Previews or updated versions of existing products, from swivel armchairs to home working stations: in April, design is on display and interpreted with a visionary gaze

A visual story in which every single page reveals a story. I chose to let the designers who designed the furnishings speak directly and I tried to look at them in a new light. With the photographer Max Rommel we decoded them and each of them took his own path and his stylistic code: important shadows that mark the surfaces, neon lights that delimit and build new spatiality, colors that create scenographic atmospheres and clouds coming.

The Materic table by Porro, designed in 2017, changes its face for 2021 thanks to an upside-down assembly: the black stained ash usually used for the base is used for the top, with a flush central tray, while the base conical is made of stainless steel. The designer Piero Lissoni tells it this way: “A project never comes from the mind of a person, but of a group of people who work together: I have been working with Lorenzo Porro for many years, and together we tell stories. The story from which Materic was born is this: to design a table that does not have precise positions, mixing an almost religious model of conviviality with a more friendly way to sit around it, and so we thought of a round table, with the revolving tray that it is always found on Chinese tables, but made with more craft. When you design an object you always start from a very precise idea, each object is born with a material that guides it. Instead Materic was born with this freedom: I can use all the materials that come to my mind. We have almost cleaned up the structure to allow the material to take over and hence the name ”.

The Hab modular sofa by Désirée, Euromobil Group, has a backrest and armrests that can be easily tilted thanks to an internal mechanism that is easy to operate; structure in wood and metal, padding in polyurethane foam, down and cotton canvas, with leather upholstery or fabric. Designer Marc Sadler explains: "It is the most intimate sofa I have ever designed, the one authentically conceived ad personam, easily moldable in terms of backrest and armrest, even when seated, to achieve the perfect ergonomic balance".

The Torcello bench and stool, by Cimento, in Cimento®, an exclusive cementitious compound with 90% mineral aggregates mixed with a cement binder, registered by the SAI Industry company. The designers Defne Koz & Marco Susani explain: “We were fascinated by the Cimento, which has the characteristics of traditional concrete but brings with it a high content of innovation. In the project we play with this ambiguity: the shapes are monolithic, typical of concrete, but they are light and easy to move ". The Joyce chaise longue, by Morelato, has a turned ash structure with a Vienna straw cover and a removable headrest cushion covered in leather. The designer Libero Rutilo says: "On the other hand, the chaise longue or supine cathedra as it was called by the Romans, has always represented a real state of mind that highlights the predisposition to carve out moments of relaxation for oneself in a different place from the bedroom The Joyce chaise longue represents an almost educational object, a sort of invitation to rethink our life, priorities and time management ”.

The Hiroi armchair, by Cappellini, is in solid black-stained ash with seat and back internally covered with leather pigmented in all the colors of the collection: black, rope, dove-gray, sienna and dark brown. Suitable for the home and public spaces, it also exists in a light wood version with natural leather. Designers Matej Janský & Cyril Dundera explain: “The curved seat offers greater comfort thanks to its generous proportions. The project combines Scandinavian minimalism with a Japanese aesthetic sense: Hiroi is light, yet stable. Ideal for easy and informal relaxation ".

The Ortis desk, by Lema, with an oval top in heat-treated oak or walnut, supported by slender legs resting on an open semicircular elliptical base. The designers Gabriele and Oscar Buratti say: "The project stems from the need to reinterpret the theme of home working in a contemporary way: the desk fits into the home without losing sight of functionality". The Linea lamps, by Seletti, are LED light with beech wood terminals that can be hung with a leather ring or placed on wooden bases. Design Selab + Alessandro Zambelli. "Linea reinterprets the classic neon using LED lights with a minimal aesthetic, embellished by the particular ends in beech wood. Its fluorescence cuts the darkness with the colors of the rainbow: white, blue, fuchsia, yellow, red and green ", explains Stefano Seletti.

The Saint-Germain sofa, by Poliform, is part of a system of upholstered elements with sinuous shapes, with which linear, corner or organic compositions are created. Back in molded flexible polyurethane, seat in polyurethane foam in different densities, feet in brown nickel painted metal; removable cover in fabric or leather. Design Jean-Marie Massaud: “Saint-Germain transforms any space into a warm and familiar landscape, instilling a pleasant feeling of domestic comfort”. Linea lamp, Seletti, with led light with wooden terminals. Design Selab + Alessandro Zambelli.

The Livre armchair, by Gallotti&Radice, padded with non-deformable polyurethane foam in different densities, base in solid black-stained open-pore ash, here in the new swivel version; available with fabric or leather upholstery, in the photo with Gobelin textured fabric of important thickness, with a vegetable motif and with thin horizontal stripes. “Livre was born from the desire to integrate very soft and feminine shapes, which represent me as a designer, with a more rigorous, Japanese style: the result is a soft seat suspended from a solid wooden base. I am very fond of this project, I tried to use very natural tactile fabrics, moreover it is completely removable: a nice added value for an armchair of this size ". The designer Federica Biasi explains.

On the left, Daiki armchair, Minotti, with curved Santos rosewood shell made with sophisticated woodwork and leather cushions. Designer Marcio Kogan / Studio MK27 says: "Daiki chairs reflect a bit my travels and my love for Japan and its culture. We have also made our architectural language flow into the product ”. On the right, the Catilina armchair, by Azucena with Serapian, is in painted steel and a leather cushion reinterpreted with the precious Mosaic workmanship of the Serapian Atelier Bespoke. Designed by Luigi Caccia Dominioni. "The one with Azucena is a new project between two fashion houses that share the typically Milanese style and rigor, but also the art of know-how that finds its home of choice in Milan. It is wonderful to think that in 1947, while Caccia Dominioni founded Azucena, Stefano Serapian drew and planned our iconic Mosaic weave ”, says Giovanni Nodari Serapian.

Photo Max Rommel