REPORTAGE: Design Italy goes to Miami by Paola Serena

From Milan to Miami: after the success of Fuorisalone 2021, Design Italy lands at the Wolfsonian-FIU Museum with the exhibition "SustainabItaly" on sustainable Made in Italy design.

When we designed our exhibition “La Materia diventa Design” (When Material Meets Design) for the Fuorisalone 2021 event in Milan, we never thought our idea would be so successful.

The concept came to us quite naturally over the last two years as we built our Design Italy catalogue. Thanks to the scouting we did around Italy, we came to realise that the various fantastic materials available are nothing without accurate planning that blends function and aesthetics: in a single word, design!

Design Italy had big ambitions when it started out, but we didn’t think we could achieve them in such a short period of time. It was truly a great honour to be selected to be part of the “SustainabItaly” exhibition – a play on the words “sustainable” and “Italy” – dedicated to Italian sustainability. Supported by the Consulate General of Italy and curated by Luisa Bocchietto, the exhibition was inaugurated on 4 December at the Wolfsonian-FIU Museum and will be open until 20 March 2022.

If you’re planning on being in Miami over the next few months, we highly recommend a visit to the museum, a beautiful, seven-storey Art Deco-style building in South Beach. The top floor is dedicated to the SustainabItaly exhibition, which aims to show the world how Italian companies are deeply committed to researching materials and developing sustainable production processes.

Denis Santachiara, with whom I have had the opportunity to get to know well over the years, enlightened me by explaining that sustainability is not simply about the proper disposal and reuse of materials: the real challenge is sustainable design processes. When a project is created, it must be designed to create the least possible impact: from the use of energy for production and transport, to the optimisation of warehouse stock, to the production of non-recyclable waste, and much more. This is the aim of digital manufacturing, which is the protagonist of the exhibition: a new way of making products with the least possible environmental impact.

This is why, at the Wolfsonian, we presented items by Denis Santachiara (Cyrcus Design), Giorgio Caporaso (Lessmore), and DygoDesign.

For those who can’t make it to Miami but are in Milan, we would love for you to visit our pop-up store in the heart of Milan (via Manzoni 16/a) until 23 December. And for those who are too far away from either Miami or Milan, make sure to visit our website, where you’ll find an inspiring selection of contemporary design and a wide variety of sustainable products.

Paola Serena