Out & About in Tortona // MILANTRACE2015.

Tortona, an industrial area around Porta Genova – has had a somewhat eventful past in it’s 15 years of running during Milan Design Week. Historically a major design hub for young up-and-coming designers and one of the biggest satellite events outside the gigantic fairground at Rho, Tortona is now also home to a number of more established brands.

Nowadays I experience mixed feelings when visiting Tortona – much like the standard of work to be found on show, which varies from disappointing, mediocre, to excellent and everything in between. Perhaps the most disappointing element of all has been the once amazing Superstudio, which this year I didn’t even bother visiting (I feel sad to write these sorts of things, but then again I’ve never been the one to beat around the bush – Superstudio has been dying a slow and painful death in the last few years, and has now come to the point where desperately urgent resuscitation or closure is needed – no two ways about it. Somebody do something – please!)

Alas, let’s not get all critical and negative, and let’s focus instead on some of the interesting things spotted during our visit in Tortona during Milan Design Week 2015.

COTTO, Thai bathroom ware and tiling company, showed in a beautiful old courtyard which was entirely mirrored on one side, creating an incredible setting for the presentation of their stone slabs. The company launched Patchwork by Piero Lissoni – an original collection of tiles, bathroom fixtures and accessories.

This is the third consecutive year, Moooi presented Unexpected Welcome in their showroom on Via Savona, this time using large scale art photography by Rahi Rezvani as oversized background to their furniture. I must admit that I felt somewhat underwhelmed by the repetitive nature of Moooi’s presentation, even though the images I’m sharing with you paint the space in a completely different light – the show was incredibly photogenic and looks incredibly impressive in the photographs. This year Moooi launched a new company called Moooi Carpets, with an inaugural collection of photo-realistic designs by various talented creatives.

In what was a personal highlight of Tortona, Dutch design platform Tuttobene presented the works of 20 designers. Some of my favourite projects were by the likes of Alex de Witte who showed his Big Bubble Light inspired by his favourite childhood pastime: blowing bubbles; Studio Kalff with her Glassware Series assembled using vintage glassware and the new Writing Table; Knapontwerp who presented a series of mirrors, in which serendipity in applying the colour to the mirror defines the design; Berlin-based NEO/CRAFT with IRIS, a pendant light which appears like a permanent iridescent soap bubble; and
Lensvelt, who presented UNM, a modular workstation & storage system designed by Nina Graziosi, featuring a copper and terrazzo finish – a particularly delicious looking combination of materials.

NLXL Wallpaper held an exhibition at the Studio of Italian designer Paola Navone on Via Tortona. The Dutch wallpaper company presented the works of both Paola Navone & Daniel Rozensztroch – the Artistic Director of Paris concept store Merci. Paola Navone’s “Addiction” collection talked about her addiction to colour blue, while Daniel Rozensztroch’s “Obsession” wallpapers spoke about his obsession of collecting small objects.

As always, there was a strong presence of car brand throughout Tortona, eager to capture the imagination of the design circuit goers. Lexus presented – A journey of the senses – an immersive sensory walk-through exhibition created by Philippe Nigro in collaboration with the Japanese chef Hajime Yoneda.

The installation was a series of rooms, each one based on a different sensory theme – starting with ‘rain’, moving to ‘tree’ and ending with ‘earth’ – where the interior of each room matched the food we were given to sample to complement the experience. While the concept was brilliantly executed and the experience in each room quite interesting, I struggled to see how this installation connected to the Lexus brand. It felt somewhat over-conceptualised and too gimmicky.

MINI teamed up with Spanish designer Jaime Hayon to present ‘Urban Perspectives’ – an installation that presented visions of tomorrow’s urban mobility in the form of an imaginary world. The focus of the installation was the MINI Citysurfer concept – a flexible electric kick scooter.

Peugeot showcased the ‘food truck’, a real restaurant on wheels that delivered high-quality food on the go, aiming to offer a new experience for street food. Designed by Peugeot Design Lab, the vehicle, dubbed ‘Le Bistrot du Lion’ headed to the French pavilion at the World Expo after Milan Design Week, where the theme is ‘Feeding the planet, Energy for life’. P.S. The food THE Peugeot food truck served was absolutely AMAZING indeed!