Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Design Roots
The roots of Italian design can be found in 1930s Milan, with the opening of the Trien-
nale, the founding of Domus and Casabella design magazines, Rinascente's visionary
commissions and the development of the Fiera as a modern marketplace. As large-
scale industrial design came late to Italy, a decorative joy persisted, despite the on-
slaught of modernist rigour.
Philosopher-Architects
With the end of WWII, Milanese authorities focused on rebuilding. Luckily for them the
1930s and '40s spawned a school of architect-philosophers (GiĆ² Ponti, Piero Forna-
setti, Enzo Mari, the Castiglioni brothers, Mario Bellini, Gae Aulenti and Ettore Sott-
sass) concerned with redesigning the city for a new age. They were imbued with mod-
ernist optimism, believing that designers and architects sat between art and society,
and that they should create objects and spaces with both function and beauty.
From Producer...
Milan's designers also benefitted from a unique proximity to a highly skilled artisanal
workforce spread across the northern Lombard district of Brianza. Populated by many
small craft business, engaged in textiles (the silk mills of Como), carpentry (the pro-
duction of furniture and musical instruments), leatherwork and metalwork, the Brianza
craftsmen provided a technical workforce who could make their modernist dreams
come true.
...To Market
While Brianza's production houses remained true to the craft aspect of their work, they
were able to move towards modern sales and production techniques via Milan's Fiera.
With the opening of the trade Triennale in 1933, Milan established a forum for design-
ers, architects and manufacturers to come together. This connection between produ-
cer and marketplace established a happy symbiosis between creativity and commer-
 
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