Brazil brings never-before-seen experience to Milan Design Week

Represented by over 30 companies and designers, Brazil is attending the renowned Milan Design Week, in Italy, starting Monday (Apr. 8). Entitled Brazil: Essentially Diverse, the exhibition—staled to end on Sunday (14)—is an expression of the uniqueness in Brazilian culture, marked by ancestral indigenous, African, and European influences.

Promoted by the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency, Apex-Brasil, in partnership with the Brazil’s Consulate-General in Milan, the exhibition is occupying the renowned Museo della Permanente. The 2 thousand m² area offers visitors an immersive experience, showing the most modern trends in contemporary Brazilian design, with a focus on furniture.

The pieces are distributed through two floors of the museum, across four areas defined by the concepts of “essentially diverse,” “essentially innovative,” “essentially sustainable,” and “essentially creative” - Divulgação Apex-Brasil

This is the first time a curator designed the space occupied by Apex-Brasil. The idea was to build a narrative that connects the pieces to each other as well as the exhibition spaces, showcasing the history of design in the country.

Celebrating diversity

The pieces are distributed through two floors of the museum, across four areas defined by the concepts of “essentially diverse,” “essentially innovative,” “essentially sustainable,” and “essentially creative.”

In each area, Brazil’s cultural roots and richness will be portrayed through a combination of stimuli capable of engaging all four senses to provide a one-of-a-kind experience. The lighting and the position of pieces, coupled with special environment techniques, will make it possible for visitors to dive into an atmosphere built with scents and temperatures that recreate Brazil’s rain forest.

The idea was to build a narrative that connects the pieces to each other as well as the exhibition spaces- Divulgação Apex-Brasil

“I believe this project will be a milestone of the Brazilian presence in the event, which is known to be trend setter and one of the world’s display windows for design, furniture, and decoration,” said Ambassador Mario Vilalva, president of Apex-Brasil.

The narrative and idea behind all contents were under the responsibility of design specialist and fashion executive Joice Joppert Leal. The final selection of companies and designers took into account the technical score given by Apex-Brasil—which based its evaluation on special features like website and availability of material in English, product innovation, exported value (both globally and to Italy)—and the curator’s own score.

Milan Design Week is part of the programming held parallel to the Milan Furniture Fair, the world’s biggest furniture event - Divulgação Apex-Brasil

Brazil’s exhibition at Milan Design Week is also supported by Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Iluminação, Associação Nacional de Fabricantes Cerâmicas Revestimento, Associação Brasileira das Indústrias do Mobiliário,  Sindicato das Indústrias do Mobiliário de Bento Gonçalves, Associação Brasileira de Rochas Ornamentais, Associação Brasileira das Empresas de Utilidades e Presentes, and Revista Casa Vogue.

The Brazilian presence in the Italian city comes as part of the country’s furniture industry’s new stance on the global stage - Divulgação Apex-Brasil

World renown

Milan Design Week is part of the programming held parallel to the Milan Furniture Fair, the world’s biggest furniture event, and a by-word for household, furniture, and equipment for the furniture industry. Over 300 thousand visitors from more than 165 countries are expected to attend.

The Brazilian presence in the Italian city comes as part of the country’s furniture industry’s new stance on the global stage, with lighting, decoration, design services, and materials like stones and ceramic coating, and a focus on unique attributes for competitiveness, chief among them sustainability, innovation, the source of raw materials, and Brazilian talent and creativity.

*With information from Apex-Brasil