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Milan – a successful Design Week amidst fears about newly arising social issues

Here it is: the 61st edition of the Milan Design Week, scheduled as always for mid-April – more crowded, more dynamic and further abounding in events and business opportunities with every passing year. The stage of one of the most important global appointments devoted to furnishing, with exhibitions at the Salone del Mobile in Fiera fair, as well as Fuorisalone events that, nowadays, span across twenty neighbourhoods – from the Brera and Tortona central “districts” to the lively suburbs on the outskirts of Lambrate.

And here they are – unique concepts blending “design culture” and “product culture”, arising from an ever intensifying dialogue whose identity is increasingly defined by old and new international leading design figures and manufacturing companies, which – in the Lombardy region and especially in Milan and Brianza – also boast outstanding feats of engineering: indeed, the “top-of-the-range” furnishing that catches the eye of the most sophisticated clientèle in New York and Shanghai also features metal hinges that ensure perfect performance over time.

“Grabby Milan”, summarises la Repubblica (18 April), referring to the fact that “events, exhibitions, celebrities, show rooms and areas have never been as profuse” as during this Design Week. Here are the figures: 1,200 events, 1,962 exhibitors, 327,000 expected visitors, of which 65% coming from abroad, with a substantial American and Chinese presence (last here they amounted to 262,000 visitors), generating €223.2 million – 37% more than the previous edition.

Milan attracting talent and business, then. Milan as the focal point of one of the most competitive ‘Made in Italy’ sectors. And yet, amidst this vortex of great events ranging from furnishing to fashion, Milan is nonetheless showing some cracks – more noticeable to its inhabitants than its international guests – that betray the presence of some hardship and tension concealed behind its “thousand lights”, raising fears about a possible fall, over a medium to long period, from its great economic and social heights. In fact, as concisely emphasised by newspaper Corriere della Sera in a leading article by Dario Di Vico on the Milan Furniture Fair (17 April): “While we celebrate the virtues of beauty, the shadow of a city that is losing its inclusive nature looms increasingly larger”.

Let’s attempt to better understand the situation, while remaining aware that “events follow a sinuous course” (Maurice Merleau-Ponty) and that the distinguishing feature of most dynamic metropolises is precisely that their growth is steeped in contrasts and contradictions, rifts and conflicts, and that it’s down to politicians and public administrations – as well as to a civil society’s feeling of social sensibility – to devise and implement reforms and remedies to resolutely smooth out edges and rough patches.

Let’s look at some more figures, then, so as to gain an informed view of this phenomenon: the Italian furnishing industry comprises 16,000 companies and over 125,000 workers, and in 2022 its turnover was of €28.1 billion – an increase of 11% from the previous year, and the Intesa Sanpaolo’s Study and Research Department forecasts that the sector’s growth spanning from 2019 (pre-Covid) to 2025 will amount to a total 42.4%. An extraordinary expansion rate for an industry that makes up 3.4% of the Italian manufacturing sector, an increase that, as well as substantiating Italy’s international reputation, also helps consolidating the perception of high-quality and reliable ‘Made in Italy’ goods all over the world.

60% of Italian enterprises is mostly based in the Lombardy region, followed by Piedmont, Veneto and Emilia Romagna, although we find a significant presence in the south of Italy, too, such as in the Campania and Puglia regions (the “lounge district” in Altamura, for instance). The sector also counts over 20,000 design and services professionals, vigorously driving the creative side of products and materials, as well as a continuously evolving “quality Italian lifestyle” increasingly embraced by the whole world.

Proof of this can be found in the “Design Economy” report curated by the Symbola Foundation, Deloitte Private and PoliDesign (and supported by ADI, the Italian Association for Industrial Design, promoter of “Il Compasso d’Oro” – the Golden Compass Award – the industry’s highest recognition), which illustrates how Italy has now overtaken Germany – its main competitor – as the top country in Europe for number of companies, turnover and workers (Il Sole24Ore, 15 April).

A significant European record, achieved over time and, nowadays, also built on the environmental and social sustainability of manufacturing companies, which benefits both territories and supply chains as well as being a key competitive factor. Ermete Realacci, president of Symbola, explains that: “The identification of sustainable products as better quality products is a formidable drive for the Italian economy. The transition represents a great opportunity. Yet, we need to tackle it by drawing on the country’s strengths. And design is precisely one of them”.

