Editors' picks: Milan Design Week 2023

The world's most influential annual design showcase, Milan Design Week, returned from 17 to 23 April 2023. The enormous array of products on view represented industry-wide reflection and change: Some brands looked back at their long histories; others focused on bettering the future; many offered material innovations and artistic approaches to form.

The following highlights are but a taste of the global talent celebrated at 2023's Milan Design Week, with more to come.

Eponymous design house Gebrüder Thonet Vienna presented new creations in collaboration with Hong Kong-based design and architecture practice AB Concept, Venice- and Stockholm-based Nichetto Studio, and Iranian-French architect India Mahdavi. Stand-out pieces include the dining version of the Loop Chair, designed by India Mahdavi for Gebrüder Thonet Vienna in 2022, as well as the new Mickey, a comfortable armchair of generous proportions that bears Mahdavi's signature playful touch. Thonet is distributed in Australia by Space Furniture and James Richardson Furniture.

At their Expect Death exhibition at Alcova - this year held at a disused abattoir outside of Milan - collaborators Prowl Studio and M4 Factory debuted their innovative Peel Chair. The biodegradable and compostable stackable chair is constructed from injection-moulded, corn-derived PLA and hemp fibres. The material is designed to be deconstructed and composted at the end of the product's life, exemplifying Expect Death's exploration of waste-management and circularity. The material-driven exhibition design immersed visitors in the chair's journey from birth to death.

Melbourne-based decorative lighting practice Volker Haug Studio showcased und Messing, a new series of lighting exploring various expressions of brass. Each piece in the range is hand-finished across a spectrum of brass tones from polished to dark bronze - an approach that focuses attention on the craft behind and individuality of each und Messing piece. In addition to creating brass metalwork, the studio is also experimenting with fibreglass.

New York-based design studio Objects of Common Interest presents its Poikilos collection of iridescent resin furniture at the Nilufar Depot gallery in Milan. Curated by Studio Vedèt, the pieces showcased in Poikilos appear poised between solid and liquid states - displaying a milky translucence. The word "poikilos" originates from ancient Greek and refers to the abstract play of light on people's skin or animals' coats.

"Iridescence seems to exist only at the moment we are seeing it and is different for each of us depending on our location, the light around us, the gaze, the time of day, and perhaps even our mood. It has the charm of dazzling and unexpected things, that vibrate and cannot stand still," said Valentina Ciuffi of Studio Vedèt.