MILAN DESIGN WEEK || MILANO MOOOI MAGIC | ZONA TORTONA
The Milano magic has begun in true design week form people were still painting, building and cleaning within the Zona Tortona precinct in preparations for the week to begin. Except for MOOOI who once again gave us ‘The Unexpected Welcome’! Harmoniously absorbed by the breath-taking over-sized artistic photography by Rahi Rezvani, we were taken on a journey through the surreal and eye-catching sets showcasing the new ‘Signature Carpets’ collection, along with other new furniture & lighting collection pieces. This use of enlarged enchanting imagery has become signature to the look of MOOOI within the Milan design scene over the years and never fails to capture our curiosity.
Via Savone 56 was a buzz with press, video crews and the design curiosity crowed, with the tall, sexy, bearded pianist catching our eye on entry filling the room with sophisticated elegance. Even though the focus of the exhibition was on the new collection of carpets and rugs created through a new groundbreaking high definition Chromojet printer. That displays a spookiness of depth, drawing you into what you perceive to be a 3D image. We managed to have a chat with Japanese designer Arihiro Miyake, who created a three-tiered wire-frame chandelier called Coppélia.
Arihiro explained that his new light for MOOOI is a homage to the chandelier, taking it into the future believing that the bulb of the past is now dead. It took him one year to master the prototype with then MOOOI developing it further over another 2 year period. The complexity of the positive and negative energy through the use of LED is one that needs to be worked through, the now Milan based designer believes this is the way in which we need to move forward lighting with drama and not distinction. Arihiro made us laugh reminiscing on his bazaar experiences in Canberra when he was a high school student, we reassured him by saying their is now a great design destination “Hotel Hotel” that he should consider visiting, yet he did love the way Bondi “people” get around in their “tight trunks” and surf boards on the bus.
He also has designed this year a stand at Euroluce for NEMO along with a new product for this Italian company at Rho Fiera which we can’t wait to see and I am sure we will bump into him later in the week for a late night drink at Bar Basso.
We finished the day with a late lunch/early dinner at one of our favourites OBICA in Brera, before meeting up with friends for a late night tipple.
” A way to the future – I’d like to believe that design can indicate us to the new day.” Arihiro Miyake
MOOOI is available in Australia through SPACE FURNITURE
Images by Emma Elizabeth
© LOCAL DESIGN
