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The resounding emphasis on sustainability reverberated through Milan Design Week 2022, driving creators worldwide towards a more mindful approach. Yet, as we stand on the precipice of the future, a stark reality confronts us: sustainability alone cannot meet the challenges that lie ahead. In response, where the design week’s last edition embraced the narrative of regeneration, this year's theme This Future is Currently Unavailable, encapsulates a profound shift in perspective, urging designers to address the pressing real-world challenges. Isola’s call to action at Milan Design Week 2024 challenges designers to envision how design and craftsmanship can shape the future. "This Future is Currently Unavailable is not just a tagline, but a call to action and reflection. The idea came during our adventurous travels to global design events, sparking a vision of the immense potential within our design community,” says Gabriele Cavallaro, Isola’s co-founder and CEO.
Isola Design District, founded in 2017 in Milan as a digital and physical curatorial platform, will host the eighth edition of Isola Design Festival during Milan Design Week, from April 15 to 21, 2024. The district has curated the hidden gems of Lampo Milano, WAO PL7, and Galleria Bonelli for the first time along with many other venues featuring exhibitions, installations, dynamic events, workshops, live demonstrations, and design talks. Spread over 60 locations, including three main hubs, 320 international designers, design studios, creators, and manufacturers from 47 countries, the district will embark on a journey to foster creativity and shape a future where design serves as a catalyst for meaningful change.
Below, STIR captures the spirit of a few key showcases that visitors can anticipate at Isola’s collective exhibition for Milan Design Week 2024.
Isola Design Gallery
Installed within the perimeter of a new urban redevelopment project, Lampo Milano, spanning over 40,000 sqm, Isola Design Gallery showcases collectible design pieces, designs with compelling narratives, and contemporary products by more than 120 independent designers and design studios worldwide. Utilising polycarbonate panels and materials supplied by Italy-based plastic fabrication company, Polypiù, the exhibition design will ingeniously employ colour, light, and transparency to juxtapose the brutalist industrial aesthetic of the space. Along with other salient exhibitions at the venue, the gallery will host, ‘ENHANCE - Design for Social Impact’, curated by Juan Torres for DesignWanted which hopes to accentuate sustainable design ventures that contribute positively to the society.
Is One Life Enough?
‘Is One Life Enough?’ presents a thoughtfully curated array of valuable pieces crafted in bespoke sustainable materials and circular methodologies within the frame of Lampo Milano, by over 50 design studios and artists including, Studio 8; Abar Studio; Oiama; and REX|LAB. The showcase initiates a conversation about the multitude of potentials encompassing the human, product, and material lifespan, while also demonstrating innovative approaches to products, initially designed for a single-use cycle. The sustainable craftsmanship of the set-up can be attributed to Fantolino, the sponsor for supplying recycled egg cartons to serve as the pedestals’ base, and the technical partner, Kineco, for creating pedestal tops from mycelium.
The Future Will be Sown
As part of Lampo Milano, the exhibition is an immersive journey, where six ecological materials from diverse South Indian landscapes are transformed into wearable ornaments. It explores the impact of meaningful encounters that transcend architectural boundaries. “Our future remains elusive if we persist in our isolation. We believe there is hope and joy in coming together to create”, states Bangalore-based design studio, Made in Earth Collective, whose works are part of the showcase.
Lapmo Milano will also feature other exhibitions such as The Isola Design Store designed by HeyCrates and curated by L'Essenziale Studio, PITTImags by pittimag, Senziente by Jonathan Bocca, and CIELI by Cavaliere Atelier.
Anatolia
Located inside Galleria Bonelli, Anatolia draws inspiration from the historic crossroads of ancient civilisations. Following its successful premiere at Dubai Design Week 2023, the exhibition at Isola celebrates Anatolian design, evoking the vibrant ambience of the Silk Road. It is co-curated with furniture design studio Grob Design, where Middle Eastern participants will showcase their expertise, crafting a cultural tapestry for the global audience of Milan Design Week.
New Store
Stecca 3.0, Isola’s socio-cultural hub at the core of the neighbourhood, will host New Store by Nieuwe Instituut along with Bravery Bar by IAAD, and Kiosk of Reciprocity by Constructlab, all as part of their theme, Crafting Dialogues. New Store seeks to transform consumerism into a catalyst for environmental and social progress by endorsing regenerative exchange and inviting sustainable consumption. Its collaborations with organisations such as the International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam and The Seeking State aim for lasting positive impacts.
We Were Here
Stepping into the guest exhibition of ingenuity, We Were Here pursues to leave its indelible imprints ‘to shape the canvas of time’. The showcase is located at Via Cola Montano 13 and curated by South Korean designer Jiin Yoon and Belgian designer Joris Verstrepen. We Were Here will have designers unveil narratives curated along a cosmic odyssey through form and function.
Other key highlights at Isola Design Festival 2024 across the neighbourhood include, New Craft (SHOP), at Via Guglielmo Pepe 16; SOLIDIFIED, at Studio Via Farini in Via Farini 35; and RivaViva, at Via Luigi Porro Lambertenghi 18.
Stay tuned to STIR's coverage of Milan Design Week 2024 which showcases the best of exhibitions, studios, designers, installations, brands and events to look out for. Explore EuroCucina and all the design districts—Fuorisalone, 5vie Design Week, Isola Design Week, Brera Design District and Porta Venezia Design District.
Text by Simran Gandhi, Intern at STIR.
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