Salone Del Mobile or better known as the Milan Design Week is the most important design fair of the year. Discern’s Elite designers - Jannat Vasi, Tiziana Latorre and Kavya Shah, set out to find this year’s most stylish trends in furniture and living design. Jannat Vasi, the founder of her eponymous studio, designs interior spaces that have the power to elevate the mood as well as provide the greatest levels of comfort. A designer from Mumbai, Kavya Shah is fond of modern styles and loves to bring her own experiences into the spaces. Milan-based freelance designer Tiziana Latorre specialises in installations for trade shows and events, she used to work as an editor at Archiproducts.com located in Bari, a city in southern Italy. We received some incredible feedback and perspective from these three top-notch designers for our top 8 exhibitions at this year’s event. Read on to learn about our designer's reflections on these exciting new movements in design. 1. Scarlet Splendour

Indian-based entrepreneur Ashish Bajoria has been creating a storm with his furniture collection in Milan this year. Exhibited in the prestigious Rossana Orlandi in the heart of Milan, Ashish's collection is eclectic, intuitive and painstakingly detailed - giving any Italian brand a run for its money. Scarlet Splendour's form and colours share a sense of desire and pleasure. The exhibit included diverse collections of furniture, lighting and rugs, and an introduction from the recent 88 Secrets furniture by Nika Zupanc. Jannat's personal favourites (seen below) from this exhibit were the Karesansui emboss woollen rug and the classic Vanilla Noir furniture collection, inspired by the Indian handicraft of bone and horn inlay, which translates into a contemporary fusion of modern designs.





Karesansui Emboss Woollen Rug by Matteo Cibic

Classic Vanilla Noir Furniture from Scarlet Splendour

Picture Courtesy Jannat Vasi



2. Louis Vuitton Exhibit: Objets Nomades

​One of the most visited exhibitions this year was Louis Vuitton’s Objet Nomades, which mesmerised and blew away many visitors. Embracing the spirit of the world's design community in Milan, each piece in the exhibit focuses on the theme of travel that keeps to the brand’s origin as a trunk-maker.

From The Hammock by Atelier Oï to the Diamond Screen by Marcel Wander, the 25 collectible limited edition pieces stand out for its sophisticated shapes and precious leather details which, as Jannat mentions, "creates an instant aspirational value."

Objet Nomades

Picture Courtesy Jannat Vasi



3. Salone Satellite

Another exhibition showcasing the incredible design talent, Salone Satellite is a congregation of emerging young designers from all over the world who have immense potential to become the next big thing. Below are images of experimental, innovative and alternative designs from Salone Satellite, which are a welcome departure from an often trivialising mass production.





Hexalum Modular Light Panels

Jiwonxkim Rugs

Radhwa Kabli

Zemi Furniture

Picture Courtesy Jannat Vasi

4. Euroluce Light Exhibition

Euroluce, the biennial International Lighting exhibition, runs concurrently at the Salone Del Mobile in Milan. This year, the exhibition was laced with the best of the best showcasing the very latest in lighting solutions for homes, offices, hospitality and the outdoors.

Lights play a key role in setting the mood of an environment, but having beautiful ﬁxtures can add a sculptural quality to your space. Form, function, technique and emotion are inseparable links connected to light design.

The big players like Artemide, Swarovski, Vibia, and Axolight dominated in product variety and maintained their usual excellence in designs and technological innovation; however, what stood out most to Jannat was "Preciosa for their breathtaking chandeliers and crystal fragments casting magical shadows all over."





Colourful Wall Pieces from Aqua Creations

Wooden Origami Pendants from Bover Lights

Chandeliers from Preciosa

Picture Courtesy Jannat Vasi



5. Marni Playland

Italian fashion house Marni is well-known for creating extremely eye-catching high colour design pieces. Tiziana Latorre highlighted the exhibit as a reflection on the concept of play. Marni invited "the public to forget pre-defined rules and structures to create a new dialogue with the surrounding space and the elements that populate it" says Latorre. The playground was filled with brightly coloured furniture and toys made using traditional weaving.

6. Fuori Salone

Arguably, the best Fuori Salone exhibit in the past eight years, the Super Design show at the Via Tortona. According to Kavya Shah, the most eye-catching element was the unique 'Twist and Shout' sculpture by Karim Rashid.





Twist and Shout by Karim Rashid

Picture Courtesy Kavya Shah



Additionally, the ASUS Design Center came up with an interactive design called 'Glow of Life' - a celebration of technology and what it can bring to life.



Glow Of Life by ASUS Design Center

The Glow of Life by The Asus Design Centre

Picture Courtesy Kavya Shah



7. Emotional lights

"Emotional lights by Arturo Alvarez certainly illustrated the human evolution through a variety of emotions in lighting design," said Shah. A series of overlapped layers produced a brightness that softly leaked and filtered, which created a magical and enveloping atmosphere. The material Arturo used is SIMTECH, crafted in a smooth way, provided a subtle and elegant texture.





Emotional Lights by Arturo Alvarez

Emotional Lights by Arturo Alvarez

Picture Courtesy Kavya Shah



8. Flexible Living at Brera Design District

The Brera district is the business and creative hub of the city of Milan. Here, the iconic Matteo Cibic collaborated with Timberland to showcase the exhibit ‘Flexible Living.’ This outstanding work of art was inspired by the innovative Sensorflex sole technology, and was a revolutionary way to experience flexibility and comfort within an urban context.





Picture courtesy Kavya Shah



Salone del Mobile offers a unique opportunity for world industry leaders to unveil their products and creative minds, and completely transform the city of Milan into an energetic bubble of excitement. What was your favourite trend from this year's celebration of furniture and product design in Milan? Discover more design inspiration from the Discern Living app (available now on the Google Play Store or iOS Apple Store).

