Paolo Sorrentino Debuts Installation at Salone del Mobile

MILAN — Foreign film buffs might have another reason to catch this year’s Salone del Mobile.Milano.

To usher in the 63rd edition of Salone del Mobile.Milano and the 32nd edition of the Euroluce light exhibition, running April 8-13, organizers tapped Academy-Award winning director Paolo Sorrentino to design a site-specific installation to greet visitors in pavilions 22, 23 and 24. Named “La Dolce Attesa [The Sweet Wait],” it is shaping up to be a timeless “waiting” area created with set designer Margherita Palli and centered around the idea of “meeting one’s destiny.”

“One of life’s greatest misfortunes is waiting. We talk about waiting for a report, for a medical response. When we await our fate, all we can do is wait… Our waiting room aspires to be something else. It doesn’t force you to sit still, but lets you go. A little trip, like children, on reassuring rides,” Sorrentino said in a short preview film aired at the Salone del Mobile.Milano press conference on Tuesday.

Last year, late film director David Lynch debuted one of his last works at Salone del Mobile.Milano: “Interiors by David Lynch. A Thinking Room,” which was designed by Lynch and his team and incorporated a narration and reflection on the production of interiors. A Salone del Mobile.Milano spokesperson said the fair has always had a link with the film world. Under the leadership of Salone del Mobile.Milano president Maria Porro, who was appointed in 2021 and who studied scenography, the fair has renewed its commitment to linking the worlds of design with that of film like never before. In 2016, Italian filmmaker Matteo Garrone introduced “Before Design: Classic” an exhibition event along with a short film.

Emotion-evoking grandeur and artistic heritage will be a key theme at this upcoming edition of the fair. To underscore this theme, renowned French interior architect Pierre-Yves Rochon will unveil Villa Héritage. The space, which will be placed in pavilions 13, 14 and 15 and combines neoclassical sculptural elements with conscious living, was conceived to redefine the concept of interior design and intertwine multisensory experiences that evoke harmony, cultural elegance and timeless charm. “Villa Héritage celebrates this dynamic between history and contemporary creativity and engages all the senses, forging an experience in which light, texture, and sound come together to create emotion,” said Rochon. It’s also, he added, a place to relax.

“I have been coming to this fair for four decades and it’s really tiring,” he said during the press conference.

Rochon’s eponymous interior design studio has devoted 45 years to the pursuit of true absolute luxury, designing prestigious interiors for hotel chains such as the Four Seasons, the Ritz Carlton, and Waldorf Astoria, as well as restaurants for Michelin chefs such as Joël Robuchon and Alain Ducasse.

In December, it was announced that American director Robert Wilson is expected to unveil a showcase that incorporates dance, painting, design, movement, lights and drama and express his own “vision” of the power of Pietà Rondanini. The display will be accompanied by a live music ensemble that will play Estonian composer Arvo Pärt’s instrumental version of “Stabat Mater,” a medieval prayer.

During the press conference, Claudio Feltrin, president of FederlegnoArredo, the Italian federation of woodworking and furniture industries, said 2025 continues to be an economically complex year.

According to preliminary data, the organization said turnover of the wood furnishing sector fell 3.1 percent in 2024 to 51.6 billion euros versus 53.2 billion in 2023. This figure was dragged down by exports, which fell 2.3 percent to 19.4 billion euros.

“We are under no illusions, and are aware of how fragile balances across the border, the economic crises in Germany and France, and the possible entry of Chinese products into our markets as a consequence of the dreaded introduction of U.S. duties, are variables that will put companies to the test in the first few months of 2025,” Feltrin continued. He added that Salone del Mobile.Milano remains a strategic opportunity for furniture companies, many of them small and medium-sized and family-run, that represent the backbone of the Italian economy. Feltrin was confident that Italy would be prepared for a roundtable discussion on U.S. tariffs.

Exports to China, to which Italy is the top trade partner for upscale wood furnishings, led losses plummeting 17.9 percent. Germany, the third largest market, fell 3.6 percent and was worth 1.1 billion euros, while exports to the U.S., the second largest market, were in line with last year, rising 2 percent to 1.4 billion euros. Exports to the UAE and Saudi Arabia outpaced, surging 21.6 percent and 22.8 percent, respectively.

Last month, Salone del Mobile.Milano said it signed a memorandum of understanding with the Saudi Arabian Architecture and Culture Commission to promote a dialogue between Italy and Saudi Arabia in the worlds of design and architecture. The memorandum paves the way for a Saudi edition of Salone del Mobile.Milano. A Saudi Arabian version of the furniture fair would be geared toward initiating cultural dialogue and propelling the work of young talents.

This year, Salone del Mobile.Milano said that it expects 2,000 exhibitors from 37 countries.  This is in line with the 62nd edition, which drew 1,950 exhibitors and 361,417 visitors.

Porro said, according to its own poll of full-year 2023 sales figures, Italian exhibitors slated to showcase at the fair booked a turnover of 9.2 billion euros, of which 52.9 percent were generated by exports. Its international exhibitors collectively booked 6.99 billion euros.