During the last few months, the production of consumer goods unfortunately slowed down significantly, whereas ideas definitely didn’t stop. The design sector is trying to find new solutions to cope with this emergency. Apart from all the issues that this crisis will leave behind, it could also bring new opportunities, that maybe won’t immediately be tangible, but will represent the starting point for new ideas and could consolidate key industries, such as Made in Italy.
Creatives and well known brands of Made in Italy transformed some every day objects into something new, in order for them to be immediately used in the healthcare sector. Diving masks became ventilators, sofas and duvets were repurposed as masks, fashion garments were reinterpreted as white coats for medical staff. National automotive companies opened their factories to produce medical equipment, and robots made their debut on the ward to help fight against Coronavirus.
Italian manufacturers put themselves at the service of Covid-19 emergency, reopening their factories, temporarily changing their mission, all together against Coronavirus. These are all winning initiatives, as they respond to the urgent needs of the last few months, but it’s clear that a medium-long term planning will be necessary. Competitors like Scandinavia and Germany are regularly operating, placing the Italian industry at a disadvantage, especially in the initial stage of a slow recovery.
Furthermore, this ongoing emergency, affecting almost every country in the world, made it necessary to postpone one of the key events of Italian and worldwide design: Salone del Mobile Milano.
In this regard, some Italian designers believe that the market will not be able to absorb too many innovations at a time like this without a platform such as Salone del Mobile. We’ll probably go back to the concept of “less is more”, shopping will be more focused and we’ll have to master digital tools, working with web images and product configurators, and using augmented reality and virtual reality to present new products and spaces.
architetto Sofia Venezia