'We're seeing a counter-movement to neutrality'

Salone del Mobile's Annalisa Rosso discusses the shift in design from soft tones to strong personality and colours

- Pooja Singh

The words “high energy” come up often when Milan-based Annalisa Rosso, one of the key voices shaping contemporary design discourse, talks about the Indian design scene. “India’s design landscape is vibrant, young and emerging,” says Rosso, the editorial director and cultural events adviser of Salone del Mobile, the annual international furniture fair held in Milan.

She met Lounge on 8 February, the concluding day of the India Art Fair. This year's edition marked the first collaboration between the fair and Salone del Mobile, signalling India’s growing presence on the global design map. India now ranks 10th among the 160 countries sending visitors to the Salone.

When Rosso, who also works as a curator and consultant to brands across the world, says “high energy”, she is referring to the trajectory of Indian designers such as Vikram Goyal, Gunjan Gupta and Rooshad Shroff, who have been displaying their furniture and collectible design at international platforms such as Design Miami/Paris, Milan Design Week, PAD London and Salone del Mobile.

Even in her consulting work, Rosso has noticed a growing curiosity about what India has to offer. “Riyadh is the other emerging market. But India and Italy share a special bond,” she says. Italy is among the European Union's top exporters of furniture to India.