The Ecosystem of Design: Salone del Mobile’s President Maria Porro on Craft, Consistency, and Interconnection
Maria Porro by Alessandro Russotti, courtesy of Salone del Mobile.
By Julia Gamolina
Maria Porro, born in Como in 1983, has been President of Assarredo since being unanimously elected in September 2020, and is the first woman to take on this role. She joined the Board of Directors of Assarredo in 2017 and the General Council of FederlegnoArredo in 2019. She is Director of Marketing and Communication at Porro S.p.A., an old-established Italian design brand, set up by her great-grandfather Giulio in 1925. She joined the company permanently in 2014, with responsibility for bolstering the company’s international trade network and strengthening its communication strategies, before taking on her current role, with sustainable development very much to the forefront.
She graduated cum laude in Set Design from the Brera Academy of Fine Arts, and worked in theatre, art and large events as a designer, coordinator and curator. She has always maintained strong ties to the family firm and the design world, collaborating with her father Lorenzo Porro and with the Lissoni Associati studio in particular, in the field of stylistic research and new product development, and personally overseeing the company’s presentations at the Salone del Mobile.
Starting from July 2021 she has become President of Salone del Mobile.Milano. In her interview with Julia Gamolina, Maria talks about her foundations in design, this year at Salone, and what drives innovation, advising those just starting their careers to truly learn their craft.
JG: Tell me about your foundation in design.
MP: My family company is one of the twelve companies that have done every single edition of Salone, for all sixty years. I definitely grew up around all of this when I was a kid.
You then studied set design. What did you learn from this? A slight departure from design for every day life.
Set design is like the architecture of a dream. The design isn’t made to last in the physical sense, but there are a lot of connections between various feelings and emotions. It’s truly the architecture of emotion, and really connected with other arts – music, literature, fashion. So I always thought that theatre was an amazing mix of everything, and I’ve been working in theatre and other event design for years.
Yes, tell me about your career before your new position with Salone.
I was also working for my family business, taking care about our foreign clients, and about our Salone presentations, developing products. Eight years ago, I decided to be fully dedicated to our company. And then, I started to be involved in the industry and the federation and the various associations – essentially becoming a part of the system, because of all this really is an ecosystem.
Last year, in the middle of the pandemic storm, I was elected to be the President of Salone, and we organized this amazing event, Supersalone, that was a sort of re-start for the industry here.
This year, what did you think was important for Salone to emphasize and include? What is different about it and what was your vision for it?
This year, we are back to our big event, with more than two thousand companies, and companies that are from Italy but also from all around the world. This is really what is so important. In the past two years, we rediscovered how important it is to sit on the sofa together, and to really speak with each other. Salone has always been about quality – for the companies, but also for the event itself. And to really appreciate quality, you have to see it for yourself – touch it, live with it. Otherwise, you can’t really learn what quality is through digital media only. Salone is about giving the possibility for an entire ecosystem to show quality – of projects, of products, of proposals. This is Salone’s main value, and also a part of our Italian heritage, and we need to maintain that.
At the same time, Salone has also always been young. In the past sixty editions, we’ve always been able to interpret the time that we’re living in, and the times that we’re living in now are very difficult. At the same time, we rediscover the importance of our home, and being surrounded by objects that reflect our expression, and also that have design quality to them. Salone is a big opportunity at this moment, and also a big responsibility, for the design community to come together and share.
“In the past two years, we rediscovered how important it is to sit on the sofa together, and to really speak with each other. Salone has always been about quality – for the companies, but also for the event itself. And to really appreciate quality, you have to see it for yourself.”
In my time here, it has been amazing to see everyone – interior designers, furniture designers, product designers, journalists, customers. It truly is a vast and very interconnected ecosystem as you describe.
Everybody takes part. Salone is not something that we organize for just the companies, or just the visitors. The full community comes together. With Salone, we are the space and place that opens doors and builds bridges between the different communities that are talking about design.
What are some themes that you see this year in what brands are exhibiting?
The house is still essential – products for home. But this time, it’s a home that has open doors. With the lockdown, we started to use our all kinds of outdoors spaces, and opening all kinds of doors to let the light in, so to speak. I think that the main trend now is that there is no more border between indoor and outdoor. People are also wanting to reconnect with nature here. You see this in the materials and textures this year. Also the home is fluid these days – you use the same space and the same furniture for multiple things. You work at your table, you eat there, your children do their homework there.
