With Milan Design Week now behind us, today we’re here to talk about five pieces that we think could be the starting point for a design collection that is anything but ordinary.
#1 Towel Stool — Laura Dominici and Basil Schu
Created within the Lazy Swim project presented at Alcova, the Towel Stool by Laura Dominici and Basil Schu is an object that plays on the boundary between function and imagination. Its inspiration comes from seaside landscapes, from that suspended aesthetic between relaxation and artifice that belongs to swimming pools and resorts. Stacks of towels become seats, transforming an everyday element into an almost sculptural presence. It is a piece that works precisely because it does not try to be definitive: it is ironic, evocative and deeply connected to an increasingly ambiguous culture of leisure.
#2 Progetti Compiuti — Shiro Kuramata
The Progetti Compiuti storage units are a perfect example of how an apparently simple object can become a complex, layered system. Designed by Shiro Kuramata in the 1970s, these drawer units work with repetition and variation: SIDE 1, SIDE 2, SOLARIS and PC_12 are all exercises in rhythm and modularity. The black-stained ash structure interacts with the lacquered drawers, creating an essential yet powerful graphic contrast. Adding a piece like this to a collection means starting from a solid foundation: it is historical design, but still incredibly contemporary.
#3 Vase — NM3
Inside CASA NM3, the vase becomes almost a manifesto. It is not designed to dominate the space, but to inhabit it quietly. NM3 works on objects that oscillate between presence and absence, between function and pure form. The result is an aesthetic that avoids the protagonism typical of much contemporary production. Starting a collection from here means making a precise choice: favoring objects that accompany everyday life rather than overpowering it.
#4 Coffee Table — LIT STUDIO
The project by LIT STUDIO starts from a Murano blown-glass module and transforms it into an open system. Coffee table, bookcase, lamp: everything begins with the repetition of a basic unit. The coffee table, completed with a stone top developed with Pietre di Rapolano, is perhaps the most immediate configuration, but it carries the entire logic of the system with it. It is an object that clearly reflects a current direction in design: one that brings together craftsmanship and seriality, material and structure.
#5 Modular System — USM Haller
In the Renaissance of the Real project at Fondazione Luigi Rovati, the USM Haller system stops being just furniture. The modular steel structure, a symbol of precision and flexibility for over 60 years, is transformed into a skeleton supporting a soft, almost organic textile membrane. The result is a space that breathes, where rigidity and vulnerability coexist. Adding a USM Haller element to a collection means choosing a contemporary classic, capable of adapting and transforming over time without losing its identity.
