Big Brand Furniture Stands at Salone Del Mobile 2015 // MILANTRACE2015.

I’ve written and spoken about the enormity of Salone del Mobile’s RHO Fiera many-a-time. This year marked my 5th visit, and I still felt overwhelmed by the gigantic scale of the fair – its 24 halls, thousands of mega stands and the sheer volume of products on offer.

Over the recent years, due to its prominence and importance, Salone del Mobile has attracted a huge amount of praise and criticism in equal measure. As the world’s biggest design event and the one everyone looks to, the event as a whole has been heavily criticised for not sufficiently promoting and encouraging sustainable practice amongst the designers and manufacturers alike. For most of the brands, this can of course be incredibly difficult to do, as they seek to make their mark amongst enormous and powerful competition from around the world. This has in turn resulted in many brands trying to outdo each other through dazzling stands, countless new product releases, big events, and even bigger parties, all culminating in an overwhelming experience for Salone visitors. Despite all this, there is nothing like experiencing Salone first hand. And I have to add that, it’s only after having a little bit of time and distance that one can truly digest and appreciate the calibre of design on offer – from the stands themselves, to product and every facet of brand communication on show. Salone is the ultimate study on Brand extension and multifaceted design expression of the highest quality.

This year the fairgrounds in Rho were once again filled with thousands of exhibitors putting their best foot forward, showing us the future of the furniture industry. The way that the stands were designed and the products displayed were crucial for the visitor’s experience, with the stands overshadowing the product releases in some cases. In others the opposite was true. Whereas some brands took a more gallery-like approach, cleverly creating a sense of preciousness around the objects on display.

Here are some images of the stands we’ve visited during Salone del Mobile 2015. A separate post on new Furniture releases is to follow. Same too for Euroluce, the halls dedicated to new lighting releases. Enjoy!