Milan Design Week 2022
Viva Lagoon Takes Salone Del Mobile in Milan
We recently had the pleasure of attending Salone del Mobile in the beautiful city of Milan.
Since the pandemic, where events of this nature were abruptly halted, getting back out to trade shows has been one of the most exciting things for the whole team here at Viva Lagoon.
Although the event was a lot of fun, we were also there on serious business! We had a great opportunity to meet with some of our important suppliers and speak to some of the brands that we love sharing with our customers.
Keep reading to find out more about our experience at Salone del Mobile.
Viva Lagooon at the 60th Salone del Mobile
Salone del Mobile is an extremely popular gathering of interior design experts, suppliers, and manufacturers who travel from all over the world to show their products.
If you’re in the interior design industry, it’s a must-see event as it brings together some of the biggest names and brands into one place – which is a very rare occurrence. Some people even know Salone del Mobile as the Milan Fashion Week for interior design, so it’s a perfect opportunity to network and meet new people in the industry.
Salone del Mobile 2022 was a particularly special event for us as it was the very first after the pandemic. We, like many of the other exhibitors, had waited over two years for this event so the fact that it was finally happening was extremely exciting.
Over 262,000 attendees visited the 60th edition of the event over its six days. Over 27% had come from abroad, and the attendee list featured 600 young designers who promise to be the next generation of great interior designers.
The event encourages teamwork and believes that when industry professionals share their knowledge and skills with each other, we can help drive the entire industry forward. The event has become a global stage for bringing people together, generating new business ideas, and coming up with technological solutions that can face some of the industry’s most pressing challenges – mainly around sustainability.
Salone del Mobile is one of our personal favourite events and this year’s edition was no exception to the incredible experience we’ve become so used to.
What we learnt during the event
Although we consider ourselves to be on-the-pulse when it comes to the latest trends in the interior design industry, it’s also interesting to see what other people think and whether there have been any trends that have passed us by.
One big trend that we saw sweeping the exhibition halls was sustainability. We all know that sustainability has become a big thing for many industries, and from the event, it’s clear that the interior design industry is also taking note.
We listened to many interesting sustainability talks by presenters, learned how to use recycled materials in furniture, and gained insight into how we can collectively reduce the carbon footprint of the products we create.
Another thing we saw a lot of at the event is the increasing popularity of garden furniture. Considering the event was about interior design in general, it was a surprise to see so much outdoor furniture dominating the halls.
The main reason for this is that garden furniture has been selling a lot more in the past two years, especially as everyone spent more time out in their gardens during the pandemic. As people spend more time outside, they want comfortable and practical furniture so they can relax in style.
We noticed a lot of innovation in the garden furniture space, it’s really come a long way since the furniture that many of us have in our gardens from years ago. Now garden furniture is starting to more closely resemble the furniture we have in our homes, allowing homeowners to create a consistent style inside and outside.
We’re also seeing an increase in items like garden sideboards and shelving units, things that are extremely new to the outdoor furniture space. As the popularity of garden furniture continues to grow, we only expect to see more innovation and more items from inside making their way into our outdoor spaces.
Finally, we've noticed a great number of Spanish brands There are some brilliant Spanish brands that are manufacturing extremely high-quality furniture.
Meeting our suppliers
Along with introducing ourselves to new brands and industry experts, Salone del Mobile was also a great opportunity to catch up with some of the brands we already sell at Viva Lagoon.
One of our brands, Gloster, was showcasing some of their high-quality, beautiful designs. Including their beautiful outdoor umbrellas, chairs, and sofas in a range of natural materials.
We were also able to pop by the Talenti booth which always uses Salone del Mobile as their chance to launch brand-new, breath-taking products – and this year was no different.
In an effort to be more sustainable, this forward-thinking brand has been introducing sustainable materials, like Accoya wood, along with luxurious outdoor fabrics that are made using recycled plastic bottles.
We also paid a visit to Vondom, a brand that we’re always such a big fan of – and so are our customers.
They truly exceeded our expectations (which were already very high) when we visited them at the exhibition. They were showcasing some of their beautiful outdoor sofa and chair styles that mixed sumptuous fabrics with natural wood finishes to create stylish and high-quality furniture that anyone would want in their gardens.
Vondom focuses on bringing the comfort of interior furniture into the garden and it was such a pleasure to see the fruits of the work of their main designers, Ramon Esteve and Eugeni Quitllet.
Finally, we were thrilled to be invited to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Pacini e Cappellini. We headed to their flagship showroom downtown in order to raise a glass in celebration of 40 years creating iconic designs. One of the highlights of the event for us was seeing a video charting the brand’s history and how their family business has developed over the years. Here at Viva Lagoon, we’re big fans of their high-end, beautifully made indoor furniture so it was wonderful to be able to celebrate their milestone year.
We had such a great time at Salone del Mobile and are already looking forward to attending the next event next year.
