The recent edition of Milano Unica, which was held from 1 to 3 February at the Fiera di Milano, following a very interesting theme, presented trends in line with technological events, more and more predominant, requiring a form of linked thought, able to put in contact different experiences and to create a puzzle unthinkable in the past. The daring, but not random, combinations of Milano Unica trends for Spring / Summer 2018, offer the chance to discover influences and affinities between legendary places and designers with avant-garde vision, between the southern cities of Italy and Russian artists; between places of light and carefree freedom, and ancient characters. Here you are, Milano Unica lets fly the Turin architect Carlo Mollino to Tehran on the traces of Iranian culture; sends the Russian artist Kazimir Malevich to Sorrento; and places the beautiful Egyptian queen Nefertiti, on the kaleidoscopic Ibiza island.
A restless, imaginative, quirky, character, the Torinese Carlo Mollino was not only one of most respected italian architects of ‘900, but left a significant contribution in the field of photography, with its erotic Polaroids, and writing. It was also a pilot, designer, great skier, but above all, an interior designer. His furniture with rounded volumes and floral decorations, are unique pieces that became a cult object of many collectors, willing to pay astronomical sums at the various international auctions. A prismatic personality with an exceptional innate sense for decoration. A sense that, according to Milano Unica inspirations, can be found in Teheran, capital of Iran, formerly known as Persia, the cradle of one of the oldest civilizations in the world. Fairy-tale dreamlike vision of the Arabian Nights atmosphere, the lustful and fragrant gardens, sumptuous palaces, rich mosaics and stunning depictions. Tehran has always been synonymous of luxury, opulence and pomp. The encounter between East and West gave birth to blooms that enriched the greatest history civilizations, an inspiration to all forms of creativity. In this theme of Milano Unica spring summer 2018, the rose windows of the Persian churches interact with the precious decorations of the Mollino’s furniture. The floral and baroque motifs celebrated by the artist, refer to the plots of Persian carpets. Sapphire, turquoise, Pompeian red, the warm colors of Mollino’s wood. The preciousness of oriental decorations mixed with Italian taste, in an intriguing tangle of lines and shapes. The accessory becomes rich, with a highly decorative connotation.
At the beginning of the ‘900, the Ukrainian painter Kazimir Malevich, pioneer of geometric Abstractism and Russian avant-garde, launched the Suprematism, with his innovative painting. The geometry plays the reality in a new interpretation. As in the tiles and in the three-dimensional geometry of the ceramics with flowers of Sorrento, a favorite place of the grand tour, in ‘800, for writers, poets, philosophers, such as Nietzsche, Goethe, Dickens and for international jet set, from the 50s to the present day. The tradition of majolica, lace, and merletti of Sorrento, is made of geometrical reality in direct relationship with nature. Milano Unica highlights, in this theme, a graphic abstraction with mix of reversible materials, organza hand,mix of graphic elements inspired by the world of ceramics. Materials in three-dimensional geometries and colors from which originate depth and dynamic perspectives; graphic motifs that alternate with abstract stylizations and elements of nature. In the colors, we find the blue of Sorrento sky and the blue, green, yellow and red of the tiles. In the accessories, ribbons and stripes alternate with decorations with games of lines and overlapping laser designs, reminding both the tiles of Sorrento that Malevich’s abstractions.
Milano Unica has imagined, for this theme, a blended scenery between the grandiose, mystical past of the Egyptian civilization and the prevailing solar liberty of Ibiza island. Queen Nefertiti, one of the most mysterious and powerful women of ancient Egypt, the Pharaoh Akhenaten bride, who with her beauty showed the perfection of the solar disk. A beauty that earned her name! In fact Nefertiti, in the ‘ancient Egyptian writing, means: the beautiful has come. Always synonymous with charm and love. That is what is told by the paintings and sculptures that reached us and are visible in the museum in Cairo and Berlin. Milano Unica, let her revive on the lively and generous island of Ibiza, a pearl of the Mediterranean sea and UNESCO World Heritage. Purple amethyst, green and red of the paintings of ancient Egypt, gold. Feathers, floral decorations, the symbols of the sun and moon visible in caftans, prints and furnishings of the Ibizan houses. Milano Unica noted in the strongly decorative element, rich in symbols, what combines the representation of Nefertiti and Ibiza. Among the materials of this theme, linen with wide plots, gauze, very light silks, pleated, pleated prints, silks papyrus effect, ribs, maxi-prints with golden brushstrokes, fil coupé printed with gold pigment , decorative elements of Egyptian inspiration. divine gold, amethyst purple, brown, amber, yellow, beige, green of the Egyptian paintings and Ibizan atmosphere.