Milan, the capital of such processes, enjoys their advantages and feeds on their development, just like a real global city with an extraordinary ability for blending culture and manufacturing, product design and quality, cutting-edge technologies and aesthetics, scientific research and the humanities, aware of its industrial history while looking to the future.

Sturdy Milan. Attractive Milan. Talented and dynamic Milan.

Yet, is Milan still as inclusive as it always used to be?

A question on which recent criticism has been focusing, criticism by those who do care about Milan’s fate, as well as its economic and social balance – those who are witnessing, with justified alarm, the skyrocketing of living costs, and more especially housing costs.

The property boom, in terms of both purchase and rental, threatens to drive the middle class out of town, together with young working couples, creative talent, students and professors from the city’s ten universities that fuel the “knowledge economy” engine and act as social glue.

And it’s these “great events” that are warping the housing market.

Here are some figures, just to get the idea: between July and December 2022, accommodation searches on Airbnb increased by over 2,000% and during the Milan Furniture Fair the “price trend” of €181 per night doubled, and even tripled, in the “design districts”, rising to over €500 (Corriere della Sera). Under such conditions, the phenomenon of highly profitable “short-term rentals” grows while the market for regular and long-term rentals freezes. Milan becomes an urban space for occasional city users and loses its citizens, and thus its welcoming nature shifts, community values decline and, over time, social deterioration and civic degradation might take over.

A phenomenon that’s been at the centre of public opinion for a long time now, and a topic to which Milan’s public administration, under the lead of mayor Beppe Sala – as well as other municipalities in the metropolitan area – have been paying very much attention.

A situation that’s sparking reflections about the introduction of restrictions on “short-term rentals” (Paris implemented strict constraint measures a long time ago) and the need for policies and urban decisions that take social housing into consideration. With a clear strategic aim: revitalise, in these changing times, the Milanese tradition founded on the strong tie between production and inclusiveness, international economic competitiveness and social support.

As Dario Di Vico believes, Milan “can take back control over its own fate, can figure out how to manage its evolution as a global city by tackling both the old problems and the new issues that inequitable modern times inevitably generate, can reconnect the threads that snapped and mend the social bonds that came undone. However, this entails that those who are able to effectively contribute to this process cannot make the mistake of looking the other way and cynically believe that things will just take care of themselves”.

(photo Getty Images)

Here it is: the 61st edition of the Milan Design Week, scheduled as always for mid-April – more crowded, more dynamic and further abounding in events and business opportunities with every passing year. The stage of one of the most important global appointments devoted to furnishing, with exhibitions at the Salone del Mobile in Fiera fair, as well as Fuorisalone events that, nowadays, span across twenty neighbourhoods – from the Brera and Tortona central “districts” to the lively suburbs on the outskirts of Lambrate.

And here they are – unique concepts blending “design culture” and “product culture”, arising from an ever intensifying dialogue whose identity is increasingly defined by old and new international leading design figures and manufacturing companies, which – in the Lombardy region and especially in Milan and Brianza – also boast outstanding feats of engineering: indeed, the “top-of-the-range” furnishing that catches the eye of the most sophisticated clientèle in New York and Shanghai also features metal hinges that ensure perfect performance over time.

“Grabby Milan”, summarises la Repubblica (18 April), referring to the fact that “events, exhibitions, celebrities, show rooms and areas have never been as profuse” as during this Design Week. Here are the figures: 1,200 events, 1,962 exhibitors, 327,000 expected visitors, of which 65% coming from abroad, with a substantial American and Chinese presence (last here they amounted to 262,000 visitors), generating €223.2 million – 37% more than the previous edition.

Milan attracting talent and business, then. Milan as the focal point of one of the most competitive ‘Made in Italy’ sectors. And yet, amidst this vortex of great events ranging from furnishing to fashion, Milan is nonetheless showing some cracks – more noticeable to its inhabitants than its international guests – that betray the presence of some hardship and tension concealed behind its “thousand lights”, raising fears about a possible fall, over a medium to long period, from its great economic and social heights. In fact, as concisely emphasised by newspaper Corriere della Sera in a leading article by Dario Di Vico on the Milan Furniture Fair (17 April): “While we celebrate the virtues of beauty, the shadow of a city that is losing its inclusive nature looms increasingly larger”.

Let’s attempt to better understand the situation, while remaining aware that “events follow a sinuous course” (Maurice Merleau-Ponty) and that the distinguishing feature of most dynamic metropolises is precisely that their growth is steeped in contrasts and contradictions, rifts and conflicts, and that it’s down to politicians and public administrations – as well as to a civil society’s feeling of social sensibility – to devise and implement reforms and remedies to resolutely smooth out edges and rough patches.

