Fuorisalone Digital: Three Emerging Designers from Isola District

The forced shift to digital during Covid-19 has not diminished Milan Design Week's role in showcasing emerging talent. Three young designers from the Isola district—Dorian Etienne, Lako collective, and Austeja Platukyte—present projects focused on sustainable materials and circular design. French designer Dorian Etienne, after a residency in Taiwan, works with bamboo, banana fiber, and luffa sponge, creating lamps (Nuclée) with Cordélia Faure and seating from plant-based sponges. The italo-Ecuadorian collective Lako (including Claudia Valverde) develops biomaterials from cacao waste—bioplastics, biopellets, and insulating panels—aiming to reduce ecological footprint and improve conditions for small producers in Ecuador, where many live on $500/year. Lithuanian designer Austeja Platukyte, a graduate of Vilnius Academy of Art, presents Black Matter (cellulose bioplastic with local charcoal) and Invisible Objects (bio-agglomerates from natural materials), both designed to biodegrade without trace. All three share a focus on material experimentation and lifecycle impact, with horizons spanning East Asia, South America, and Lithuania.