Tropicana Magazine's ART AS LIFE issue features Ai Wei Wei as the Game Changer activist of the Arts, MD of Simmons SouthEastAsia Mr Casey Teh talks about Somnology - the science of sleep; Check out our curated lists for you end of year travel plans
THE HOME TM |
THE HOME TM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 46
Fans will want to immerse themselves in the 3D Fornasetti experience – Fornasetti designed spaces. Though off limits to the general public, both the Fornasetti family home and studio in Milan can be appreciated through two different short films. Immortalised in a stop motion short by director Virgilio Villoresi, ‘Welcome Home’ brings to life the ornately embellished family home as theatrically as the works it celebrates, while Davide Calafà’s video journeys through Studio Fornasetti detailing meticulously the magic by which this laboratory of ideas brings to fabulous life Studio Fornasetti’s latest imaginings. Of course, nothing compares to being there in the flesh, and for that Mandarin Oriental Milan has put together the Fornasetti Designer Experience. Housed in a re-development of four elegant 18th century buildings in the fashionable Via Andegari, the luxury hotel has transformed one of its 34 spacious suites in tribute to Piero Fornasetti. Named the Fornasetti Suite, this elegant space is graced with lofty ceilings and abundant natural light and is furnished with original Fornasetti pieces. Available until 31 December 2018 (and priced from €6,500 per night with a minimum two- night stay), guests booking the Experience will receive a custom-made Fornasetti art piece and a behind-the-scenes tour of the Fornasetti Store. The statement art piece – a porcelain plate – features a gold hand-painted historical design of the sumptuous dome of Milan’s Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II shopping arcade, and is available solely through the hotel and the Fornasetti Store. Part of the Cupole d’Italia (Domes of Italy) series, its original design was created by Piero Fornasetti in 1979 in tribute to Milan and has been re-edited by the Fornasetti creative team specifically for this occasion. Accompanied by a Fornasetti specialist, the tour of Milan’s Fornasetti Store is another uniquely special part of the experience. Taking place after its doors have closed to the public, this bespoke tour reveals the designer’s numerous whimsical creations and offers expert advice on custom furniture designs and selecting from collections should you be inclined to order up something to take home. There are other benefits also, among them daily breakfast and a three-course lunch with wine-pairings at the Antonio Guida-run Michelin-starred Seta on no less than decorative Fornasetti plates, of course. “Always suffused with surrealist wit and a sense of the absurd, his nonconformist designs are widely sought after by collectors and remain lauded by post-modern designers” 47 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 | TM
