The timeless creativity of domestic design debuted in Milan

The Milan Design Week, the largest yearly design event in the world, has ended. Hungarian designers and industrial artists could present themselves to the international audience at the renowned event under the Budapest Select umbrella brand. Nearly 40 Hungarian design brands represented our country at two venues, the Alcova and Rossana Orlandi’s Gallery, between the 17^th and the 23^rd of April.

The Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency’s (HFDA) accentuated goals include raising the profile of domestic designers, promoting exports, and developing professional knowledge, and, per these goals, it considers participation in international professional events especially important. The latest stop for domestic creative product designers and industrial artists was the Milan Design Week, considered the largest design event in the world: the event is held each year at several venues where thousands of exhibitors get the chance to present their furniture and home accessories among other things.

To ensure continuous development, the HFDA has been working on supporting Hungarian brands in entering the international markets for years; thus, this year, they targeted Milan, one of the most significant locations of design with a great exhibition presenting a cross-section of Hungarian contemporary design. Participation in the Milan Design Week is a unique possibility for Hungarian designers to debut on the international scene. This time, 37 Hungarian designers and industrial artists had this opportunity, displaying their 121 objects in the Alcova venue of the design week as part of the Budapest Select exhibition in a 150 square-metre exhibition space. Gáspár Bonta, the exhibition’s curator, dreamed up a six-part concept, with the key message that objects with a contemporary aspect and innovation in mind have stories connected to them which feed on or draw inspiration from our traditions.

By participating in the design week, Hungarian creative artists have proven again that they belong to the cream of the profession; one hundred thousand visitors were curious to see the Alcova where they could also view the Budapest Select exhibition. The designers and industrial artists stood their ground internationally since their creations piqued interest at the Milan Design Week as well. Showroom representatives, interior designers, architects, individual buyers and trade journalists also visited the event, many of whom were also curious to see the Budapest Select exhibition along with the public interested in design. It is excellent feedback and a promising sign for the near future that many on-site negotiations were started with interested professional parties, there were several inquiries regarding ordering possibilities after seeing the exhibition. The broad interest is proven by the fact that, among others, the Italian Corriere della Sera, Vogue, Domus, Repubblica, Elle Decor and Artribune all reported on the Budapest Select umbrella brand bringing together Hungarian products, intending to provide Hungarian brands with bigger visibility with a strong and unified communication while retaining individual characteristics as well.

In addition to the Alcova, travelling to different venues each year, the internationally acclaimed gallery owner and curator, Rossana Orlandi personally chose eight creations by three designers which were displayed in the Rossana Orlandi Master Gallery, as part of the RoCOLLECTIBLE DESIGN exhibition. It is a great recognition that the presented designers’ products will remain in the exhibition space after the design week as well, which has become one of the determining platforms of avant-garde and eclectic design in the last 20 years. It is an honour for both the Agency and the designers to collaborate with Rossana Orlandi, who is renowned in the world of fashion and design as well, having worked in the fashion industry for over 20 years before switching to the design world. For instance, she discovered Sebastian Wrong, the designer of “Spun Light”; but besides working with emerging talents, she collaborates with big guns such as Tom Dixon, Marcel Wanders, or the Studio Job.

Participation in the Milan Design Week was a unique opportunity for Hungarian design and the participating designers; the Agency aims to provide further debuting possibilities in the future as well.