Another Milano Design Week has opened and closed its doors, leaving us once again full of inspiration and new ideas for the future. In 2023, we chose to present Frezza’s novelties at the Fuorisalone, fully immersing ourselves in the design-laden atmosphere that can be felt in the streets of the city during this period.
Milan Design Week 2023 was the occasion to present this year’s new collections, showcase our new Brand Identity and meet partners from all over the world.
We talked about it with Frezza’s General Manager, Cristian Faggiani.
Frezza and IBM Studios: what made you choose this location for the Fuorisalone?
The selection of our “headquarters” for this year’s Milan Design Week was by no means random: we had long expressed the desire to organise an event at the IBM Studios Milan, in Piazza Gae Aulenti.
The building is located in an area whose redevelopment was carried out with a precise goal in mind: the creation of an environment that meets the needs of human beings, both now and in the future.
What used to be an area of decay for the Milan of 20 years ago is now an example of modern architecture that houses companies and private residences. Services of all kinds, green areas and underground car parks make the Porta Nuova district one of the areas with the highest quality of life in the Lombard metropolis.
Frezza could not have chosen a better place to present its rebranding Design for evolving Humans, which is a pay-off that replaces its Mission and Vision and becomes a promise to offer design as a tool to improve people’s lives.
Frezza took the opportunity to present the company’s new Brand Identity: how has the concept of Design for evolving Humans been interpreted here?
The installation, designed and coordinated by Genny Canton Studio, displayed concepts consistent with the new needs of workspaces, which are increasingly contaminated by home furnishing trends. Colour is the absolute protagonist and has the role of making the working environment, which is where people spend about 30% of their time, more pleasant.
Soft seating plays a key role in waiting and lounge areas, where there is an increasing need to be connected in order to work in an agile manner. The pandemic, together with technological development and globalisation, have changed the needs of human beings and Frezza with its products offers solutions to facilitate this evolution.
What was the inspiration behind the product layout in this 700 square metre space?
The layout, designed by architect Genny Canton, was developed as a sort of human-sized city, where plants and paths merge with Frezza products and create micro-architectures. A truly immersive experience.
Let’s talk about novelties: what was presented during FuoriSalone 2023?
The large space available in the IBM Studios allowed us to offer a complete overview of this year’s new products. Four collections that have become iconic for Frezza were renewed and expanded to meet the ever-changing needs of the market.
Be.1, designed by Progetto CMR, has been integrated with new configurations that meet office requirements in terms of sharing, collaboration, privacy and ergonomics. Among the novelties we find tables on wheels and solutions designed for co-working environments. Progetto CMR’s creativity is also behind the extension of the Yo range, now available in the Yo Plastic polypropylene version. This colourful and modern version is ideal for young and dynamic environments.
The Fior di Loto chair, designed by Claudio Bellini, has also been renewed in this sense: Fior di Loto Plastic is a colourful and informal variant of the original design, and combines technology, ergonomics and functionality in the best possible way.
Marco Zito’s new modular Alplus Lounge sofa was presented during the Milano Design Week too: this easily reconfigurable product is highly customisable thanks to its wide range of upholsteries and accessories, such as the small tables.
Two other new products were presented during our exposition: the Denzel task chair and the Pal System.
Denzel is an ergonomic and highly adjustable chair, designed for intensive use. We have spoken about it in this dedicated in-depth article.
Pal System, on the other hand, is the ideal product for dividing up office space in the most flexible way. Four products are available: Pal Room (for spaces with very high ceilings), Pal Spina (an unconventional electrification and data distribution system) and Pal 82 and Pal 38 (two systems modulated with different thicknesses).
What was the feedback from the public and how was the experience of this Milan Design Week for Frezza?
2023 will be remembered by Frezza as the first week long Milano Design Week event. In 2018 we chose to host an evening event at Terrazza Martini and in 2019 we launched the Spike collection at Villa Necchi Campiglio; then the pandemic stopped us for a few years.
The results exceeded expectations, in line with the excellent performance of this year’s Salone del Mobile. Only the rainy day on Thursday didn’t favour attendance, which, however, wasn’t lacking and made the atmosphere at the venue lively and pleasant.
The exclusive invitation-only dinner on Wednesday evening was a success: in addition to our partners from all over the world, many architectural firms were present, who responded to our invitation with great enthusiasm. We received excellent feedback on the new products and took note of the suggestions we received from industry professionals.
It was certainly an important experience for our entire team, who worked hard and with great professionalism to ensure that the event took place in true Frezza style.
