The intention was to take it easy on Sunday, with no rush from stand to stand but going around quietly in a mix between my two passions , street photography and design…both in Tortona Road, Milan, a place that I’ve always seen as the heart of “Fuorisalone” and home for penniless designers…those who bring from home their banquet and three prototypes finished the night before.
But…no.
Trains on a 24 hours-long strike on Saturday, from 9:00 PM…i was lucky because my friend from Milan called saying “Trains are on a 24 hours-long strike on Saturday, from 9:00 PM” … and buses are going on strike too… and bikes as well and my car did not want to be and i didn’t want to drive it and so i decided to do a rush at Fuorisalone on saturday, all on the run, all in the name of looking at half of the stuff and at half of the mixture of populations that for a week becomes citizien of Design City.
During the Design Week, Tortona road is flooded by people…
…and you can find a lot of unusual things.
From a street photographer standpoint, Fuorisalone is a fascinating event … because there’s a lot of people and stories … there is the curious elderly couple and the young hipster, there are Japanese people but also finnish and americans…elegant women, skaters and artists, designer dress in jacket and t-shirt, a three-meters height member of the security…all together indiscriminately in what sometimes seems like a talent showcase but more often it seems a long and exhausting advertising or a local market, where beautiful girls give Red Bull for free and ask you to fill out sheets with ‘permission to use your data for commercial purposes’ checkboxes already checked…designer glasses and nebulizers are sold with a 50% discount on garages and refitted locals…”Buy it now ‘cause in the stores will cost you 160 Euros” they tell you…a place where ideas, sorry to say, except for some cases … stink of old.
if you don’t have a stand, you have to find an alternative solution
A stylish Ice-cream man
An artist creating in real-time
Everything looks the same, artificial, soulless … you have often the idea that the designer is just one…like when you see an Audi and you know that it is an Audi because that face is always the same. Of course, i admit i’m influenced by a visit perhaps too quick with also a little trip at the beginning of the afternoon at the Triennale. Disappointment … even there.
Well…furnitures
Some stands were ideal for cool street photos
Every article about fashion must have a ‘selfie’ on it
I admit however, that the roundup of Japanese designers have lifted a little the disappontment on the final part of the exploration. The stand was fresh, young designers, traditional culture refined with minimalist design and modern taste…
Loved that project, glowing flower-inspired lamps. Design MADE IN JAPAN
Don’t know if that face is the creator of these light boxes
…but i didn’t have the time to visit the stand completely, i had to escape before the switch-on of the lights of the locals along the road and free-drinks time that’s still the best time to be in Via Tortona, when the train tracks disappear in the darkness under the bridge with stairs crowded with people coming and going. But 8:00 PM came really quickly and as a bearded Cinderella, i had to run and take the last available carriage before the dreaded 9:00 PM.
Free-drink time…but i have to go
So… three hours in a hurry. I planned to go back the next day by car but then, the destiny has chosen differently…maybe next time.
The outside window 