Milan Design Week 2023 takes place from April 17 to 23 under the theme "Future Tides, Design Leads". The theme expresses the exploration of future design trends and innovative ideas, as well as the important role of design in leading future development. With the rapid development of technology and the continuous changes in society and the environment, the future is full of endless possibilities and challenges. Milan Design Week will be a platform for designers to showcase their insights and imaginations about the future, and to explore design solutions for the future of society, life and the environment. At the same time, this theme emphasizes the important role of design in leading the future. Design, as a force for innovation and creativity, can lead social, economic, cultural and environmental change. Please see the live report brought to you by Art & Design Magazine's reporters.
Mr. Giovanni Anzani, President of Poliform
In the previous days, we covered various aspects of Milan Design Week by interviewing designers, artists, curators, educators and other design professionals. Today, as Milan Design Week is drawing to a close, we interviewed Mr. Giovanni Anzani, President of Poliform, one of the most famous furniture brands in Italy and the world, who led us to analyze and understand the current situation of the global furniture market and share the successful experience of Italian furniture brands from a corporate perspective.
A furniture brand with 80 years of heritage
Poliform is a typical Italian family business. 1970, when Giovanni officially joined the company, Poliform only had 35 employees. Now, Poliform also has just over 1,000 employees, but has more than 100 stores in 95 countries around the world, with 25 stores in China alone.
My parents founded Poliform 83 years ago in the Brianza Furniture District, north of Milan, and in 1970, as the second generation of the family, I joined the company," says Giovanni. Now, 53 years later, eight members of the third generation of the family are working for Poliform, a legacy that gives me great pleasure and in which I have great confidence."
According to Giovanni, Poliform owes much of its excellence and position in the global furniture market today to the Brienza furniture district in northern Milan, the birthplace of Italian style and furniture design. Unlike most classic Italian luxury furniture brands, Poliform's entire line of furniture is produced in Italy, with 80% of it exported. Since its development, there have been many capitals wanting to inject into Poliform, but Poliform, with its design, production and management experience inherited from many years, still maintains high production value and efficiency, and has never been open to foreign investment.
Under Giovanni's 53 years of management, Poliform has rocketed up in the furniture industry, starting with a single cabinet, pioneering a modular combination approach, and now covering an entire line of furniture for the house. Over the years, Poliform has constantly adjusted its direction to the furniture market, gathering customer needs and suggestions to put a deeper reflection of trends in furniture.
Design is the core of Poliform's production philosophy, and "quality means life" is the aesthetic attitude delivered by Poliform, Marcel Wanders and so on, who have created a rich variety of furniture products for Poliform. However, Poliform is very demanding in choosing designers, not depending on their fame, but only choosing designers who share the brand's values - good design can serve life, but also break the existing boundaries and democratize design.
Each piece of furniture is a unique design
Link is a collection of panels for decorating walls and products with openings for dividing and connecting interior spaces. Link is custom designed and can be integrated into all of Poliform's product lines in linear, transitional, triangular or quadrilateral solutions.
Poliform's most distinctive feature is its customizable product design. Giovanni says: "In our interiors, you won't find the same single design. We only make designs when we have orders, so we don't have stock in our warehouse." In addition to single-item designs, Poliform offers whole-house design solutions, but in every room, it's almost impossible to find the same products. "Poliform has a general contracting division that specializes in whole-house design solutions for major hotels, real estate agents, and luxury yachts. In the furniture industry, you will find many brands imitating Poliform, but it is difficult to 'copy' Poliform's design solutions. There may be some product designs that are similar to Poliform's, but we don't take it seriously and such 'copying' does not affect Poliform's production and sales." Giovanni said.
Pivot is a set of pivot openings and closures integrated into Poliform furnishings. the finishes and handles of Pivot doors echo the doors of the closet and kitchen collections in the Sleeping Space furnishings range, ensuring perfect visual coherence.
Poliform's bottom line also comes from continuous research and innovation. with advanced production lines and scientific innovations, Poliform selects the finest, healthiest and most innovative materials in the world, and through synergy and customization, fully guarantees the perfect match and irreplaceable uniqueness of its products. "Because we have done enough designs, whether it's wood, stone, or other materials, we have a lot of research and collection, and we have more than 700 kinds of fabrics alone." Giovanni describes.
