MILAN - The spotlight is on the 55th edition of the Salone del Mobile. Milan, the platform for innovation and location of choice for networking and business. Three collateral events dedicated to the concepts of living, classic furnishing and architectural finishings respectively, as well as a short film signed by Matteo Garrone. Over 300,000 operators from more than 160 countries and a visiting public of over 30,000 people on the Saturday and Sunday – from 12th to 17th April at the Milan Fairgrounds, Rho.

“The Salone del Mobile is one of Italy’s most important appointments. A showcase of what the entire home furnishing chain has to offer international markets in terms of product quality and innovation”

The fair will feature the Salone Internazionale del Mobile along with the International Furnishing Accessories Exhibition, with more than 1,300 exhibitors ranged over more than 150,000 square metres, split into two categories, Classic and Design.

In recognition of a product category already largely established on the American markets, from East to Far East, we are launching the new xLux section in Pavilion 3, responding to increasing demand for a dedicated venue for this type of product, which was showcased inside the various pavilions up till the last edition. Many manufacturers, who started off with classical or design products, have embraced this new typology, which represents a synthesis of the two categories, consisting of linear products embellished with details, finishings and warmer, softer materials; there will be a strong presence of leading fashion brands, Borbonese, Fendi, Ferrè, Paul Mathieu, Roberto Cavalli, Ungaro and Versace, as well as prestigious global brands such as Aston Martin, Ritz, making its world debut, and Tonino Lamborghini.

2016, even years: this means that the biennial EuroCucina exhibition and its collateral event FTK (Technology For the Kitchen) are back – in Pavilions 9-11 and 13-15 – along with the International Bathroom Exhibition in Pavilions 22-24, responding to the rising demand for quality in both sectors.

EuroCucina – 120 exhibitors across 23,000 square metres – will present innovative high quality kitchen products, responding to the steady rise in demand for functionality from increasingly savvy consumers. Stainless steel and natural stone seem to have the edge in this edition. Technological innovation, energy efficiency, ease of use and aesthetic considerations characterise the goods on show at FTK (Technology For the Kitchen), the
collateral exhibition dedicated to built-in electrical appliances and cooker hoods, with cutting edge technology devised for the “cookery” world and for bringing the innovative dimension of connectivity into the realm of the kitchen. 40 exhibitors over 12,000 square metres.

The International Bathroom Exhibition – 200 exhibitors over 19,000 square metres – will showcase totally innovative solutions for personalising the domestic space increasingly dedicated to wellness and self-care.

The 19th edition of SaloneSatellite will be held in Pavilions 13-15, with free entry from Cargo 4. This year’s theme is “New Materials, New Design”. Participants chosen by a prestigious Selection Committee will be flanked by various international design schools.

The SaloneSatellite Award, now into its 7th edition, is a further step towards facilitating interface between demand and supply, between entrepreneurs and designers, between creativity and production. This edition will see the designers present one or two projects that dovetail with the product categories at the biennial events accompanying the Salone Internazionale del Mobile, specifically in 2016, EuroCucina and the International Bathroom Exhibition.

Mixing business and culture is the Salone del Mobile.Milano mission. This year, within the ambit of the XXI Triennale International Exhibition, we will be holding the “Rooms. Novel Living Concepts” exhibition, curated by Beppe Finessi, at the Palazzo dell’Arte in Milan, from 2nd April to 12th September 2016. The exhibition is geared to underscoring the particular remit of interior architecture and providing a vision of home living projected towards the future.

The upcoming edition of the Salone del Mobile.Milano also wants to pay particular homage to what came before “actual” design. The exhibition-event “Before Design: Classic” is a reflection on the classic soul of contemporary living and the short film by multi-award winning filmmaker Matteo Garrone – screened in Pavilion 15 F15/H18 – discusses classic Made in Italy taste and its currency in an audio and visual narration. Artistic Direction by Studio Ciarmoli Queda.

The city event linked directly to the Salone del Mobile.Milano will be “space&interiors” – organised by the international architecture, design and construction biennial MADE expo – at The Mall Porta Nuova – Brera Design District: a fascinating display of surfaces,

flooring, doors and interior finishings curated Migliore+Servetto Architects.

The Salone del Mobile.Milano will carry on beyond the event itself with the Salone del Mobile.Milano Award. A prestigious jury will assign awards for specific categories, including: best designer, best young designer, best kitchen product, best furniture product, best bathroom product, best display and classic furniture. The award ceremony will be held on 4th May.

Lastly, a new communication campaign that pays homage to our cultural and artistic past, a cultural artistic retrieval that draws on the past but launches itself powerfully as an affirmation of identity, along with a verbally expressed elitist affirmation in which being becomes being there: “If you’re not there, you should be”, a sine qua non condition for belonging to a “community”.