Let’s look at some more figures, then, so as to gain an informed view of this phenomenon: the Italian furnishing industry comprises 16,000 companies and over 125,000 workers, and in 2022 its turnover was of €28.1 billion – an increase of 11% from the previous year, and the Intesa Sanpaolo’s Study and Research Department forecasts that the sector’s growth spanning from 2019 (pre-Covid) to 2025 will amount to a total 42.4%. An extraordinary expansion rate for an industry that makes up 3.4% of the Italian manufacturing sector, an increase that, as well as substantiating Italy’s international reputation, also helps consolidating the perception of high-quality and reliable ‘Made in Italy’ goods all over the world.

60% of Italian enterprises is mostly based in the Lombardy region, followed by Piedmont, Veneto and Emilia Romagna, although we find a significant presence in the south of Italy, too, such as in the Campania and Puglia regions (the “lounge district” in Altamura, for instance). The sector also counts over 20,000 design and services professionals, vigorously driving the creative side of products and materials, as well as a continuously evolving “quality Italian lifestyle” increasingly embraced by the whole world.

Proof of this can be found in the “Design Economy” report curated by the Symbola Foundation, Deloitte Private and PoliDesign (and supported by ADI, the Italian Association for Industrial Design, promoter of “Il Compasso d’Oro” – the Golden Compass Award – the industry’s highest recognition), which illustrates how Italy has now overtaken Germany – its main competitor – as the top country in Europe for number of companies, turnover and workers (Il Sole24Ore, 15 April).

A significant European record, achieved over time and, nowadays, also built on the environmental and social sustainability of manufacturing companies, which benefits both territories and supply chains as well as being a key competitive factor. Ermete Realacci, president of Symbola, explains that: “The identification of sustainable products as better quality products is a formidable drive for the Italian economy. The transition represents a great opportunity. Yet, we need to tackle it by drawing on the country’s strengths. And design is precisely one of them”.

Milan, the capital of such processes, enjoys their advantages and feeds on their development, just like a real global city with an extraordinary ability for blending culture and manufacturing, product design and quality, cutting-edge technologies and aesthetics, scientific research and the humanities, aware of its industrial history while looking to the future.

Sturdy Milan. Attractive Milan. Talented and dynamic Milan.

Yet, is Milan still as inclusive as it always used to be?

A question on which recent criticism has been focusing, criticism by those who do care about Milan’s fate, as well as its economic and social balance – those who are witnessing, with justified alarm, the skyrocketing of living costs, and more especially housing costs.

The property boom, in terms of both purchase and rental, threatens to drive the middle class out of town, together with young working couples, creative talent, students and professors from the city’s ten universities that fuel the “knowledge economy” engine and act as social glue.

And it’s these “great events” that are warping the housing market.

Here are some figures, just to get the idea: between July and December 2022, accommodation searches on Airbnb increased by over 2,000% and during the Milan Furniture Fair the “price trend” of €181 per night doubled, and even tripled, in the “design districts”, rising to over €500 (Corriere della Sera). Under such conditions, the phenomenon of highly profitable “short-term rentals” grows while the market for regular and long-term rentals freezes. Milan becomes an urban space for occasional city users and loses its citizens, and thus its welcoming nature shifts, community values decline and, over time, social deterioration and civic degradation might take over.

A phenomenon that’s been at the centre of public opinion for a long time now, and a topic to which Milan’s public administration, under the lead of mayor Beppe Sala – as well as other municipalities in the metropolitan area – have been paying very much attention.

A situation that’s sparking reflections about the introduction of restrictions on “short-term rentals” (Paris implemented strict constraint measures a long time ago) and the need for policies and urban decisions that take social housing into consideration. With a clear strategic aim: revitalise, in these changing times, the Milanese tradition founded on the strong tie between production and inclusiveness, international economic competitiveness and social support.

As Dario Di Vico believes, Milan “can take back control over its own fate, can figure out how to manage its evolution as a global city by tackling both the old problems and the new issues that inequitable modern times inevitably generate, can reconnect the threads that snapped and mend the social bonds that came undone. However, this entails that those who are able to effectively contribute to this process cannot make the mistake of looking the other way and cynically believe that things will just take care of themselves”.

(photo Getty Images)