Trend Report (II): Milan 2015

No-one did this more magisterially than nendo, at the presentation of their collaboration with Glas Italia, “nendo works 2014-2015,” at the Museo della Permanente. Fully exploiting Glas Italia’s expert technical facility with glass, nendo added their own aesthetic and process to create a collection of primally impactful pieces, elegant in their simplicity, powerful in how thoroughly they have been thought through. Rarely have minimalism and delightfulness overlapped so perfectly. It was my favourite show of design week and nendo, my favourite designers.

“layers” by nendo starts the play with layers of colours, while fragment shows their facility with layering glass and mirrors.

“soft” by nendo; and “Vanity Armchair” by Frederica Ameri at SaloneSatellite.

Colour in glass was achieved in many ways, either the coating of the glass surface, or incorporation into the glass itself, somehow. Above: “Keshiki” glass pieces by Hannakaarina Heikkilä of the Aalto University’s School of Arts, Design and Architecture’s Stillleben exhibit, at SaloneSatellite. Upper middle : “Nola” lamps by Studio Drift, at Brand New World Milano 2015 @ Dušan. Lower middle: “Melt” lamps by Tom Dixon at his The Cinema show seem to capture electrical storms in glass. Bottom: bowls by Alexa Lixfeld, at the Spazio Rossana Orlandi.

Playing with colours and light. Above: Moritz Waldemeyer‘s “The Speed of Light” installation at FontanaArte comes alive only when passers-by walk past. Upper-middle: “Spectrum Lamp” by Meike Harde, at SaloneSatellite, makes full use of the light spectrum. Lower-middle: “Chill Tisch” by EGLI Studio, at the Spazio Rossana Orlandi. Bottom: Philippe Rahm‘s “Spectral Light” installation at Artemide.

Layers of translucence. Above: “Stick” by Hopf, Nordin, at the Berlin Design Selection 2015, updates the candle and candlestick-holder. The transparency effect is directly related to the light intensity and the uniformity of the light-scattering effect up and down the column is precision engineered during the manufacturing process. Below: the Snarkitecture installation at Cos.

Rotational glass was in, this year … Above: “Opus” by Romain Manesta of L’école bleue, at SaloneSatellite. Below: “Neverending Glory” table lamp by Jan Plechač and Henry Wielgus, at the Spazio Rossana Orlandi.

Fun with mirrors. Above: “Lucy in the Sky” mirror by , at Brand New World Milano 2015 @ Dušan. Middle: mirror by Ben Storms, part of his “In Sight Out exhibit”, at DAMN magazine and MOSCA Partners’ “A Matter of Perception” occupation of Palazzo Litta – my favourite location in 2015. Below: I always love MINDCRAFT’s shows, and this one at the Chiostro Minore di San Simpliciano was no exception. The set design was much Instagrammed and so stunning it threatened to overwhelm the pieces themselves.