Ventura Lambrate is one of the most eagerly anticipated design districts of Milan Design Week with its reputation as an international platform for the most innovative and emerging young designers, many of whom are in the early stages of their careers. Many are just beginning to make a name for themselves and gain recognition in the design industry, some show as individual designer makers, some as part of collectives and some with universities from all over the world.
Housed in multiple venues – many of which are empty and derelict throughout the rest of the year – Ventura Lambrate is a great reason to explore one of the lesser visited areas of Milan. It’s packed full of new ideas and we found it a breath of fresh of air in the myriad of brands and luxury design showrooms found elsewhere at Milan Design Week.
We had so many interesting conversations and spotted a lot of future talents…
We were delighted to chance upon one of our New Designers 2016 One Year On exhibitors, Aimee Bollu, in the middle of Ventura Lambrate. We spotted her distinctive, playful objects from quite some distance away (top image, above). They were on show alongside works by Studio Oink (bottom image, above), whose design practice shares similar aesthetic qualities and conceptual considerations around the re-appropriation of objects.
Marble and hand-blown glass vases by Erik Olovsson, founder of Studio EO and 2015 recipient of the prestigious Formex Nova – Nordic Designer of the Year. A new discovery for us at Ventura Lambrate and a designer we’ll be watching in the future.
Great to see some universities from UK shores out in Milan. We were particularly impressed by MA ‘Material Futures’ students from Central St Martin’s who were showing truly innovative products offering solutions to everyday and worldwide problems.
One such design that grabbed our attention was Anne Vaan Drager’s DIY homebirth kit, ‘Independent Labour’ which proposes an alternative childbirth method for those that wouldn’t be able to afford the £300 price tag of a hospital birth in the fully privatised NHS of the future.
To the left is one of many gorgeous pieces of furniture on display from current students from the Wood Orientated Furniture Design course at University of Gothenburg. By Sophie Hardy, this table ‘Breaking Surface’ is constructed from many layers of compressed paper sandwiched to create a perfect finish.
Above is a magnificent wooden Smoker Barrel by Luka Jelušić, also from University of Gothenburg.
‘Fold’ textiles by Lund University student Siri Skillgate. Employing digital weaving, these self-folding fabrics are designed to brighten up any office. To the right you can see Lund Uni’s whole stand which was tucked away in a large utility cupboard, with an ‘In Our Office’ theme.
To explore more of Ventura Lambrate take a look at #venturalambrate or the main event website here