Italy Brings La Dolce Vita to Las Vegas
Diane Taylor -- Tradeshow Week, 8/1/2008 3:56:00 PM
Milan, Italy-based Fiera Milano, which oversees a same-named venue and organizes shows, teamed up with Las Vegas Market – Summer, July 28-Aug. 1 at the World Market Center, to present “Design Italiano.”
The 8,000 square foot museum-quality exhibit featured the best in Italian design from 1956 through 2008.
“It’s the first time we brought a design show inside an exhibition in the United States,” said Michele Perini, Fiera Milano president.
The exhibit was conceived, organized and curated with the support of Fiera Milano, the city of Meda, Regione Lombardia and Project Monza-Brianza.
Robert Maricich, World Market Center’s president and CEO, said, “As Italy is a recognized axis for superior design, some of the most identifiable trends and concepts in high-end home furnishings have come out of this region.”
He added, “This exhibit provides insight into the evolution of modern furniture design.”
World Market Center and Fiera Milano’s collaboration looks to grow even more.
“Step by step, we believe we can grow together,” Perini said.
According to Perini, the companies are in preliminary talks to bring two of the Italian organizers’ events, HOST and Macef, to the World Market Center in the future.
HOST is a biennial hospitality show, scheduled next in 2009, that draws more than 135,000 attendees, and Macef, on tap Sept. 5-8 at Fiera Milano, is an interior design show.
Both shows, according to Perini, make sense for the World Market Center because “hospitality and shopping is the business of Las Vegas.”
But, he added, Fiera Milano isn’t rushing into anything. “In Las Vegas, you can get married and divorced in one hour. I think getting engaged is the first step and then getting married,” Perini joked of the collaboration.
In the meantime, at last week’s market, attendees also were treated to a special event: “Salute to Italian Design” was held July 29, featuring chefs from Milan and Italian wines.
“It (was) all about expressing Italian culture and providing an Italian backdrop,” said Nicky Stephen, World Market Center spokeswoman.
