At Milan Design Week, Raw Materials Took Center Stage

Clay, timber, metals, stone and other natural materials were at the forefront.​Clay, timber, metals, stone and other natural materials were at the forefront. 

MILAN — The aging of wood, the rusty oxidation of metal, and the porous nature of wet sand were in focus in and around Milan for design week that closed Sunday.

From handcrafted furniture to poetic lighting and artisanal tableware, the innate etchings of natural materials dictated the future of the industry, as brands embraced the origins of creative objects.

Here are some collections that elevated the noble quality of earthly matter.

A Return to the Essentials at Ginori 1735

Stripped of the sort of gloss and polish that endeared the royals and aristocrats of Europe for centuries, Italian porcelain maker Ginori 1735 unveiled Officina Ultra, a sculptural project celebrating the raw aesthetic of clay. Shining a light on the intense hand-craftsmanship behind shaping form and materials, the firm’s artisans designed modular, stackable and transformable vessels that transcend function as vases, containers, table objects, or portable LED lamps crafted from porcelain and glass for everyday, contemporary living.

Available online on a made-to-order basis, some are adorned with floral engravings, layered bands and/or other innovative textures. Alongside the exhibit inside the upscale Brera boutique, the storied porcelain brand introduced Florenza, a new tableware and home decor collection intended for everyday use inspired by the spontaneous, expressive and uncontained. 

Pietrachiara’s Orbs

Conceived as the studio’s inaugural exploration into lighting, Stardust revolves around a suspended aluminum disc that embraces a glass sphere that appears to float in space. The Italy-based firm said that each aluminum disc is produced in a traditional Italian foundry using single-use sand molds, which are destroyed after every casting. The irregularity of the grains spread across the surface, making every piece inherently unique. The discs are then hand-polished and left untreated, allowing time, air and contact to gradually form an evolving patina.

Sur+Plus by Atma

Since its inception in 2013, Atma, a Tokyo-based creative studio founded by Makoto Suzuki and Ayumi Koyama, has been dedicated to product design that elevates material renewal. At Villa Pestarini, which was part of this year’s Alcova showcase, the firm unfurled Sur+Plus, a project that shows how surplus fragments can be reused in a functional context. It also celebrates the natural fractures, fissures and traces of time, as aesthetic elements that render objects and furnishings as uniquely sculptural objects to behold and treasure.

Terraformae’s Design Blocks

Terraformae, an experimental design and research hub specialized in terracotta, was born from the historic Fornace S.Anselmo, a building materials hub near Venice. Terraformae aims to explore the potentials of clay and push the boundaries of the basis of Italy’s majestic towns and structures for millennia. At Convey, the brand presented Crudamura, a construction system that originates from the company’s clay quarries, highlighting the versatile ability to create solutions that showcase both the authenticity of the material and its capacity to meet contemporary design demands.

KOD.objects

KOD.objects, a design laboratory started by Olga Petrova-Podolskaya, came to the fore with project like this Echo collection that employed materials like paper pulp and plywood to revive historic forms and archetypes. Drawing inspiration from 11th-17th century Russian architecture and material culture, the research-driven lab came to Alcova with natural linen fabrics that explore Russian windows from the past, translating into a temporary language.

Luca Nichetto’s New Airstone

Light as a feather, etched like stone. Venetian designer Luca Nichetto’s studio Nichetto unfurled Airstone, a collection of bags that was developed with XL Extralight, a patterned technology used in high-performance footwear that explores the texture of hand-carved stone. In technical terms, XL Extralight is a closed-cell ingredient obtained with a polyolefin (thermoplastic)-based compound that has proved to be ideal for the production of cross-linked foam products via injection technology. Airstone was on sale as a limited edition during Milan Design Week.

Maximilian Marchesani’s Luminous Branches

Italian-German designer Maximilian Marchesani, a product engineer makes chandeliers and wall lamps made with fallen branches collected locally. He rose to the global scene for his creations that involved hollowing each branch to the core to make way for thin cables and adorned with fine strands from inventive sources like his own mother’s hair. This year, he showcased at Nina Yashar’s Nilufar Depot with new designs under the theme Carbon Cycles, which incorporate discarded smartphone glass, leaves, graphite, copper and silver to highlight the importance of safeguarding nature and its wonders through recycling, amid global crisis.

“For me, maintaining balance within this cycle means existing consciously and actively within the cycle of life, within the mechanisms of the universe: creation, transformation and regeneration,” he said.