Big names return to the Milan Furniture Fair

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Can the output of a single designer define a moment in time, especially when that moment is marked by a continent-crippling volcanic eruption and the hangover from a major recession? If the person in question is Dutch designer Marcel Wanders, the answer is yes.

At the recent Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan it seemed that the prolific auteur had left his outré stamp everywhere one turned. There was the collection of creative crystal objets for Baccarat, multiple furniture pieces for Magis, a sneering new Monster chair for Moooi, gigantic Tulip chairs for Cappellini and outdoor seating for XO.

The only other person to rival Wanders's dominance was the equally outsized Philippe Starck, who (for a person who said he was giving up design a couple of years ago) also had his hand in a surprising number of projects, including new pieces for Dedon and Kartell,

What the omnipresence of such luminaries suggested was a return of sorts to star-driven high-end design, albeit in limited numbers and somewhat subtler fashion. Over the past two years, ultra-pricey celebrity-powered furnishings definitely took a hit, but the renewed focus on big names indicates they have a healthy shelf life. Even so, the effects of the downturn couldn't be written off, despite the talk of a looming recovery.

Many companies that would normally introduce a raft of new products, for instance, focused on just a handful of new pieces instead. Kartell, the Italian master of curvaceous colourful plastic, showed its new collection entirely in black, while Established & Sons, the British manufacturer that once sold a dining table by Zaha Hadid for $296,000, introduced Estb, a moderately priced line of goods with a focus on practicality and no designer signatures. The latest creation from Dutch designer Maarten Baas - an iPhone app for his Real Time clock - was even available for 99 cents.

Of course, the ominous volcanic ash cloud hovering over Europe just added to the end-of-the-world feeling and became a bigger topic of conversation than the latest from star designers. By the end of the fair, Milan's Malpensa airport was entirely shut down, stranding exhibitors, buyers and journalists in design Neverland.

But it wasn't entirely doom and gloom. The new sense of thrift appeared to be a good thing for major manufacturers, who focused on quality over quantity. And while they may not have released much, the pieces they did show were well conceived and refined. Here are a few of the top trends.

Weaving their magic

Wicker, leather cord and seatbelt-like nylon straps were woven into many of the fair's most appealing pieces. Swiss design phenom Philippe Bestenheider, whose name seems to be popping up everywhere these days, proved he was a master of the technique with pieces like the Mogador table for Frag and a collection of shapely indoor/outdoor furniture for Varaschin. Wanders also introduced a surprising chair for Magis named Cyborg, which has a plastic base supporting an intricately woven backrest.

Mesh heads

The industrial-looking offspring of woven materials, small-scale mesh also took centre stage last week. One of the best examples was the Mesh chair by Tom Dixon for Magis, which has a rigid metal seat reminiscent of a window screen but is shaped like an upholstered chair. Swedish company Offecct also showed Patrick Norguet's Fly chair, which is covered by a flexible textile mesh that appears light as air.

Optical illusion

Not everything at the fair could be taken at face value, as visual tricks made their way into numerous products and projects. Living Divani introduced an ethereal collection of furniture by Japanese architect Junya Ishigami, including the transparent Drop table (which has a top like a magnifying lens that distorts objects below) and the Daliesque Family chairs (which appear slightly wilted). Vancouver's Omer Arbel got in on the game with Series 28, ghostly chandeliers made with irregular blown-glass bubbles. And lighting company Flos showed Soft Architecture, a line of lamps that are designed to literally blend into walls and ceilings (with some help from plaster). At an off-site event hosted by Fendi and Design Miami, the curators shunned furniture altogether, inviting designers to create hallucinatory installations instead.

Shock value

The designer fascination with unexpected materials continued this year. Kartell shocked show-goers by straying away from plastic for the first time - the Audrey chair by Piero Lissoni has a plastic seat and backrest, but a frame made from die cast aluminum. Edra, meanwhile, introduced the Campana brothers' Cabana storage unit, which hides interior shelves under a shaggy raffia hairdo. Moroso went even more extreme with the Wood Chair by Front (which is covered with wooden beads) and the Memory chair by Tokujin Yoshioka (which has malleable tinfoil-like upholstery that can be reshaped).

Cool comfortFor consumers looking to soothe and reassure themselves in the downturn's wake, countless manufacturers were ready to help out with plush pieces of furniture perfect for cocooning. Many companies showed sofas that consisted mainly of pillows rather than upholstery over a frame (among them were the Dunder modular system by Stefan Borselius for Bla Station), while others offered simple seats covered head to toe with fuzzy fabric (like the Achille armchair by Jean-Marie Massaud for MDF Italia). It was enough to make some fair visitors want to give up their schedules, put all thoughts of volcanoes out of their minds and curl up for a good rest instead.

Special to The Globe and Mail