all4design-design4all: IN & OUT SALONE DEL MOBILE 2019: DE-SIGNO, THE ART SIDE OF KARTELL, BROKEN NATURE + 5VIE.

In photo above: Nanohana Heels installation by British-Japanese artist Sputniko! (Hiromi Ozaki) in collaboration with shoe designer Masaya Kushino. The high heels of the leather ankle boots carry a mechanism that throws rapeseeds to the ground (Nanohana in japanese) in very step you take - rapeseed blossoms are recently proven to absorb radioactive substances from the soil. The vision for Restoration and Therapy of the artist and the designer in the Post-Disaster era, after the nuclear accidents in Chernobyland Fukushima Daiichi. Directly from the Broken Nature exhibition in Triennale, Milan, Italy (curator Paola Antonelli, curatorial team: Ala Tannir, Laura Maeran, Erica Petrillo with Laurie Mandin).

The 500 years anniversary of the birth of Leonardo da Vinci was celebrated in numerous manifestations in Italy this year. The De-Signo or De-Sign installation within the Salone del Mobile 2019 premises, presented a showreel that somehow resembled to a kind of sentimental journey throughout Italian creativity and the impact of the Leonardo-phenomenon on Italian makers: Leonardo was a multi-scientist, an artist, an intellectual, a mystic but most importantly a personality that transcended immensely the Renaissance model of the artist-citizen of his time. His larger-than-life curiosity and his ability to combine elements of different disciplines, getting inspired by different approaches to provide new solutions to every quest or project - together with his constant re-evaluation of his own unique talent - strived Italian craftsmanship to continuously invent new directories in the field of art and design.

Kartell the last years created events that seriously made a stir, defining the trends in interior design and furniture by also being a landmark brand in international design and manufacturing. The company creates flawless design but also concepts around its products non-stop, so this year with the opportunity of the 70-year anniversary of the legendary house, Kartell playfully and with a lot of respect and care, staged a memorable exhibition inside a palace. The beautiful Palazzo Reale in Milan's city centre provided the unique surroundings not for a game of Thrones but a Game of Design utilitarian objects with a Twist, presented as Art or supporting Art with their presence, use and flair. Colour, beauty, fun and another boundary to cross: The Art Side of Kartell embraces articles of a worthy investment and a design whole universe, clearing the common pathways from every pre-conception, unobstructed and open to new adventures 4 all.

Broken Nature: Design takes on Human Survival, certainly one of the cultural disruptions of the year, this über-exhibition is exploring not the Future but all the solutions that can actively occur to inverse the current disaster Now. Anti-futuristic, entirely realistic, poetic, anarchist and pioneering, Broken Nature engaged a number of artists, designers and makers in order to provide their best ideas to face the consequences of the Post-Disaster era on human life from now on- in the areas of 1.markets 2.fast fashion 3.intellectual property 4.accessibility 5.waste 6.energy 7.terrorism 8.artificial intelligence 9.fast food 10.agriculture 11.space exploration 12. habitat crisis/systems crisis 13.unfair trade 14.privacy 15.pollution 16.greenhouse effect 17.severe weather 18.rising water level 19.rising sea temperatures and 20.connectivity -among others (see photo bellow). A key-event already discussed thoroughly and about to occupy-or even haunt- our thoughts for a long time.

In photos bellow, from top to bottom: Janma - The Clean Birth Kit by ayzh, India. Most deaths associated with child delivery are preventable. This affordable set of tools is designed to ensure clean & safe deliveries, no matter where you are. Available in your local pharmacy. Period-Prood Underwear by Thinx, USA and the menstrual keeper Ruby Cup by Ruby Life Ltd. Sanitary towels are costly, environmentally unsupported and toxic, time to consider a change for most women globally.

In photo bellow: Seated Design Collection by Lucy Jones, Wales. Clothing for the differently abled by ingenious fashion designer Lucy Jones.

In photo bellow, Tlaloque 200 Liter by Isla Urbana, Mexico. The initiative by Isla Urbana aims to harvest rain water with a six-step domestic collection system, and revolutionize water supply to homes by reducing water transport and network maintenance costs in times where water management is becoming a real challenge in metropolises like Mexico.

In photo bellow: Alces Alces #3 and #6 furniture by Victor Alge. A 45% of elk body mass is discarded as waste in Sweden, with only 55% of the animal serving as edible meat. The fact of making furniture from the animal remains is another design move of noteworthy sustainability.

In photo bellow: Hy-Fi Bricks by award-winning architect David Benjamin, The Living, USA. Strong buildings are made of them Bricks made alternatively - and ultimately they cannot be demolished but becoming composte! The "grown" composite is made of cornstalks bonded with mushroom mycelium.

People, wanna experience the burden and blessing of female menstruation? Try and wear the Menstruation Machine-Takashi's Take (in photo bellow) by Brit-Nippon artist and designer Sputniko! Humour, activism and self-awareness.

5VIE is the new organization uniting the creative forces, spots, shops and galleries in Milan's historical center. An initiative made to mobilize the visitor to discover design in the city outside its major corporate events, 5VIE was full of pleasant suprises and design treasures. Enjoy, in the photos bellow (from top to bottom): Jean Philippe Joly, master oculist's glorious spectacles in Ottica San Maurilio boutique. CONDE HOUSE, NUPRI armchair collection by Toshiyuki Kita in Galleria Rubin. SiamLab ceiling lamps in Camp Design Gallery. Skathi & Hati indoor furniture module with bicycle parking space by Junko Architects. Bedroom ambiance and After-Bohème style, in the BDDW concept store.