Piera Rimoldi and Neil Somerfield launched the

Miami iModerni showroom during early December

2007. The chic string of “rooms” holds the home

furnishing products of eight Italian manufacturers

that specialize in luxury brands. This will be

Somerfield’s seventh fair. He clues us in on what

to expect since the venue has changed [for the

better] to the new Massimiliano Fuksas-designed

maze of booths that hold the world’s most highly

anticipated designs each year.

DC: What is the main difference between the Milan

fair and other trade shows, like ICFF, Maison et

Objet and the Cologne fair?

NS: Generally speaking, architects and interior designers will attend these

other trade shows, whereas the Milan fair is mostly attended by dealers.

It’s the one time of year when we get to see all of our dealers at one time.

DC: How has the fair changed since the new site (about 45 minutes outside of Milan via the Metro) was launched last year?

NS: Before, the fair was very difficult because the different buildings were like a string of fairs set up in different halls. The organization was not good because booths of contemporary furniture were intermingled with textiles and accessories. With the new site, the fair is more linear because it has a central walkway that makes the vast range of products more accessible.

iModerni will be debuting Glas Italia’s new collection of mirrors designed by Ettore Sottsass.

La Cividina will be unveiling new products in booth F10, Hall 10.

DC: Is the experience similar to sensory overload for the contemporary furnishings lover?

NS: It’s an overwhelming experience somewhat like going into a candy store and being faced with an incredible number of choices: there’s just so much to see and so much excitement. In fact, after a relatively short while, every booth starts to look just alike!

DC: What advice would you give the neophyte for navigating this maze of materialistic wonder?

NS: If I’m an architect or a designer and I’m going because I want to find contemporary chairs, for example, there will be an untold number of places to find them and they will be spread out around the fair. I would decide which companies’ products I would want to see before I go so that I could find them; otherwise, there will be too much time spent wandering around.

DC: Would you say that the contemporary furniture market is like the fashion industry in which a certain number of top designers set the trends?

NS: It is, but it is a bit more complicated because many of the top designers will design furniture for a number of manufacturers. Antonio Citterio, for example, is a prime designer for B&B Italia and also designs furniture for Flexform. Piero Lissoni’s sofas will end up in both Living Divani and Cassina collections. This means there are a greater number of people deciding what the trends are than say a Chanel or an Armani launching their new collections on the runway.

A good example of this is the Charles sofa that B&B Italia produced, which was the first sofa to sit on such small legs that it seems to float above the ground. Now everyone has a version of it. Last year at Milan, Lissoni had designed a version that was in the Cassina collection and La Divani debuted a version. In many industries this would be considered plagiarism, but there is such a tight-knit group of Italian companies and their designers that it’s tolerated.

DC: So far, we’ve mentioned some of the top male designers. Is there a female designer you see as a standout?

NS: I would say Patricia Urquiola.

DC: Which manufacturers would you steer first time visitors toward this year?

NS: In upholstery, I’d say B&B Italia; for outdoor furniture, look at Gervasoni’s collection by Paula Navone. If you’re looking for glass, Glas Italia; and make sure to see Molteni, Poliform and Tisettanta for casegoods. If you like eclectic designs, go to see Edra and Sawaya & Moroni- you never know what you will find in Edra’s new collections. For textiles, I’d say Ivano Redaelli.

DC: How long does it usually take for the products to make it to market?

NS: Generally about 4 to 5 months. Those going to the fair thinking they’ll get the new products quickly should nix that expectation before they go. If they need quick delivery, they should go through the company’s catalogs to see what’s already available in showrooms and save themselves lots of heartache.

DC: Why does it take so long for the products to be available?

NS: These products really are so new: you can actually smell the glue, the dye and the paint when you walk into the fair: that’s how recently they’ve been made. It’s also because manufacturers are so secretive about what they are launching that they won’t let anyone know in advance, and manufacturing anything is going to let the cat out of the bag. We don’t even get to see what our dealers are bringing until we walk around the fair the first morning!

DC: Do all the products make it into production?

NS: No. To a great extent, the orders during the fair influence which products will see the light of day, and many of them never make it. One reason is that some prototypes turn out to be incredibly expensive to produce. Another is that the design doesn’t inspire orders.

by Saxon Henry