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Valextra Meets Studio Temp
The Bergamo-based design experts talk us through their approach to our 2024 Salone del Mobile installation, Valextra Vocabolario
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For our second collaboration with the Bergamo-based Studio Temp, the design collective created an exclusive window display at Rinascente to debut our Assoluto collection and transformed the Valextra flagship on Via Manzoni from shop to spa on the occasion of Salone del Mobile. In doing so, they placed our artisans and their attention to detail centrestage. Here, they tell us about their approach to this special project and how it connects us all to Milan.
Valextra: How does it feel to be working with Valextra on the occasion of Salone del Mobile?
Studio Temp: We’re very grateful for this collaboration. Valextra presented us with the opportunity to work together while also giving us an ample range of creative freedom that we’re excited for people to experience.
V: In what ways does the installation reflect or represent Milan?
ST: More than representing Milan as a ‘city’, we would say the installation reflects the role of Milan as an international design avant-garde – where innovation stems from a deep history of skilled craftsmanship.
V:How did you interpret the creative brief?
ST: Together with the team at Valextra, we created evocative worlds based on new, innovative chapters of the brand. We focused on balancing key contrasting concepts, such as light and dark, hard and soft. The identity of Valextra Vocabolario emerged from this tension and created a new brand language.
V: How, the installation in Rinascente, has realized this creative brief?
ST: Rinascente is the stage in which Valextra Assoluto debuts. There, you’ll go on an exploration as you experience the brand’s innovation, through the introduction of new materials.
On the exterior, we collaborated with architect Luca Toniolo by creating a stealthy appearance with dark displays and small windows that provide just a hint of what’s inside. Once you enter the space, you’re greeted with an exciting contrast of elements as you’re surrounded by the all-black collection displayed on raw, aluminium panels atop a light pink, soft floor. They’re the same materials we used in the Via Manzoni flagship store.
V: How do you think Valextra Vocabolario encapsulates the Valextra DNA?
ST: Since Valextra’s inception, fine metalwork has always characterised the brand’s DNA. We elevated this element by transforming what was previously subtle and discreet in the bags, into something large, loud, and the protagonist of the brand in the popup.
Additionally, by playing with this idea of contrasting elements, the space contains a gentle pink flooring surrounded by stark, metal panels in a constant juxtaposition of soft and hard. Our additional interpretations of Iside Onda and Valextra SPA continue this dialogue between cold technology and warm comfort.
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V: In what ways does it reflect your own DNA?
ST: Our approach to this project is a reflection of the Studio Temp process: we begin by diving into the history of the brand where we conduct extensive research to identify the strongest brand characteristics. Once we find them, we elevate these elements by interpreting them in a way that enables us to see them in a new, unexpected and exciting perspective.
V: How would you like guests to feel in the space?
ST: Excited and relaxed, curious and at ease. Hopefully feeling a sense of wonder, as if being transported into a different dimension, where everything feels new yet familiar at the same time.
V: Who are your heroes in the design space and why?
ST: In general, we often look to designers of the 60s and 70s for inspiration but since we are talking about Salone del Mobile in Milan, there are two designers that deserve special mention: Giulio Confalonieri and Enzo Mari. Giulio Confalonieri because we were inspired by his archive Valextra logo to design the logo we used for Valextra Assoluto. Enzo Mari because he was a real genius.
V: What memorable experiences have you had at Salone del Mobile?
ST: It’s so nice to see friends from all over the world coming to Milan for Salone every year. Our favourite memory is related to the first installation we made in 2022 for Alessi, as it was dedicated to our friend and mentor Virgil Abloh.
V: If Studio Temp was a Valextra bag, what would it be and why?
The 24h briefcase, the homage to Forma Zero. This is a famous collaboration between Giovanni Fontana, the founder of Valextra, and the designer A.G. Fronzoni, who we have the utmost respect for. This bag represents innovation, elegance, tradition and maximum quality.