Perspective - May 2018

Milan in April is a magic place. Where else can you run into Olivier Rousteing, creative director of French fashion house Balmain, and then Marcel Wanders, the Dutch designer who created the Knotted Chair? Milan Design Week is that sort of event.

Known for its fashion influence, the city has established itself as a wider design capital with design week, encompassing the acclaimed Salone del Mobile. The international furniture fair dates to 1961 and is now a must-attend on the global design calendar. Originally, Italian furniture brands showcased their house collections, but the fair has evolved into the world’s design party where global creatives from the fields of architecture, interior design and product design gather to exhibit and exchange ideas. André Fu arrived from Hong Kong to officially unveil his Ribbon Dance chair, designed for Louis Vuitton’s Objets Nomade collection. In early April he created a space – or an “abstract scenography”, according to the designer himself – in Hong Kong’s Central to showcase the brand’s furniture collection that is created by a group of some of the world’s most sought-after designers, including Milan-based Patricia Urquiola.