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Milan Design Week: The Best Contemporary Offerings (PHOTOS)

TREASURE TROVE

Upside-down potted plants, alabaster lamps, and more of the wildest creations on display in Italy this week.

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It’s not enough for Italians to dominate the world of fashion, is it? They also top the worlds of art, design, and, of course, food. The former two are out in force this week during the six-day Milan Design Week, which kicked off on April 9 with the usual treasure trove of creativity. Here, sleek meets colorful at the Demosmobilia and Studio 900 at Porta Venezia. Click through for more impressive contemporary design on display in Italy.

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Functionality, schmuctionality. The Emu stand in the 52nd International Furniture Fair, or the Salone Internazionale del Mobile, is the biggest event in the design calendar.

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Pieces from all decades and styles grace the showfloor of the Demosmobilia and Studio 900.

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Let’s hope these don’t require watering. Upside-down potted plants are displayed at Temporary Museum for New Design for the decorator partial to a jungle aesthetic.

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Touching allowed. A woman feels a spherical, alabaster-made table lamp, by Atelier Alain Ellouz factory.

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Two sinks are certainly better than one when they're these modernistic pieces, at the Kartell showroom.

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Is it a string of sausages? A close-up of microscopic beings? These abstract lighted shapes are actually a wall lamp by Slamp factory.

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Colorful creations resembling playground rocking toys are displayed at Temporary Museum for New Design.

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Designed by Rem Koolhaas, this stack of beams opens into shelves or benches. The creation is displayed at the Knoll industrial design house’s space, among 11 pieces of furniture on display there.

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A woman touches a panel lamp by Lithos Design, displayed at the Milan’s Design Fair.

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Unusual slatted lampshades hang over bulbs at the Temporary Museum for New Design.

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A man walks through Transition, a mind-bending installation made of lipstick packages.

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