Inside the World of Salone del Mobile.Milano: A Conversation with Maria Porro, President of Salone
Updated: Dec 23, 2024
In an exclusive interview with Miami Living Magazine, Markin Abras spoke with Maria Porro, the visionary President of Salone del Mobile.Milano, about the future of the world-renowned design fair. As Salone del Mobile.Milano continues to lead the global design scene, Porro reflects on the challenges and opportunities of sustaining its legacy—from its commitment to sustainability and fostering young talent to exploring potential collaborations in vibrant cities like Miami.
Markin Abras: How does Salone del Mobile.Milano plan to stay a global leader in design fairs while dealing with market changes and economic challenges?
Maria Porro: Salone is not taking its success for granted. It is a reality in progress which continues to question and look at itself in order to always to better and cope with the needs of its exhibitors, visitors and general public. Every edition has had the capacity for self-examination, for examining the changes in society, analyzing challenges and grasping opportunities.
Abras: Salone has expanded to cities like Shanghai and Moscow. Could Miami be the next location? What opportunities and challenges might come with this?
Porro: Miami is very important city for its appeal related to art, especially during Art Basel. At the moment, we are not considering it as a possible place to organize a fair but certainly it is the perfect location to have a special event dedicated to the design and art community.
Abras: Miami, as a coastal city, highlights the need for sustainable design. How can Salone del Mobile.Milano contribute to promoting sustainable design practices for cities like Miami?
Porro: Salone is very much involved in sustainability and has put sustainable behavior at the heart of its values socially, environmentally and economically. It has been certified with ISO 20121 Certification to be a sustainable event in 2023 and has become a member of the UN Global Compact as well.
In addition to certification and the inspection of installations, the Salone promotes best practices among companies, highlighting those that develop innovative products and processes related to sustainability. Furniture plays a fundamental role in controlling and reducing impact. At the Salone, major real estate players, architects, interior designers, and specifiers can explore and connect with around 2,000 companies, gaining insights into their sustainability requirements and discovering, for the first time, product previews, innovations, and new developments.
This year Salone has renewed and perfected its Sustainability Policy, which had already been integrated into the strategy and management of both the company and the various events it organises. Through installations, forums, and roundtable discussions, the Salone fosters dialogue among key stakeholders on this topic, encouraging the exchange of expertise and solutions.
Part of Salone mission is to create memorable events destined to remain in the memory at length, not least for their sustainable DNA. One of these events could be certainly done in Miami in the future!
Miami is a dynamic hub for residential and hospitality real estate development, drawing investors and developers from around the globeThe city's evolving skyline reflects its reputation as a center of innovation in design and urban living, further solidifying Miami's status as a global real estate powerhouse.
Abras: Salone supports young designers. What else is being done to help new talent and connect them to global opportunities?
Porro: Salone is supporting young designers throughout SaloneSatellite. We try to explain the importance of it by bringing it around the world as we did in Moscow and Shanghai where SaloneSatellite was replied in its Milanese format, in a smaller format and with local young talents.
SaloneSatellite organizes many talks devoted to young people to make them understanding the industry world and the design sector. Last year, for example many famous designers “born” at Satellite, like Sebastian Herkner or Patrick Jouin, Daniel Rybakken and Nao Tamura, were invited to talk about their career which started here.
Salone also celebrated SaloneSatellite last year on the occasion of its 25th anniversary with a special exhibition at Triennale Milano, attracting many young visitors. In addition, Salone this November has brought part of its Permanent Collection to Shanghai invited by the local government. SaloneSatellite has been created to be the bridge between young designers and the industry, in particular with the enterprises that exhibit at Salone del Mobile always looking for young talents.
In addition, since 9 years during the Design Week, Salone organizes the Welcome Project, thanks to the collaboration with the Municipality of Milan, Fondazione Fiera and the city’s leading design schools. The collaboration consists in is setting up welcome stations located at key points in the city, manned by a hundred or so students who will provide the public with information on moving around the city, on the fair itself, and also on the main events taking place in Milan during this particular week. In this way, young people have an opportunity to dialogue with professionals from the design industry, learn about the dynamics and mechanisms of organising an event such as the Salone and take part in dedicated open lessons and in all the multidisciplinary cultural initiatives being held this year.
Another initiative regarding young people is the promotion in 2022 of the study of furniture design at POLI.design, with a bursary named after Manlio Armellini, the celebrated CEO of Cosmit, the society-organizer of Salone (now FLA Eventi) who turned the Salone into the international event it is today.
Politecnico di Milano has been involved by Salone in another situation, the Annual Report “Milan Design (Eco) System” which has the aim to share data and interpretations, available to all the city residents, to discuss the strategies that must guide the future with greater awareness, starting today.
Salone del Mobile.Milano generates value for the competitiveness of the national production and cultural system, and an impact, which goes beyond the induced activities of 275 million euros. The Report (the results of 37 data holders, 86 sources, 10 Working Groups with 130 stakeholders, 530 field observations) is essentially a tool created to be made available to all the city decision makers with whom we want to reflect and act jointly to better inform tomorrow.”
Abras: Specialized exhibitions like Euroluce and EuroCucina bring unique diversity to the fair. What new experiences or innovations can we expect at Salone in the coming years?
Porro: You will discover it! We are always working on new ideas. As you know, we started a new path with Supersalone in 2021 opening with the accent on design transversality, prospects for the future and green commitment. In 2023 we proposed a new layout for Euroluce, while last year EuroCucina and FTK, Technology For the Kitchen, the event dedicated to built-in appliances and cooker hoods were integrated for the first time.
Abras: Salone del Mobile.Milano has a cultural mission beyond business. How do you balance creativity and innovation with commercial goals?
Porro: Business and culture is the formula that Salone del Mobile.Milano has developed over the years, combining its commercial offerings with culturally driven initiatives of strong visual impact and high-quality value. This formula has proven to be an absolute success for all those who have experienced and continue to play a leading role in the world of design. Salone is a cultural laboratory that attracts international creative talents and appeals to a broad audience. This too is the Salone del Mobile.Milano, which uses cross-disciplinary and emotional connections to narrate and explore its world with an innovative perspective.
Abras: As the first woman President of Salone del Mobile.Milano, how has your leadership shaped the fair? What advice would you give to women aiming for leadership in design?
Porro: For me, the question of being a woman in an industrial or design environment does not even arise. I do not think I have shaped the fair in a specific way because I’m a woman but just because I am what I am.
I’m honored and I feel the responsibility for this role, but I ’ve never felt it as a male or female prerogative. Anyway, I’m happy to have broken a routine and represented innovation and inclusiveness. My suggestion to a young woman? I would say to think to be a person, a worker, and entrepreneur and to believe in what you do and never stop dreaming.
Abras: Finally, how do you balance work and personal life? What hobbies or passions inspire you?
Porro: I try to do my best even if it is not easy sometime with three kids! I am an active and curious person, I like to try new experiences, meet new people, try new dishes, visit new museums, but at the same time I’m a bit introspective, I love immerse myself in a book, a music or in the nature. I adore to spend time in the mountains with my 3 kids!