The fashion brands that left an impression with homeware collections at Milan Design Week 2024

Fashion brands have been made their presence felt at Milan Design Week for many years now but the 62nd edition of the international furniture and design fair, held from Apr 16 to Apr 21, saw a powerful showcase, with some fashion houses debuting collections or marking their presence through bespoke events.

This only served to create more buzz at the Fuori Salone around the city outside of the Rho Fiero convention grounds where the main Milan Furniture Fair was held. The long list of participating brands included Prada, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Gucci, Versace, Ralph Lauren, Fendi Casa, MCM and Loro Piana, among others. Here are some highlights.

GUCCI

Gucci’s creative director Sabato De Sarno came up with the project Gucci Design Ancora, which reinterprets iconic Italian design pieces in a special Rosso Ancora hue. “The aura emanating from the brand spotlights five pieces by Italian masters that are perfect from a design standpoint but less known to the general public,” commented Michela Pelizzari of Milan-based creative agency P:S that curated the collection.

The pieces comprise Parola by Gae Aulenti and Piero Castiglioni for FontanaArte, Le Mura by Mario Bellini for Tacchini, Opachi by Tobia Scarpa for Venini, Storet by Nanda Vigo for Acerbis, and the Clessidra rug from the Poraluppi Pattern Project by Nicolo Castellini Baldissera, edited by cc-tapis, an Italian rug maker.

Some of them were designed more than 60 years ago but remain timeless. For example, the Le Mura sofa’s modularity responds to today’s mode of flexible living. It also has a chic belt detail that takes a page from clothing design. Then, there is the Parola lamp from the 1980s, where the simple form belies its complex integration of three glass-working processes – blown glass, natural glass and natural crystal.

The pieces were exhibited at the Gucci flagship store in Via Monte Napoleone, 7 in rooms of acid lime-washed curved walls by architect and artist Guillermo Santoma. A special edition of the items will be made available on Gucci.com. 

Fashion designer Ralph Lauren first created furniture for his own home when he could not find suitable pieces that complemented his streamlined, classic and cosmopolitan aesthetic. This year, Ralph Lauren Home presents the Modern Driver Collection, inspired by the designer’s long-time appreciation for automobiles.

The designer’s own automobile collection is one of the most exquisite ever assembled, and includes models like the 1938 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic Coupe and the 1929 Blower Bentley. Modern Driver pays homage to their style and elegance with furniture that employ burl and mahogany wood, polished stainless steel, and carbon fibre paired with louvred mahogany and channelled leather details.

There are pieces such as the RL-CF1 chair, inspired by Lauren’s own McLaren F1 Race Car made from the same high-tech fibre used on Formula 1 race cars. It has 71 layers of tissue carbon laid by hand into a cantilevered frame whose image is lightweight yet incredibly strong. Likewise, the Beckford Table Lamp, with its tightly wrapped metal wire mesh, is reminiscent of the grilles of Lauren’s 1929 Blower Bentley.

The diversity of the range extends to decorative accessories and entertaining pieces, as well as bedding. Take your pick of speedometer-inspired plates from the Carbon Fiber dinnerware collection and even an extravagant Mahjong Set with hand-painted leather tiles encased in a black leather-and-polished stainless-steel case.

Another brand highlighting timeless Italian design is Loro Piana. At Milan Design Week, Loro Piana Interiors presented an installation A Tribute to Cini Boeri in collaboration with Archivio Cini Boeri, showcasing the Italian architect and designer’s most recognisable furniture pieces produced by Italian furniture brand arflex, but dressed in Loro Piana fabrics.

The event also celebrated the dual centenary of Loro Piana’s founding and Boeri’s birth. Born in 1924 in Milan, Boeri apprenticed under Italian design maverick Gio Ponti as well as Marco Zanuso, one of Italy’s greatest post-war Italian architects. She wanted her spaces and objects to improve the quality of life of its users, bring them both joy and enhance functionality.

An example is the modular Stripes System; its simplicity and adaptability earned it the prestigious Compasso d’Oro in 1979. The removable quilt cover is replaced by two varieties of Loro Piana’s Cashmere Raw – a fabric crafted from cashmere in neutral tones.

Another standout piece is the Botolo chair that exudes a childlike appeal. Its three tubular legs are wrapped in Cashfur – a luxurious blend of cashmere and silk that brings a touch of luxury to the functional pieces. Available in a low and high version, only 100 pieces of the seats are available worldwide.

MCM

MCM debuted its home collection during Milan Design Week, in collaboration with Atelier Biagetti and was curated by Maria Cristina Didero. Titled MCM Wearable Casa, the seven-piece collection, combining reality, artificial intelligence, and urban culture, made a statement about the multiplicity of the way we live today.

It was also showcased in the metaverse on a Spatial.io platform for visitors from around the world to experience from their mobile devices. Guests could interact with the pieces donned in MCM gear.