Do you speak from personal experience?
Yes, I have three children.
What do you try to impart on them, and what would you like them to learn about the world?
You know, I learn from them! Salone has a big heritage, and this is very important, but at the same time, my kids are looking at the world with new eyes, clean eyes, and thus a clean view. This is so precious. So we need to stay connected to what has come before, but at the same time, we need to be able to look with fresh eyes. You really learn that from kids.
Supersalone 2021, courtesy of Salone del Mobile.
Supersalone 2021, courtesy of Salone del Mobile.
Supersalone 2021, courtesy of Salone del Mobile.
Speaking of heritage, what sets Italian design apart today?
Italian design is made by so many different people together. If we think about the supply chain, we are talking about 70,000 companies with a total of 290,000 people. When you compare that to the population of Italy, it is a very important industry for us. Italian design is also made in Italy, so the value chain is a short value chain. We control all the steps of the production, but we also have an amazing community in terms of architects, creative directors, and other creative minds. Putting that and production together – the creative thinking and the making – is very important to us, and leads to high quality.
Then there is the Italian way of living, the way that our cities are comprised of squares where people meet, and where in Milano for example, there are so many hidden places and gardens where families live together and share the same spaces. The way we live in the city, and the way we’ve historically built cities, really inform Italian design. So there really are three key elements: the manufacturing, which is s mix of technology and also craftsmanship; the creativity, which also comes from abroad and being open to the world; and the Italian lifestyle, which isn’t something you really describe in words, but that you understand once you walk through Milano or Florence or one of the islands in Sicily.
Right, there’s nothing quite like it. What are you seeing that’s coming from other countries?
Every country has its own story that influences design, and there are a lot of connections, For example, Italians have an obsession for detail, but so do the Japanese designers. Then we have the way people work with wood and natural materials in Scandinavia, which is incredible. The use of technology in Korea is really inspiring. So, every place in the world has a unique design sensibility that comes from the roots of the country.
I’m from Siberia originally, and the influence on design is definitely felt – the fabrics and textiles in homes, the use of wood, and so much more.
You are from Siberia?! Come on.
[Laughs] I know.
So I’m sure as you can imagine, this cross-pollination between countries in design is really great.
“For young designers, I would say go to companies and see how products are produced. Visit the production line and really pay attention. Understanding the processes is really important for coming out with something new. Innovation is not about creating a new shape.”
What’s next for Salone?
We are already working on the new edition in 2023, which will be focused on lighting. We are trying to listen to the main stakeholders – brands, architects, editors – and see how the use of light can be a really big opportunity in thinking creatively about space and in creating amazing things.
Who are you admiring right now? They don’t have to be in design – just anyone in the world that is doing good work that you’d like others to know about.
That is such a big question. There are so many people…
I can’t say just one, or a few, but I will say that consistency is extremely important. Everyone that is able to be consistent in these strange and hard times we are living through, I really admire. I worked in theatre design as you know, and each conductor, and opera singer, and back-of-house stage lighting professional that I admired, they were all very consistent. But anyone working with passion and respect, no matter who you are or how famous you are, and the efficiency, transparency, and consistency with which they do what they do, I am in awe of.
I really agree with that – I think everyone is always looking for the secret, and really there is no secret, but if there is one, it’s consistency. You keep doing what you believe in, and through time you build and reach something of quality and significance.
My last question for you is what advice do you have for young designers? And, would you have any additional advice specifically for women?
For young designers, I would say go to companies and see how products are produced. Visit the production line and really pay attention. Understanding the processes is really important for coming out with something new. Innovation is not about creating a new shape. It’s very important to be connected with the manufacturing, because the big innovation usually comes from a strong relationship with how something is made.
For women…there is a lot of talk about breaking the glass ceiling, but I think those that are so focused on breaking the glass ceiling actually don’t break it. It’s those that are committed to their craft, whatever it may be, that break it. Also, we are not alone. Here I am with you. Salone has been made and led by women since the beginning – its just where you shine the light.
That’s exactly the point of Madame Architect – women have been leading and advancing the field since the beginning of time.
Exactly. It’s all about what you show.