Vogue Arabia editor-in-chief Manuel Arnaut. Photo: Ziga Mihelcic
April is a special month if you love interiors and art. In Milan, it’s the time for Design Week and Salone del Mobile, where all the new products and trends for the year are presented. It’s like fashion week on steroids, with the entire city engaged and bursting with fantastic presentations in the design stores, but also in fabulous palaces. At the same time, Salone del Mobile takes over more than 15 pavilions in the city’s exhibition center. One of the changes in this year’s edition was the interest of fashion brands in the event. We all know that today, style is not only what you wear, but also how you live, where you eat, how you design your home… The overlap of these two universes makes total sense, and has been mastered by brands such as Hermès and Armani Casa. However, I felt that some fashion brands were just there to be part of the buzz. Taking into consideration the expectations of visitors who fly from all around the world to enjoy Design Week, my advice would be to only put together an event or activation once there’s something solid to showcase. Anyhow, in this issue of Vogue Living, we share some of the most relevant trends and products that we spotted in Milan.
Only a train (and boat) ride away, the Venice Biennale was presented this year under the theme Strangers Everywhere. I have to say, I was blown away by the Arab artists and pavilions, who represented the maturity of the art scene in the region with so much class. The most significant example: Palestinian icon Samia Halaby, who received a special mention from the jury. In our pages, you will find a portfolio featuring Halaby (proudly wearing her keffiyeh) and other Arab artists representing countries from Egypt to Saudi Arabia, photographed in La Serenissima.
Lastly, we invited Tunisian actor and design aficionado Dorra Zarrouk (whose Cairo home designed by Hany Saad will soon be in the pages of Vogue), to check in at the recently reopened Disneyland Hotel outside Paris – the property was closed for a two–year renovation. I can say that this pink palace is definitely that kind of address that can bring us back to our childhood, filling us with joy. And at the end of the day, good design is also that.
Orginally published in the Spring/Summer 2024 issue of Vogue Living Arabia
