Alessandro Mendini, a Master and a fundamental and unforgettable personality in the post-modern design panorama, since the creation of Alchimia in the late 70’s, has been close to Superstudio not only as a friend but also as an author of various exhibitions and installations in addition to the “heart plate” designed for the Municipality of Milan. His ironic and disenchanted vision, his poetry and eclecticism, his openness and his vision, have been instructive for many designers who became famous. His pieces are now icons kept both in houses and many museums. Among the thousands of unforgettable works, the Proust armchair and the museum of Groninger in Holland. We honour him, with this last interview to Gisella Borioli. Thank you Alessandro.

What changed, since 2000, and what will change? 
In these twenty years, the world has become digital. A radical anthropological revolution that tragically goes on. 

The instinctive sign, the fil-rouge of your work? 
The fil-rouge of my work is instinct (hot) and reasoning (cold). 

Which adjectives would you use to define the trends of contemporary design? 
Contemporary design is agnostic, indifferent and superficial. 

How was your experience at Superstudio? 
At Superstudio I had some very pleasant presences. 

How crucial was the mise-en-scène? 
The mise-en-scène is the important communicative container of the projects. 

An anecdote, a meeting, a memory of that experience? 
The visitor’s reactions, always with opposing views, but never neutral. 

What does a “fair” exhibition need to have, in addition to the product, to be attractive and impressive? 
The space of the fair exhibition must be alluring, even when empty, with no objects on show. 

If you were asked to mention maximum three icons of design in these last twenty years, yours or somebody else’s, which ones would they be? The chairs by Philippe Starck, mobile phones, works with 3D printers. 

What is the Fuorisalone of Milan for you? 
A chaotic and energetic event. An interesting mess. 

Milan capital of design. Is it right or is something still missing? 
For better or for worse, Milan is still the capital of design.