Li Edelkoort: Luxury brands have contaminated Milan design week

Trend forecaster Li Edelkoort criticizes the increasing presence of luxury brands at Milan design week, arguing that opulence has contaminated culture. She notes that brands like Dior, Hermès, Gucci, Loro Piana, and Prada dominate attention with exclusive installations, long wait lines, and high prices, overshadowing emerging talent and independent venues such as Alcova and Rossana Orlandi. Edelkoort highlights the irony of expensive items like Japanese ceramics at Prada Home costing €9,000 for two sake cups and a flask, while democratic options from H&M, IKEA, and Marimekko offer better value. She laments that the press focuses on luxury spectacles rather than innovative work by Front studio for Moroso, Rwandan artisans with Alvaro Catalán de Ocón, Issey Miyake's pleated wastepaper furniture, or Konstantin Grcic's glass fixtures for Flos. Edelkoort observes that designers have reacted to the times with volcanic motifs, and she predicts art will increasingly merge with design, as explored in her upcoming trend forecast 'The Art of Living'.