Milan Design Week 2023

Milan comes alive with the Salone del Mobile and almost every street from the Brera to Zona Tortona flies the Fuorisalone flag. This year the city was buzzing with new showrooms and hundreds of exhibitions. With a focus on nature and the simplicity of materials, Poliform’s new outdoor collection was unveiled at the immersive installation ‘Percezioni,’ inspired by reflections on the relationship between man and landscape. Inside the walls of San Simpliciano, the collection was shaped by the site’s Renaissance architecture: basilica, porticoes and cross vaults, blending old and new, artistic expression and natural materials to exceptional effect. The meditative space was anchored by a sea of honed black lapilli lava rocks, the installation encouraging quiet reflection, tuning the senses with the rhythmic sound of stones softly echoing under foot.

‘We loved seeing the rise of a new minimalism: quiet luxury, impeccable quality and stunning understated pieces that actually make a statement,’ remarked designers Alexandra Kidd and Jessica Gombault at Alexandra Kidd Interior Design. 'The Poliform collection was all about high quality statement pieces and quiet luxury.’

Highlights from the collection include the Magnolia outdoor sofa range with its crafted timber details and innovative fabrics. The first outdoor range by Emmanuel Gallina whose inspiration draws from nature, the fluid lines of branches and their curves and details expressed in each piece. A sofa and armchair, a day bed and sun bed, the range incorporates Poliform’s invisible backrest technology for enhanced comfort. While the Ketch collection by Jean-Marie Massaud was inspired by the nautical world, its flexible backrest supported by a simply detailed, solid structure made from Iroko wood. The highly resilient material is treated with hydro-oil to preserve its beauty, and fabrics have also been designed to withstand the outdoors as well. In the canopied version, the sofa legs extend to create a ‘micro-architecture,’ creating a piece that is private and sheltered from the elements.

Across the city at the Salone del Mobile, Poliform presented Architectural, an exhibition described as a way of conceiving furniture and spaces simultaneously. A standout in the collection is the Monolith table, its fine surface, made in Cementoskin® or basalt stone, with a monumental base and rounded corners that add visual softness. Curves were also the starting point for Sunday by Flaviano Capriotti. A seating collection in tune with the atmosphere of intimate conviviality, the curvaceous sofas and asymmetrical seats in varying depths, each piece both composed and relaxed.

‘We particularly loved the Monolith dining table, the deep Sunday sofa with its softly organic shapes that can be assembled in many ways to invigorate conversation and provide open spaces with more flexibility,’ explain Alexandra Kidd Interior Design’s Alexandra Kidd and Jessica Gombault. ‘The quality of the timber modular shelving system was also really beautiful with its solid timber rounded edges, and the oversized bifold door system was impressive, it is a great architectural feature.’

Presenting the exhibition as a symbol of social interaction, the brand’s latest developments were universally cosy, hospitable, elegant and extremely functional. Four living areas connected by the ‘central square’ explored a combination of Surface panels, with the Lexington, Wall System, and Code living systems integrating bookcases, shelves, storage elements and cupboards. While the Pivot system linked spaces with sliding, pivoting and swinging doors that created passages and openings that almost disappeared once closed. 

Both exhibitions were highly sophisticated and encapsulated all of Poliform’s innovations in design, while pushing the concept of the interior to a higher plane by adding new layers of function and experience.

Stay tuned for the arrival of Poliform outdoor in Australia.