Fuorisalone in September: a success that goes beyond expectations

It has been a Fuorisalone that has been surprising for the large number of participants, somewhat unexpected, and for the renewed energy in the streets and districts of Milan. What was not surprising, however, was the quality of the projects presented by companies and professionals during the week.

The September edition was a rebirth for the city.And it confirmed the will of the Italian furniture and design system to maintain its centrality, reaffirming Milan's leading role.  The focus was on content, tackling issues such as sustainability, inclusion and conscious creativity, experimenting with new materials and new solutions to address contemporary living issues. Designers, entrepreneurs, design lovers, students and the foreign public populated the city in full respect of anti-Covid regulations.

The numbers, not taken for granted, of this 2021 give hope in view of the April 2022 edition: there are a total of 900 designers published on the Fuorisalone.it platform, 763 events in the current year, 600 of which on the territory for the September edition, and a record audience of more than 400,000 unique users and more than 2 million page views, access data beyond expectations and in line with the 2019 edition. The Fuorisalone community has registered significant growth, with the most visited social channels including Instagram, which saw an increase of 10 thousand followers, with 60 posts published that reached 640 thousand people with 78 thousand likes and 457 comments. In collaboration with Beijing Onbox Media and Poli.design (Politecnico di Milano), WeChat's streaming platform xiao'etong and Fuorisalone's weibo hosted a two-hour live broadcast dedicated to professionals who were unable to attend the event, reaching 80 thousand people connected.

"Four editions in 16 months for Fuorisalone.it have represented an incredible journey of growth and research, which from the full digital edition in June 2020 to this one in September 2021 underline the centrality and importance of Milan on the international scene, confirming the strategic role of companies and operators in the sector present in the city, capable of adapting to the context, investing and always developing new projects, thinking ahead," says Paolo Casati, co-founder and creative director of Studiolabo.

Fuorisalone was an opportunity to discover places that are usually inaccessible, as in the case of Alcova: a sort of city within a city, a few steps from the Inganni metro station, a format that opened the doors of three extraordinarily charming buildings, immersed in a large urban park, hosting over 50 exhibitors including independent designers, innovative brands, galleries, cultural institutions and companies. It was also an opportunity to return to the city's historic and unique settings, from Palazzo Litta to Palazzo Bovara, passing through Palazzo Francesco Turati and Palazzo Serbelloni.

And let's not forget the Brera Design District, a reference point for Milanese design with its 150 permanent showrooms, as well as the Tortona area, 5VIE, La Triennale and the new ADI museum among the protagonists of this wonderful edition.

The relationship between the city, with all its actors involved, and the institutions has allowed the realisation of a special edition that has tried to face today's challenges. Our thanks go to the Salone del Mobile which, with the Supersalone, has given an injection of confidence to the sector, to the Lombardy Region for its support in the "Design LIVE - LIVE Design" project with which we reported the best of the event on video, and to the Milan City Council for the "Design is Milano is Design" campaign which gave a boost to the promotion of Design Week.

In the image, Super Pratone, Gufram – Photo by Roberto Conte