The furniture pieces reflect the brand’s witty, edgy essence. There is the Chatty Sofa inspired by street graffiti and generated by artificial intelligence. Its body spells out the word ‘CASA’ (meaning ‘home’ in Italian) and it comes with a removable neck pillow that one can take on airplane trips in true nomadic fashion.

The Tatamu mat can be stacked into a daybed or disassembled into different formats of use, according to the user’s preference. Its design pays homage to the Bauhaus era – a similar time when the brand was established in Munich in 1976 – while the Asian-ness is a nod to South Korea (the German brand was acquired by Seoul-based Sungjoo Group in 2006).

On the collection’s wearable aspect, there is, among others, the LED Clepsydra Lantern – the lampshade doubles as a hat and the Magic Gilet as a portable organiser. For its first showing at Milan Design Week, MCM Wearable Casa went beyond creating furniture to capturing the zeitgeist of our time.

LOEWE

Loewe is no stranger to Milan Design Week, having exhibited seven times before. This year, it revealed a series of original lamps designed by 24 artists that have long-standing relationships with the brand. The pieces shone in the darkened halls of Palazzo Citterio in an exhibition titled LOEWE Lamps.

The focus on lighting pushed boundaries for the artists as it was the first time many of them designed lights, including Loewe’s creative director Jonathan Anderson. The end assemblage was a fascinating melange of technique, formal and material experimentation.

Craft techniques came to the fore, with Dahye Jeong (winner of the 2022 Loewe Craft Prize) producing a lamp using the rare traditional horsehair weaving method, and Genta Ishizuka (winner of the 2019 Loewe Craft Prize)’s lamp’s organic lamp, reminiscent of an amorphous cell, finished in Japanese urushi lacquer.

The Japanese references were palpable, with pieces like the kimono-inspired table lamp by British artist Anthea Hamilton, made of lacquered wood and textured glass. Scottish artist Jennifer Lee’s geometric fixture employed salvaged washi paper shoji screens from her studio at the Mashiko Museum of Ceramic Art; Lee has been in Japan for the last 10 years and referenced a Japanese doll’s cabinet in the design.

Not surprisingly, most of the lamps were snapped up before the end of the exhibition.

HERMES

Hermes’ installation at the design fair started with a focus on materials rather than products. In the dim hall of La Pelota were a composition of various traditional flooring patterns sourced from across Italy to highlight the beauty of ancient techniques. Reclaimed wood from Lombardy, cracked earth, Porphyry from Trentino and 22,000 pieces of greenware were came together in the installation titled The Topography of Material by Hermes.

As for the products, classic pieces were showcased alongside new ones, which included the Diapason d’Hermes lounge chair crafted from leather and hammered aluminium, and the elegant yet colourful Voltige d’Hermes lamps. The latter draws inspiration from the brand’s equestrian heritage with a sleek stem crafted from braided two-tone leather, a lampshade made of slub linen and refined with leather piping and a patinated brass base.

Hermes also debuted the Derby, a collection that uses traditional saddlery and leatherworking techniques to make functional objects. There is a basket, bucket and centrepiece, all crafted from Epsom leather. Collectors of Hermes tableware will be glad to know of the new Tressages Equestres dinnerware set, crafted by designer Virginie Jamin, which has porcelain pieces depicting the passementerie(the art of making elaborate trimmings) and braiding found on horse harnesses.

FAYE TOOGOOD

Toogood’s clothing is governed by utility and formal experimentation. The UK-based brand’s furniture pieces are equally simple yet nonconforming, comprising chairs like the Roly-Poly for Italian furniture company Driade that has become as recognisable as the Eames chair. For Milan Design Week, British designer Faye Toogood collaborated with several furniture brands to create new icons.

In her first partnership with Poltrona Frau, Toogood presented the Squash collection, which comprises a rug, mirror and armchair. The bold red colour was inspired by Poltrona Frau’s 1919 armchair by Renzo Frau that she saw in the Italian furniture brand’s archives. The poufy form evokes a hug, set on a playful frame.

Toodgood also presented the Rude Arts Club with rug company cc-tapis and furniture company Tacchini at the Piazza Santo Stefano. Cc-tapis’ shapely cheeky rugs, inspired by artist Francis Bacon, collaged body parts imagery and textures in an insouciant manner. Cosmic Collection for Tacchini includes the Solar sofa resembling a pile of pillows that calls out for one to sink into. Also in the collection are Lunar quilted light pendants that can change shape when one scrunches its paper frame.

Toogood’s also showcased her own collection – Assemblage 8 – at the Fabio Quaranta Motelsalieri showroom. Gummy is a sculptural and soft upholstered armchair and Palette, a series of contoured wooden tables with interlocking details. Gummy’s use of natural materials means no carcinogenic or synthetic fire-retardant foams are used.