With Milan overrun with many a young designer this week, it's hard to spot a wolf in the flock. Thankfully, the Parisian collective Meet My Project has done the hard graft for us by bringing together 30 bright talents from around the world to present the best that they have to offer.
Held at Studio Next, the exhibition poses the question of how design interacts with the user, while also exploring the relationship between object and participant. With designers hailing from as far as Japan, Poland, Colombia and Egypt, the resulting products on show are wonderfully varied and address all manner of modern requirements.
Akio Hayakawa's 'Portrait in a Chair' is one example that offers up a fresh idea; Hayakawa tilts just the back and seat for an otherwise traditional chair on a slight axis, giving it a creative spin. Elsewhere, Philipp Sussmann's 'Happy Go Lucky' picture frame addresses a contemporary conundrum by allowing photographs of varying sizes to be displayed in one single frame.
Other highlights range from a trio of cone-shaped pendant lights, by Samuli Naamanka, that have been cast from smooth porcelain, and even an electric scooter, complete with customizable parts and finishes, by Atsushi Onuma.
Displayed together under one roof, Meet My Project, which has also had a presence in Stockholm and Paris since its establishment in 2010, makes an unequivocal statement: the future of design is shining bright.
This perpendicular lamp comes from Norwegian designer, Andreas Bersaker, who took inspiration from the cone-shaped Aspen tree. Entitled 'Populus Cone' the lamp is crafted from porcelain, wood and steel. The name of the product is taken from the Latin translation of Aspen, populus tremula
This perpendicular lamp comes from Norwegian designer, Andreas Bersaker, who took inspiration from the cone-shaped Aspen tree. Entitled 'Populus Cone' the lamp is crafted from porcelain, wood and steel. The name of the product is taken from the Latin translation of Aspen, populus tremula
Japanese designer Hitoshi Makino's 'RECO' chair is made from ecological materials, using only recycled OSB (Oriented Strand Boards) wood
French designer Cedric Dequidt's towering lamp, 'Lamp Lueur de Bois', is made from wood, and won the 'Inner Light Out' Competition in March 2013 before joining the Meet My Project line-up at Salone this April
Polish designers Dizeno Creative's 'Ovo' is a ceramic egg-like urn purposefully designed to be biodegradable as a means of uniting ceremonial burials (the urn gets buried once filled with ashes of the deceased) and cremation in an enviornmentally conscious way
Atsushi Onuma is one of several Japanese designers exhibiting at Meet My Project. Onuma's tech-savvy Electric Scooter, 'Smacargot', is a 'communication tool' with detachable parts, allowing users to customise the product to suit their needs
Japanese designer Hiroshi Akutsu's motivation for designing this chair comes from the necessary act of thinning forests of trees to create a more hospitable environment for new woods to grow. Entitled 'The Chair of Tree Thinning', the chair is comprised laminated oak wood taken from forest thinning remnants
Japanese designer Hiroshi Akutsu's motivation for designing this chair comes from the necessary act of thinning forests of trees to create a more hospitable environment for new woods to grow. Entitled 'The Chair of Tree Thinning', the chair is comprised laminated oak wood taken from forest thinning remnants
The 'Triagonal' chair from German designer Markus Franke is made from wood and multiplex powdered steel. He chose contrasting materials to give the chair a stark and industrial feel
Artist Miwa Akabane's 'New Trail' rug is comprised a geometric pattern which has been transfered onto a carpet (and other interior products, such as wallpaper). The shape changes with different pieces - the inner white pattern expands
Finnish design collaborators Olli mustikainen and Jari Nyman are the duo behind this 'Magi' bench. Made from Finnish birch and powder-coated steel, the seater doubles as a storage unit, with jagged shelves underneath which are ideal for slotting bottles, magazines or wood to ensure space is fully utilised
Constructed from non-glazed ceramic, Finnish born designer Samuli Naamanka's 'Smooth Ceramic Lambada' lamps are sophisticated in look, as well as in concept. Naamanka wanted to create a ceiling lamp that was made entirely from one material, and with the help of manufacturer, Innojok - a company specialising in the design and production of lamps - have created these subtly stylish hanging lights
Philipp Sussmann's 'Happy Go Lucky' picture frame addresses a contemporary conundrum by allowing photographs of varying sizes to be displayed in one single frame
German designer Philipp Beisheim decided to conjoin everyday items with furniture, to create this mirror seat, 'Servus,' which is formed from solid oak
ADDRESS
Studio Next
Via Francesco Crispi, 5
Milan
-
The most whimsical hotel Christmas trees around the worldWe round up the best hotel Christmas tree collaborations of the year, from an abstract take in Madrid to a heritage-rooted installation in Amsterdam
-
Stone dials are making a comeback: here are the watches doing it bestWatches with hard stone dials are enjoying a surge in popularity
-
These illuminating fashion interviews tell the story of style in 2024Selected by fashion features editor Jack Moss from the pages of Wallpaper*, these interviews tell the stories behind the designers who have shaped 2024 – from Kim Jones to Tory Burch, Willy Chavarria to Martine Rose
-
Faye Toogood brings new life to Matisse’s legacyMilan Design Week 2023: tapped by Maison Matisse, the London-based designer has taken inspiration from the French master’s forms to create a collection of heirloom-worthy objects
-
Prada Frames 2023: Milan programme announcedProgramme announced for Prada Frames 2023 at Milan Design Week, the annual symposium curated by Formafantasma at Luigi Caccia Dominioni's Teatro Filodrammatici from 17 to 19 April
-
Alessi Occasional Objects: Virgil Abloh’s take on cutleryBest Cross Pollination: Alessi's cutlery by the late designer Virgil Abloh, in collaboration with his London studio Alaska Alaska, is awarded at the Wallpaper* Design Awards 2023
-
Salone del Mobile 2023: highlights from Milan Design WeekIn pictures: our highlights from Milan Design Week, held during the 61st Salone del Mobile 2023 (18-23 April)
-
USM launches blushing pink limited edition of its modular furnitureFollowing an installation during Milan Design Week 2022, USM launches a new pink limited edition of its Haller range
-
‘You don't want space; you want to fill it’: Milan exhibitionMaking its debut during Milan Design Week 2022 at Marsèll Paradise, a new exhibition by Matylda Krzykowski, explores how we approach the space we live in (until 15 July 2022)
-
Men’s mental health takes centre stage at an art and design exhibition by Tableau‘Confessions’, which travels to Copenhagen’s 3 Days of Design following its debut at Milan Design Week 2022, features commissioned work by 14 male artists, designers and architects, reflecting on toxic masculinity, vulnerability and mental health
-
Salone del Mobile 2022: highlights from Milan Design WeekIn pictures: our highlights from Milan Design Week 2022, held during the 60th edition of Salone del Mobile (7 – 12 June 2022)
