Fair

Salone del Mobile 2021 Has Been Postponed Until September

After continued uncertainty over the feasibility of a large-scale April event, organizers have pushed back the fair to next fall

As the first COVID-19 wave crested in Europe, it became clear that the design world’s signature annual event—Salone del Mobile—would have to be postponed. Ultimately, the springtime Milan-set fair and its accompanying design week had to be cancelled all together. Now, approximately eight months later, the 2021 iteration of Salone del Mobile is being postponed until September of that year. 

Specifically, Salone will move from April 13–18 to September 5–10. While June was reportedly considered as an option over the course of long-running discussions, it appears that September offers more of a buffer for organizers who are keen to avoid a second consecutive cancellation. It makes sense: Although there has been very good vaccine news of late, production and distribution is not all that clear, and a second wave of the virus appears poised to hit Europe and the U.S. this winter. 

“Being able to hold the Salone next year is an absolute priority for all those of us whose lives revolve around design,” said Salone del Mobile president Claudio Luti in a statement. “We . . . believe that moving the fair to September will leave enough time for the ongoing acute phase of the pandemic to subside and that this will provide a real chance to kickstart design at global level.” He continued on to say: “After such a lengthy period of physical and social distancing in every sphere, we would like to be able to see the Salone as an opportunity for actual meeting and discussion, and a chance for us all to share our excitement with a city buzzing with new ideas.”

While the shift might seem unconventional to international attendees in the habit of traveling to Milan each spring, a September start is far from unprecedented in the furniture fair’s history. Salone del Mobile took place in September from the inaugural 1961 fair through the end of the 1980s, moving to its current position on the calendar in 1990. With 2021 set to mark the 60th anniversary of an event that’s grown to host thousands of furniture exhibitors over the years, a September start date would mark a return to tradition of sorts—albeit one forced by extenuating circumstances.