraged Milan’s PR exposure with costly installations, but this time, more were actually showing products: from patterned vases (Hermès) and hand-painted blankets (Loewe) to furniture (Bottega Veneta).
Engineering and technology were at the center of the extravaganza as the ever-merging worlds of technology and design continue to converge. Japanese architect Kengo Kuma offered inspiration with an enormous air purifier: a spiral sculpture made of folded fabric that absorbs pollutants.
Tech giants like Google, Sonos, Panasonic, and Sony also displayed their vision of the future of design. Google debuted ‘Softwear’ at the fair, showcasing products to promote technology’s ability to gracefully merge with our daily lives. Having collaborated with Dutch trend forecaster Lidewij Edelkoort and wall hanging designer Kiki van Eijk, Google displayed its tech hardware amongst everyday objects in various lifestyle scenarios.
Sources: Wallpaper (April 20, 2018) | The Monocle Minute (April 14, 2018) | Image: Thomas Straub | Studio Edelkoor