19 - 23 JANUARY 2018

Each year, Maison & Objet is committed to discover and promote talented emerging designers from all over the world. This year, the Rising Talent Awards commission turned its focus to Italy, a country with rich traditions in art and design. On this occasion, the acclaimed architects and designers Andrea Branzi, Piero Lissoni, Luca Nichetto, Giulio Cappellini, Rossana Orlandi and Rosita Missoni invited six rising talents to introduce their work to the international community of industry professionals. Below is their selection for the January edition of The Rising Talent Awards, 2018.

FEDERICA BIASI NOMINATED BY ANDREA BRANZI 

« Emotion, research, elegance » 

Federica Biasi graduated with Honours from Istituto Europeo di Design in 2011. Three years later, she moved to Amsterdam to explore the Nordic design aesthetics and trends, experience which had an important impact on the development of her personal style. Back to Italy, Biasi collaborated with various Milanese design agencies among which the most significant are her current role as Art Director for Mingardo and as Creative Consultant for Fratelli Guzzini. She also designs ceramic pieces, decorative items and textile products, which makes Biasi a multi-talented designer. Her mentor for the Rising Talent Awards,  Andrea Branzi, describes Federica Biasi’s work as “quintessential design and poetic ideas, which deliver subtle, yet very particular messages.” 

At Maison&Objet, Biasi displayed a selection of some of her existing products, reinvented using new materials, as well as a range of unique objects designed specifically for the occasion. The metal structure at Federica Biasi stand was entirely designed by Mingardo.

ANTONIO FACCO NOMINATED BY GIULIO CAPPELLINI

« Cross-disciplinary, unrestrained, contemporary » 

Antonio Facco is a multidisciplinary designer who was remarked in 2013 by famous designer and art director Giulio Cappellini during the final presentation of his graduation project at Instituto Europeo di Design in Milan. Meeting Cappellini was the start of a very creative period for Facco. The two started collaborating on various installations, interior projects and visual communication campaigns, which finally lead to the launch of the Luce Collection in 2017 - a series of colourful laminated glass tables with streamlined geometric design and unexpected chromatic impact. Facco also collaborates with Antolini, Bolon, AgustaWestland and Mohm.

This year at Maison&Objet, Cappellini chose Facco as his Rising Talent, because “despite his young age, Antonio Facco is very attentive to changes in contemporary design and to communication” and “ … is truly one of the most promising representatives of the new design trends in Italy.” Antonio Facco prepared for Maison&Objet a multidisciplinary exhibition that showcased his product designs together with his interior projects.

MARCO LAVIT NICORA NOMINATED BY ROSITA MISSONI 

« Rational, material-oriented, timeless » 

After his studies at École Spéciale d’Architecture in Paris and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Marco Lavit Nicora started working with Parisian studio LAN Architecture and Riccardo Blumer, collaborations which had an important influence on his orientation towards object design and architecture. 2014 proved to be a very creative year for Nicora: he founded Atelier LAVIT in Paris a design and architecture practice whose main focus is on design and raw materials, well as on supporting the Italian artisans and craftsmanship. That same year he designs a new version of the Venezia lounge chair, originally created for the Venice Design Biennial. Made of iron and leather, with a striking contemporary design, the chair was showcased at the Centre Pompidou in Pairs on the occasion of Le Corbusier retrospective exhibition. In 2017, his commissions included the design of a treehouse for the park of the Château de Raray and several wood floating cabins for a hotel in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, France. Nominated by iconic designer Rosita Misoni, for the Rising talent Awards, she explained that she was "especially moved by how light his pieces look, despite the fact that they are deeply anchored in classical design.”

At Maison&Objet he displayed the Venezia collection, the Reconvexo table and the Atem modular sofa, produced exclusively by international Nilufar Gallery in Milan, as well as a chest of drawers that embodies a table and a stool, still in development. 

KENSAKU OSHIRO NOMINATED BY PIERO LISSONI 

« Instinctual, essential, harmonious » 

Born in Okinawa, Japan, Kensaku Oshiro pursued his studies at Scuola Politecnica di Milano. After he obtained his Master’s degree in industrial design from the prestigious institution in 2004, he began a successful eight-year collaboration with Pierro Lissoni’s architectural practice in Milan. In 2012 he went on and joined Barber Osgerby studio in London. Back in Milan three years later, Oshiro founded his eponymous studio which earned him new valuable collaborations with Boffi, DePadova, Glas Italia, Kristalia, Ligne Roset, Muji, Poltrona Frau, Viccarbe and Zanotta. Furthermore, he participated in various exhibitions and competitions, the outcome being several prestigious international awards, such as First place for Design Report Award at the 2016 Milan Salone Satellite and EDIDA Young Design Talent Japan in 2016. For his mentor, Piero Lissoni, Kensaku Oshiro’s work bridges “the gap between the Japanese and Western perspectives on simplicity/complexity.” 

At Maison&Objet, Kensaku Oshiro displayed some of his most significant works such as the Sen Table designed for DePadova, Leply pouf for Poltrona Frau and Holo console table for Kristalia.

FEDERICO PERI NOMINATED BY LUCA NICHETTO 

« Research, function and context » 

Shortly after he graduated from the Interior Design Department of Istituto Europeo di Design in Milan, Federico Peri received an artist residency grant in Paris. This is when he developed his passion for the grand masters and fascination for conflict and synergy between historical and contemporary design styles. Back in Milan, he teams-up with Vudafieri Saverino Partners until 2011, when he established his own design practice, focusing on interior and furniture design. Ever since, the number of his collaborations with manufacturers, fashion brands, fellow professionals and private clients increased, worth mentioning here the one with FontanaArte and the exclusive representation of his Shapes collection of lamps at Nilufar Gallery. Luca Nichetto, who supported Peri at The Rising Talent Awards this year notices in Peri’s work "a natural inclination to design products as a way to create an experience through materials or the environment produced by the objects themselves,”

 Federico Peri exhibited at Maison&Objet his limited-edition products, as well as other series-produced pieces.

GUGLIELMO POLETTI NOMINATED BY ROSSANA ORLANDI 

“Simplicity, complexity, essence”

Guglielmo Poletti showcased at Maison&Objet different pieces of his emblematic Equilibrium Series. Initially his graduation project at the Design Academy of Eindhoven from where he obtained his Master’s Degree in conceptual design, the series comprised a console table, a coffee table, a bench, and a stool to which were added other pieces. A prototype for Poletti's Equilibrium stool has been recently acquired by The Design Museum Gent as part of their permanent collection. Although characterised by utmost simplicity, Poletti’s work strikes the eye with clear and yet compelling forms enhanced by extraordinary details. The acclaimed contemporary designer Rossana Orlandi who was also Poletti's mentor at the event affirmed that it “is the extreme simplicity he has developed, to a point where the simplicity itself becomes an integral part, a fundamental quality in everything he does.” In his work simplicity becomes ‘simplified complexity’ while balance and symmetry are core values. 

Below are examples of Poletti’s Eqilibrium series showcased at Maison&Objet in January 2018. 

Undeniably one of the highlights of the January Maison&Objet edition, The Rising Talent Awards spotlighted six Italian young and gifted designers who in return, promoted through their work the long-established savoir-faire, creativity and quality ‘Made in Italy’.

Maison&Objet is the internationally renowned design event which connects manufacturers, artisans, craftspeople and design professionals, promotes new, emerging and established designers and also displays the latest trends and products. The event takes place twice a year - in January and September - at the Parc des Expositions Paris Nord Villepinte. 

We look forward to seeing what the September edition of Maison&Objet will reveal.