Poliform always believes that the combination of modern industrial production technology and traditional artisan craftsmanship best reflects the excellent quality of fine Italian manufacturing. Precise production process combined with delicate manual perfection, from semi-finished products to finished products, every step is strictly controlled.
The coherent aesthetic of Surface wall cladding is used for walls, closet backs and partition cladding. With the corner configuration and pre-arranged gaps of the Surface design, Poliform transforms simple cladding into an architectural element that can be used to its full potential.
The Chinese market cannot be ignored
In recent years, the Chinese market has accounted for 25% of Poliform's global sales as Chinese consumption levels have risen. Even more than half of the customers in the Australian market are Chinese customers.
Forest Lake Villa in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, focuses on Sydney series sofa
Not only does China have a huge consumer market, the rise of Chinese design power is something Poliform values even more. Giovanni mentioned in particular: "From the current situation of visiting Milan Furniture Fair, I found an obvious change: in the previous years, Chinese people who came to Poliform to see the show liked to open the cabinet doors and take photos carefully to study the hardware, structure, parts and so on of a certain piece of furniture. But in recent years, Chinese people will stay on the appearance of a product and the overall design scheme. Chinese people used to come for production and processing, but now they come for product design. This shows that China is increasingly looking at design, not just for production."
Outdoor Series Coffee Table
"I understand that young Chinese consumers are the main force of consumption in China. For a classic furniture brand like Poliform, it is always a challenge for us to serve the young consumers well. We hope to find the exact positioning of the young consumers through exquisite design solutions, high-quality products, and the integration of art." Giovanni said, "The furniture industry is different from the fashion and car industries, where young people follow the trends and pay for their favorite products. Most young people are not willing to take the time to learn about a piece of furniture or a furniture brand."
"China is the market leader in Asia. From our sales experience over the years, Chinese consumption represents Asian consumption. Serving the Chinese market well basically serves the whole Asian market." Marco Longoni, general manager head of Poliform's global export department, said.
Outdoor series sofa
"We will continue to plow deeper into the Chinese market next, just like the development of Chinese cities is expanding outward one after another, we also want to continue to expand our market share and enhance our influence in the Chinese market." Giovanni said.
CURVE dining table Emmanuel Gallina, 2022
The digital revolution in interior design
At the Milan Furniture Fair, Poliform's Architectural project, a perfect presentation of design quality and design concepts, takes a new stance on new trends in space.
On April 21, during this year's Milan Design Week, De Domus srl and Polifom collaborated to launch an extraordinary and innovative project - "Interior Design Digital Revolution.) The project uses the design software of 3D Home, a cloud-based industrial software provider from Guangdong, China, to present Poliform's new collection of furniture designs in a fast, realistic and three-dimensional way, an innovative attempt by the furniture brand to break the traditional design barriers with the help of digital technology.
Dr. Yuan Zuiming, General Manager ofDomus, said, "Domuswants to offer all those who dream of owning a home the opportunity to make their dreams come true in this way. In Italian, the etymology of the word 'furniture' means 'to take care of'.Domuswants to take care of the home and make it a truly creative and beautiful place to live."
Poliform's exceptional quality,Domus' digital technology, stood out among the large number of design events at Milan Design Week. The launch of Poliform's new products was complemented by the addition of artist Lia Bosch, whose "Digital Revolution in Interior Design" is also a new attempt at artistic creation. Lia is committed to different forms of artistic expression and to developing new potential. Leah's different artistic experiences in design, photography, dance, performance and fashion, as well as her long experience of living in New York, Los Angeles and Paris, have given her a more unique perspective on art creation. In the digital age, the rapid development of technology has caused rethinking and change in all walks of life, and Leah says, "Knowledge is omnipresent, and the most important thing is to acquire and develop it in the most productive way."
On the occasion of the launch of the new outdoor collection, Poliform set up the "PERCEZIONI" installation in the cross-corridor of the Chiostri di San Simpliciano in the Brale neighborhood of central Milan, creating an immersive space where people can stop and listen to their feelings. It is a space where people can stop and listen to their own feelings.
Giovanni Anzani said, "The development of digital technology has facilitated new production models and has changed the supply chain of the furniture industry across industries and geographies. The 'Digital Revolution in Interior Design' project could easily have sunk in stone among the many design events at Milan Design Week, but this attempt is an attempt to better understand the role of the new tool behind the technology and how this tool can be used to promote the furniture industry in the future."
Article Source:艺术与设计
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