Milan trend round-up

Tinted glass furniture and lighting at last week's Milan Furniture Fair. Clockwise from top left - vintage light installation by Piet Hein Eek at the Spazio Rosanna Orlandi, vintage-inspired Glas pendant lamps by Diesel / Foscarini, delicately tinted glass tableware in brilliant fluorescent colours by Scholten & Baijings, Out of Stock's Hues table inspired by scientific Venn Diagrams, Daniel Rybakken's stunningly simple wall-leaning Colour lamp.

I'm a bit skeptical about calling this a 'trend' round-up - mainly because I am not particularly into the idea of trends... perhaps they are relevant in fashion-land, but in the design world, I guess I feel that classic styling and good design should stand the test of time, rather than popping it's head up for one season before disappearing again!

But of course this trend thing keeps popping up in conversation since I returned home, so I have decided to round up a few common themes which seemed to stand out during the Milan fair... I don't know if they're really proper trends, but, you know, at least they make nice photo montages :)

This is by no means an exhaustive list... there were so many more common themes and ideas which deserve attention... but I'll just share three today!

Tinted, coloured, overlapping glass

One theme that caught my eye again and again was the use of varying forms of tinted and coloured glass. I spotted examples at both the Salone Satellite exhibition at the main fair, and in the Zona Tortona district. I especially loved the overlapping effect used by Sweden's Daniel Rybakken for his stunning wall-leaning Colour light, and by Out of Stock for their Hues table. Super beautiful.

Marble

It appeared to me that ceramics had taken a back seat this year (perhaps because the brilliant Jaime Hayon was sadly absent from the fair this year!?). In its place I noticed a surprising abundance of Carrara marble! How do these emerging designers afford such luxurious materials for their prototypes!? I have no idea... but it was really fabulous to see so many new designers adopting the use of the same precious, timeless material used by the old Italian masters such as Michelangelo so many moons ago!


Clockwise from top left - A3 lamp by Swedish Hallgeir Homstvedt, Fruits Basket by French designer Philippe Nigro, Incredible sculpted marble Ren table by London-based Ifeanyi Oganwu of Expand Design, Marcel Wanders for Baccarat crystal / marble vases, Candle Stands by French designer Didier Raimbault.

Grids, geometry and dominos!

Last but not least, I really loved the brave use of colourful geometric and grid-formation patterns by so many exhibitors... Grace Winteringham's Phase Bureau with geometric marquetry detailing was one of my absolute favourites, I predict big things for her UK-based studio, Patternity! In the new Ventura Lambrate area, Onno Schelling's Domino Cupboard also caught my eye... and Thomas Pausz' Dominos Table was just so much fun - particularly as the patterns and colours can be completely customised at the dinner table! (Possibly not suitable for kids under 3 yrs!?).


Clockwise from top left - Grace Winteringham's Phase Bureau, Onno Schelling's Domino Cupboard, Thomas Pausz' Dominos Table, Moroso's Beth chair, designed by Philippe Bestenheider, is made entirely from recycled materials, including fibres derived from recycled PET bottles, and French designer Inga Sempe's gorgeous quilted Ruche sofas for Ligne Roset are so super cute - LOVE the brave yellow but they also come in white...