After Paris, London, Berlin and Copenhagen, the Salone del Mobile.Milano begins its international road show in the United States in Miami, with the mission to share important information about its upcoming edition of the world’s leading design show, which will be held in Milan from April 16 to 21, 2024.
The choice of Miami falls during the historic first week of December where, according to organizers’ expectations, all records of buyer turnout will be beaten at the numerous contemporary art shows which will take place from Dec 5 to 10. This is also a choice opportunity for luxury, automotive and design companies to present their 2024 collections.
In Miami, the Salone, along with the Italian Trade Agency, the General Consulate and the Italian Cultural Institute and in cooperation with the main American associations of architects, designers and builders, is organizing two meetings: a presentation of the 62nd Salone c/o of the brand-new location of the Italian Cultural Institute in Coral Gables and an evening of international glamor, in partnership with the New York magazine PIN UP, in the exclusive setting of Soho House in Miami Beach.
These meetings represent a unique opportunity for the Salone to promote all the initiatives and announce the first information on the new format and content of the 62nd edition of the show.
Carlo Angelo Bocchi, Italian Trade Commissioner Miami “The choice of the United States takes place in 2023, a year where Made in Italy is once again approaching a sales record (we are reaching 70 billion USD), with the contribution of Italian design products (we should surpass 4 billion). We are returning here because the U.S. is the primary market outside the EU and also in keeping with the American passion of architecture studios, designers, builders and engineering companies for a production that has always been perceived as unique and current, but also increasingly innovative and mindful of green solutions within the context of sustainability and circular economy.”
Maria Porro, President of the Salone del Mobile.Milano comments: “We are arriving in the United States after crossing Europe and perceiving, in all the capitals we passed through, how much the design community is still curious to discover what the future of the Salone del Mobile.Milano will be, confirming the desire to be a part of it. This is because the Salone is the place where, not only can one glimpse the new developments in living spaces, but one can also perceive how design is able to reflect the world that surrounds it, helps human connections and responds to the needs of the individual, the collective and the Planet. We are here because the United States is a key market for companies that exhibit at the Salone. This is attested to, even within the complexity of economic scenarios, by the latest industry trends. In 2023 projections, these trends confirm the United States as the primary market outside the EU and second geographic destination for exports of the Italian wood-furniture production chain, which reached 2.4 billion euros in 2022. The United States, therefore, as one of the main international hubs for the design world with one of the most influential creative pools, thanks to the great architecture and design studios, which are part of many of the main real estate projects in the world. And it is to this very demand for home furnishing products as well as for “tailor-made” projects by contract — from corporate to hospitality, to leisure spaces, in the name of quality — that the show responds, thanks to its companies and its ability to be a driving force of professional and commercial relations.”
Marco Sabetta, General Manager of the Salone del Mobile.Milano adds: “Centrality of man and the culture of the project as an instrument of identity and growth, engine of creativity and innovation; focus on the quality of proposals and content; better usability of the experience and professional enrichment: it is in this way that the upcoming edition of the Salone del Mobile in Milan will play a prominent role in the international trade show panorama in order to continue to create value for the exhibiting companies and attendees who come from all over the world, many from the United States, which ranks fifth in number of professional attendees.”
The Salone – rooted strongly in the Italian culture of doing business and “bel disegno” – is, in fact, a global catalyzing force: 34% of exhibitors come from 37 foreign countries, 550 young designers in the SaloneSatellite from 31 countries and 28 design schools and universities from 18 nations. And further still: 65% of buyers and industry workers come from 181 countries. Of the more than 5,000 accredited media presences in the last show, 47% came from abroad.
Furthermore, for years the most important Italian companies that exhibit at the Salone have built and continue to expand important distribution channels which go from the flagship stores to shops specializing in Italian products, all in New York and Miami, but also increasingly in the rest of the U.S.
It is for this reason that, after Miami, coordinated by the Italian Trade Agency (ITA) with the technical partnership of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the Road to Salone will continue on to Dallas (January 23), New York (January 25), Las Vegas (February 20) and Chicago (February 22), to expose the U.S. to the information and culture of the Salone, inspiring force for creative and professional relations which grows ever stronger with time.
In the photo: Marco Sabetta, General Manager of the Salone del Mobile.Milano – Maria Porro, President of the Salone del Mobile.Milano – Marva Griffin Wilshire – international Ambassador Salone del Mobile. Milano – Carlo Angelo Bocchi, Italian Trade Commissioner