Enjoying financial success and great international appeal but needing a rethink of its offerings and prospects was how participants at this roundtable described the Italian interior design industry, with the sector having reached a peculiar historical juncture. It was noted that the 2017 edition of the Salone del Mobile international furniture fair set new records in terms of attendance numbers and interest attracted among an extensive audience of foreign visitors. The economic knock-on effects of this were deemed important not just for Milan, which hosts the event and associated initiatives, but also for the entire Italian wooden furnishings sector, which through this international showcase has reaffirmed its position among the country’s key manufacturing and export sectors.
It was observed, however, that the rapid growth which in the space of a few years has internationalized a sector until recently geared to the domestic – or at very most, the European – market, should also give pause for thought. Italian design is an expression of a deeply-rooted tradition of artisanry and entrepreneurship, by virtue of which – in the words of Carlo Cipolla –“Italy has been accustomed, since the Middle Ages, to producing in the shadow of its bell towers beautiful things that are enjoyed worldwide”. This tradition is the result of solid offerings, and of a philosophy that in past decades shaped the successful model of Italian design, basing all production and business organization on a cohesive “industrial design” push. Today, however, the risk is that creative flair will become confined to one-offs and debased by a sort of tyranny of the ephemeral.
The participants stressed that the questions posed for Italian interior design by these phenomena cannot be addressed exclusively through product quality. Although this of course remains a distinctive feature, to continue to compete in world markets the Italian wooden furnishings industry will need to “design” a concerted strategy, which, starting from the distribution of products and the use of new technologies, succeeds in fully involving the country’s institutions, since design is an integral part of Italian culture and as such can be effectively promoted abroad.
In conclusion, it was remarked that culture and creative content are key to the future of the sector: in order to sell high-end products to a worldwide market, it is necessary to focus particularly on customer wants and needs. Only in this way can Italian design once again raise the bar in terms of the value of its offerings, thereby maintaining the global preeminence that has made it one of the national economy’s flagship sectors.