The 62nd edition of the Salone del Mobile.Milano aims to create enduring value for its exhibitors, deliver top-quality experiences, and evoke synaesthesia and cultural connections for all participants. Spanning 174,457 square metres on a single floor, hosting over 1,950 exhibitors from 35 countries, including 185 brands making their debut or returning, and with a special focus on high-quality kitchen and bathroom design, the Salone del Mobile.Milano shines a global spotlight on a truly unique ecosystem. Once again, Indonesia Design is honoured to be part of this prestigious exhibition.
STORY BY Iman Hidajat | PHOTOS BY Salone del Mobile.Milano
The Salone del Mobile.Milano opens its doors once more, poised to meet the evolving needs of the furniture market and the expectations of the international design community hailing from 180 different countries. In its 62nd edition, the event marks another stride forward following the success of its previous iteration. Embracing pioneering support from neuroscience and guided by a “people-first” philosophy, the Salone has reorganized the layout of exhibitors to create thematic clusters, enhancing the visitor experience.
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In response to the demands of specific product categories, the walkways within the International Bathroom Exhibition and EuroCucina have been redesigned, accommodating the debut of FTK (Technology For the Kitchen). The new layout aims to provide benefits such as energy savings for visitors, clearer pathways, and enhanced visibility for exhibitors.
The third new departure at this edition is the organization of the cultural offering throughout the trade fair, comprising installations – intimate and cosy like Interiors by David Lynch.
A Thinking Room, or, on the contrary, something out of scale, like “Under the Surface” by Salotto.NYC, or subject to constant flux, such as “All You Have Ever Wanted to Know About Food Design in Six Performances” – not to mention meetings and conversations – ‘Drafting Futures,’ offers various experiences.
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Maria Porro, president of Salone del Mobile.Milano, explained, “Over the past few months, we have been introducing the Salone del Mobile in Milan, meeting with journalists, architects, and interior designers from all continents. During these days, the Salone has taken shape, thanks to the work of all exhibitors and an increasingly sustainable edition, facilitated by the circulation of new green guidelines for installations. Yet, there is also a salon that is increasingly open to experimentation - from neuroscience, as applied to redesign layouts and visitor routes to the 2024 Cultural Programme. This challenge has been embraced by those who renew their trust in the Salone year after year and by 185 new-entry brands that have chosen, for the first time or again, to participate in the trade fair.”
With a 20.2 percent increase in visitors compared to 2023, the Salone del Mobile.Milano 2024 witnessed a record turnout of 370,824 attendees (or 110,000 more than the 2022 event), marking significant growth in professional participation. The top 15 market geographies included China, Germany, Spain, Brazil, France, the United States, Poland, Russia, Switzerland, Turkey, India, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Japan, and Romania, showcasing new business opportunities.
Each edition of the Salone del Mobile.Milano is an opportunity for the global design community to convene and assess the significance and outcomes of a year’s worth of work, research, and experimentation. The pavilions of Fiera Milano acquire a hybrid artwork-workspace dimension, serving as the stage for a display of environments, furnishings, objects, and installations that transform the venue into an enchanting “middle earth.” Here, new combinations of ideas, meanings, shapes, and functions manifest and become visible, sometimes in embryonic form, foreshadowing the identity of tomorrow’s home living—gradually or distinctly.
This reservoir of potential solutions for the needs and aspirations of home design—striving to transcend their inevitable limitations and driven by their beauty, strength, and inherent value—is a showcase of a rich array of expressive languages. It’s a blend that gives form to diverse aesthetic paths symbolizing approaches, visions, and functions that cannot be disregarded or overlooked. This edition will once again convey compelling messages and visions, spanning from environmental and social responsibility and regeneration to the fusion of craftsmanship with digital technologies, from narratives of authenticity and design culture to inspiration drawn from distant lands. Once more, with its vitality, the Salone leads the way through a multiverse of forms, materials and functions.