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"MILAN \u2014 Before heading to Milan for the first time to cover the annual Salone del Mobile trade show, categorically the largest event in the industrial design world, my understanding was that the overall sentiment of the Italian design community bordered on panic. Popular discourse from the past several years dwelled on the potential damage done to Italian design by counterfeiting and mass production in China \u2014 an obsession that is subtly reflected in the theme of this year\u2019s FuoriSalone (city-wide programming directed by Interni magazine, now in collaboration with creative think tank Be Open), which frames itself as a response to the \u201Ccultural uniformity,\u201D or homogenizing effects, of globalization. Obviously, Italy\u2019s current financial meltdown exacerbates the anxiety hovering over the design world: \u201CEverybody was scared that nobody would come [to Salone] because of the crisis,\u201D Milan-based designer Ferruccio Laviani told ARTINFO. \u201CIt\u2019s a situation where people don\u2019t understand where the market is going.\u201DGiven the seemingly dour mood, one would expect this year\u2019s fair to keep a low profile \u2014 but it may have actually gone in the opposite direction. Laviani, for example, designed Kartell\u2019s Salone booth (he does so every year) as a stylized facsimile of Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, a strip of luxury shops in Milan (akin to Rodeo Drive in L.A.) Where a shop window of say, Cartier, would be, he showcased a Kartell designer\u2019s new products, reinterpreting his or her name into a fashion house\u2019s logo. It\u2019s an in-joke for fans of branded typographies: Nendo had just the right number of letters to take on the font of KENZO; Piero Lissoni\u2019s initials replace the overlapping LV of Louis Vuitton; and newcomer Christophe Pillet&amp;nbsp;got the Cartier crown.&amp;nbsp;While the current moment of global austerity seems like the least opportune time to tout luxury, Laviani\u2019s punning installation was aimed to inspire laughter as a respite from the gloom. It also serves a greater purpose that reflects the great national pride here that is palpable immediately upon arrival. \u201CI thought it was very important to make people realize that Salone del Mobile is in Milan because 99 percent of the best design companies in the world come from Milan,\u201D said Laviani, who referred to the Galleria as the \u201Cliving room of the city.\u201D As Kartell itself pushes into areas of the Middle East (and ironically also China), his gesture also helps to align the company with luxury brands better recognized throughout the world. While even ordinary Italians partake in Salone\u2019s festivities this time of year (\u201CIt\u2019s bigger than fashion week,\u201D one Milan native told me yesterday at a party), global buyers may be \u201Cmore interested in Louis Vuitton than Patricia Urquiola,\u201D Laviani said.&amp;nbsp;This pride in the nation\u2019s historical excellence in \u201Cfurniture, fashion, food, and Ferrari\u201D (I\u2019d propose adding \u201Cfunniness\u201D as the fifth F \u2014 just look at the classic ironic designs of Gaetano Pesce, Ettore Sottsass, and Laviani himself) resounded throughout the week. Interni and Be Open\u2019s&amp;nbsp;Monday&amp;nbsp;press conference proposed the four F\u2019s as the solution to the ongoing national crisis. \u201CAny time the market is tough for companies, it obliges us to investigate the value and recipe of our city's and country's success in the past and what made us competitive in the golden times,\u201D&amp;nbsp;said city fashion and design councilor Cristina Tajani.&amp;nbsp;As for designers\u2019 fears that the crisis would ruin this year\u2019s Salone, they\u2019ve been assuaged. Local and international spectators crowded the showroom floor (it was difficult to walk at any reasonable pace) and, indeed, the city itself (it was really hard to find a vacant room in any hotel). Despite criticism in recent years that designers had been \u201Cplaying it safe,\u201D Laviani insisted this was one of the best Salones of the past 20 years. \u201CThere\u2019s an incredible energy here. I think that the crisis pushed people,\u201D he said. \u201CYou know when you are scared, you use your brain in different ways. Ideas come out stronger than before.\u201D&amp;nbsp;To see Laviani\u2019s&amp;nbsp;visual puns, click the slideshow.&amp;nbsp;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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