MILAN – Economic woes worldwide have yet to deter the design community.
The first Milan Design (Eco) System report by design trade show organizers Salone del Mobile.Milano and the Department of Design of Milan’s Politecnico University said Milan Design Week generated revenue inflows into the city of 275 million euros, up 13.7 percent compared to 2023.
“The impact and the effects of the Salone on the city go way beyond this financial figure. It is also thanks to the many opportunities for encounters inspired by the Salone, that the entire city is involved,” Milan mayor Giuseppe Sala said in the report released Thursday at the Piccolo Teatro theater just steps away from the city’s Duomo cathedral.
Overall, the report showed that the international design fair Salone del Mobile.Milano registered 370,824 visitors at the 2024 edition. Organizers said that 53.93 percent of these visitors were from foreign countries. Exhibitors totalled 1,950 and hailed from a total of 36 countries. During Milan Design Week in April of 2024, a 10.6 percent rise to 121.4 million euros was recorded in hospitality services, while restaurant and food services spend rose 10.1 percent to 85.9 million, while sales generated from shopping rose 9.2 percent to 66.6 million euros. Between April 15 and 21, 126,946 people were registered in Milan’s accommodation facilities.
Citywide, Milan Design Week saw a 10.5 percent rise to 1,326 in events organized throughout its design districts – from Via Tortona to the 5Vie enclave of Milan. Among the top organizers were individual companies, which represented 50 percent of the total, followed by design studios at 14.9 percent, creative collectives which comprised 9.8 percent, architectural firms at 7.3 percent, cultural institutions at 3.4 percent, universities at 1.5 percent and the other category comprising 13.1 percent.
The city’s reputation as a design hub is also on the rise, the report showed. The number of design companies present in Milan and its provinces surged 66 percent between 2009 to 2023, according to data compiled with the help of the Milan, Monza, Brianza and Lodi Chambers of Commerce. Today there are 3,263 cultural and creative companies supporting design activities within the Milan Design System and 16,000 design students enrolled in universities, private schools and institutes in Milan.
Salone Satellite, the offsite showcase of Italy’s main design fair.
Courtesy of Salone del Mobile
At the presentation, Salone del Mobile.Milano president Maria Porro stressed the importance of the collaboration between private and public leaders in the evolution of the event and its role on an international stage.
To underscore Milan’s role in creating a better future, organizers invited acclaimed author and urban sociologist Charles Landry, who works with cities to help them make the most of their potential, to make a keynote speech at the presentation.
Going forward, Landry stressed the need for cross-sector partnerships between arenas like science and creative industries such as design to merge in Milan to create solutions for the future, highlighting the work of the city’s craftspeople, engineers, planners, urban designers, architects, technicians, entrepreneurs, bureaucrats, social activists, policy makers, anthropologists, artistic creators and more “to turn their ideas and projects into reality, since solving complex problems rarely happens when operating in a silo.”
Landry underscored the need for policy-driven strategies and elevating forward-thinking minds into positions such as commissioner and chief exploration officer to deeply consider the needs of generations that haven’t been born yet. In the case of Milan, there is the potential to incept real change, that goes beyond event-driven initiatives, he said, begging the question: “Is this a city of projects or is the city the project?”
The 63rd edition of Salone del Mobile.Milano will run Apr. 8 to 13 at Fiera Milano Rho trade grounds.
Milan’s Duomo Cathedral.
Getty Images
