Isola Design District is Milan’s youngest design district: strong of its fresh take on the field, it promotes absolute freedom and an experimental approach which is far from operating on market-based mechanisms.
They (both organisers and attendees) call themselves “pirates” and fly a crossed flag especially conceived by Zup Design, driven by the one and only motto “Rethinking Material”, meaning a 5 days of wild explorations of materials’ properties and versatile potential by local artisans and emerging international designers: the former are expected to share their knowledge in their very ateliers, and the latter will be asked to combine craftsmanship with advanced technology.
The goal? To showcase the look and feel of the neighbourhood, a bit of a far cry from Milan itself and the regular Design Week appearance we are all used to: forget the big names and spectacular installations, and get ready for a parade of young and promising designers, local historic figures, and newborn collaborations based on either social, playful, experimental or traditional values.
The Isola Design District 2018’s headquarters will be located at Stecca 3.0, a public venue open all year round and traditionally home to socio-cultural associations and activities, now updated into exhibition space and hub for design workshops for the special occasion.
The press lounge is modelled by RivaViva, the local brand (set on via Porro Lambertenghi) specialising in eco-sustainable furniture and home accessories, and matched with Latinoamerican Contemporary Design, a group exhibition by South-American designers working in-between contemporaneity and local country identities, all the way from Brazil to Ecuador, via Colombia and Mexico.
Isola Design District encourages a fruitful dialogue between local (bette hyper-local, seen that a small neighbourhood is involved) and international realities, which develops around three major themes: exhibitions, interiors, settings.
The best way to delve deep in Isola Design District is to wander around the neighbourhood, randomly step in open courts and shops, and let yourselves be dragged into surprising design corners. Also, don’t forget to check out the works by Kensaku Oshiro, the Milan-based Japanese designer selected by Piero Lissoni for Rising Talent Awards Italy at Maison&Objet 2018; Dutch Invertuals at Spazio O’; Milan Design Market, a concept store designed by Elif Resitoglu within the premises of Studio Fotografico Gianni Rizzotti, a 400-sqm loft space on via Pastrengo 14, where to grab unique goods from any corner of the world.
