Christmas in the box

Pianca & Partners – The Contract Hub has a special window display for Christmas: a brightly coloured display designed by Raffaella Mangiarotti, for a different take on the unwrapping experience. The designer, who created the Palù bedroom set for Pianca this year, has made this bedside table and bench seat collection the star feature in the double front window display of the Milan showroom.

In the heart of the Brera district, in Via di Porta Tenaglia the magic of design comes to life, stimulating emotion using a fun, dynamic display in bright orange with huge boxes, piled up or dominating the centre of the space, containing the pieces by Raffaella Mangiarotti.

The title of the display, Christmas in the Box, invites us to discover what is hidden away at first glance. Time, texture, form and function. But also desire and creation. All these elements are boxed up in portions of meaning to reveal themselves in the micro-architectures of the Palù collection.

Boxes, which traditionally “enclose” things, are opened here for passers-by and visitors to see, in arrangements that transcend the rigid volumes in their free, vibrant display. They invite us to change, open up and enjoy discovery. Acting as frames, the boxes “open up” to reveal the bedroom set, in an ethereal space where time seems to melt away.

“A good object must be functional and light”, says Raffaella Mangiarotti. “I’m interested in objects that flow with time, that accompany us discreetly and endure over time.”