Have you been to Milan before?
Yes – I generally attend every second year.
Why do you go?
It’s a big indulgence to immerse yourself for a week of great design. Running a design studio is largely about managing a business – taking a week out of the schedule to surround yourself in sheer creativity is extremely rewarding and it ultimately benefits our team and our projects.
What was your favourite installation?
I was completely taken by the work of Elisa Ossino! She designed a beautiful new range of stoneware for Savatori Stone and designed and curated an apartment installation called Perfect Darkness – a demonstration of how to tile beautifully. The apartment she has designed for Gabriele Salvatori in Milan is also a knock out. She is consistently incredible.
I also visited the outstanding Villa Necchi for the first time. Every room in this inner city palazzo is just extraordinary. It’s located in a very elegant old-money neighbourhood of Milan and as I was leaving I looked in to a neighbours garden to see a flock of resident flamingos posturing on the lawn.
What was your favourite stand at the fair grounds?
Molteni & C. The development of the brand under Vincent Van Duysen has made it ever more refined and beautifully resolved. I was impressed by the depth of the design and layering of materials and details.
What was your rose of the week?
A Milanese veal schnitzel at the Prada Marchesi café with a glass of vino. Admittedly I was exhausted and anything would have done … but I had a moment.
And thorn?
The crowds! The queues are hectic. And the trains from the fair grounds are jammed. It’s a magnificent atmosphere but that many people can be overwhelming.
Are you coming back next year?
I’ll do my best to make it happen.
Richards Stanisich
richardsstanisich.com.au
Portrait by Felix Forest
