Haute couture from Roche Bobois.

Innovative and ecologically-sensitive products were all the rage at the series of furniture, furnishing, lighting and "new ideas" events surrounding Milan's Salone Internazionale del Mobile.

Along with "well being" perceived among consumers (as opposed to ostentatious socialising, to fit the poorer economic conditions globally) was a return to minimal design criteria for this year. A very large number of products was presented from natural or recycled materials, with finishing and treatment resulting from low impact workmanship.

"Ecologically respectful" was the best way of describing furniture from Austria's TEAM 7, the lamps by Italy's Foscarini, sofas by Gervasoni and the seats by 13 Ricrea, the latter consisting of petals of recycled rubber.

Every colour - as long as it's green.

Preferred colour palettes at the fair from 22 to 27 April included white, black and natural shades; the fashion colours were dark and brown, tobacco, oil blue, purple, musk green, mustard, grey, beige, and cream. However, a few strokes of brightness were also present: red, pink and violet, orange, and - for sure - shades of green.

Silver was also "in" for beds and wardrobes, such as presented by Flou, and for lighting as well.

In general, soft and pleasant lines were popular in padded furniture, but there were also deco-futuristic geometries and inspiration for furnishing elements and accessories.

Lighting design and trends were divided into two main themes: on the one side, LED technology, responding to minimalism and an eco-friendly trend, while the other aimed at large dimensions in imagination and scale. The spectacular Swarovski items, Schonbek's Da Vinci chandeliers and Baga-customised Great metallic ceiling lamp perfectly represented the second of those themes.

Materials for lamps and lighting items drew on many different forms of glass and crystal decorative themes; metals, mesh and plastic tend to be used for items inspired by the 1960s and 1970s.

Record year for fairs

Record attendance: correspondents Cristina Bellavista (left) and Clara Dodino (right) with exhibitor Graziella Borgognone.

"Saloni" is the collective name in Italian for the furniture jamboree in Milan that comprised the Salone Internazionale del Mobile (furniture fair), the biennial Euroluce (for lighting), Salone del Complemento d'Arredo (for furnishing accessories) and SaloneSatellite (dedicated to young designers).

2009 has turned out to be a record year for attendance at these events, with 313,385 visitors, of whom more than 278,000 were traders mainly from Russia, Germany and France.

The 2,723 exhibitors assembled on an area of 202,350 sqm; the exhibition space was completely sold out, with 491 companies on the waiting list.

Besides the main fair, there were more than 400 events, located in different part of the city and partly organised by either the fair committee or by manufacturers and designers from around the world.

Michela Barona is CEO of Le Fablier, an Italian company which manufactures furniture, particularly offering handcrafted woods. She said that despite the economic slowdown the company saw sales rise 40% last year. This year, the company planned to capitalise on the "cocooning" trend among home makers, featuring soft lines and natural finishing.

Structured chairs in natural leather.

Another Italian firm, Natuzzi, exports furniture to over 126 countries, including Asia. It presented a line of weave sofas, upholstered in white hammered leather and presented in exotic colours.

Roche Bobois, from France, creates and distributes haute couture furniture. In its stand at the Milan's show it presented an Axiome armchair designed by Roberto Tapinassi and Maurizio Manzoni, complete with foulard pillows using fabrics by fashion stylist Emanuel Ungaro.

Black chromium-plated metal legs, a removable cover and seats made of woven raffia were the outstanding characteristics of Avant-Première, a seat designed by Sacha Lakic.

North African link with Hong Kong

From North Africa, the Egyptian Furniture Export Council (EFEC) presented the Kime project (which is the ancient name for the country), the result of a collaboration between 20 leading Egyptian firms in the furniture sector, including seven international designers and 20 young Egyptian designers.

Kime project.

Manganaro: only using natural products.

Omneya Elmaghraby, Executive Director of the Council, said: "Egyptian production has recently been enriched by design elements. We have commercial relationships with Hong Kong and [the Chinese mainland]."

Sicea is an Italian family-owned furniture company and owner Francesca Manganaro, said: "we use all natural materials: veneered wood, chromium-plated metals and methacrylate for furnishing complements. Our novelties include materials like wood and aluminium coated with very resistant lacquers. In general, we try to adhere to stringent EC standards concerning furniture workmanship and we use ecologic paints."

Emmei, another Italian firm, manufactures furniture in a very modern style. Oscar Romanello, the Managing Director, said his company was presenting simpler lines than in the past, with unusual fabrics and printed leathers, in basic colours like white and black.

Emmei chairs and tables.

A wide range of materials is used: glass, steel, wood and leather with a variety of finishing. Average consumer prices range from Euros300 to Euros400 for one chair, and from Euros1,700 to Euros2,700 for tables, depending on finishing.

Georg Emprechtinger, CEO and Creative Designer of TEAM 7, an Austrian company that produces natural furniture, commented: "our products are ecological, made of solid wood, and are submitted to natural treatment. We are pioneers in ecological furniture, among the first in adopting innovative technologies for this purpose."

In 2006, TEAM 7 says it introduced an exclusive technology to upholster seats. The design features a special flexibility, thanks to the use of multifunctional elements which can be modified according to individual requirements. Consumer prices range from Euros300 to Euros1,200 for chairs and from Euros700 to Euros6,000 for tables.

Rotaliana multifunctional lamp.

Antonella Vallauri, Marketing Director of Rotaliana, an Italian company that manufactures lighting equipment, presented a multifunctional product at the fair called Diva, a LED desk lamp which reloads and plays i-Pod and iPhone sounds, and comes complete with USB port, clock and radio. It's to be distributed from July at a consumer price of between Euros300 and Euros400.

Also in the lighting sector, Terzani is an Italian lighting company specialising in handmade items, in metals, gold and silver leaf, nickel, gold plating and glass. Hand-crafted spheres, leaves, rings, interwoven shafts are put together for suspensions and table lamps.

Atlantis (retailing from Euros10,000 to Euros12,000) is the firm's top line - with high decorative chandeliers and wall lamps, characterised by a metal structure and mesh.

Nicolas Terzani, the owner, said: "We have grown well, performing in high quality and handcrafting, as well as proposing decorative effects. Abroad, our items are appreciated despite the prices. Our Hong Kong distributor has been one of the first who bought the Atlantis item as soon as we presented it."

Ideas at centre stage

A group of Chinese mainland designers was present in a collective stand at the SaloneSatellite show under the name of China Redesign. The projects presented take inspiration from nature as well as ancient Chinese philosophy.

For instance, Innovo Design, has been looking at the essence of Chinese design, which currently suffers from the impact of Western civilization, according to Ray Zhang, one of the participants.

"Conquering the unyielding with the yielding. This is the main point of Daoist philosophy, which is rooted in Chinese folklore," said Zhang.

CTRLZAK's bandaged chair.

"We designed the Toughness vase, where a bamboo seedling is planted. If the bamboo grows in line, it will be blocked off by the vase and then stops growing. But the result is the opposite, because the bamboo changes its track according to the shape of the vase. It successfully escapes from the bottle and grows freely. The spirit of the bamboo is like a tough Chinese character."

Provocative design was also presented by CTRLZAK Art & Design Studio of Greece, led by Thanos Zakopoulos and Katia Meneghini.

Remeditate, a new series of daily objects taking inspiration from medicine, reveals an ironic and critical side to medical functions. Elastic bandages upholster the chairs, a parrot serves as a carafe, and a table is made by crutches in lieu of normal legs; the chandelier is that of an operating theatre.

from special correspondents Cristina Bellavista and
Clara Dodino, Milan