After the success of the 2022 edition, the Consulate of Italy in Detroit and the Dante Alighieri Society of Michigan are about to launch their presence at the Detroit Month of Design through the project called “LoveITDetroit”, that, in its second edition, won the grant "City of Italian Creativity in the World" established for the first time by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

Based in Detroit, the exhibit will be open to the public and available September 1-30 at 1001 Woodward Ave (on Campus Martius, Detroit's main square, which this year won the title of Best Square in the United States) from 11 am to 6 pm. The installation will also host 12 in-person events (focusing on sectors ranging from sustainable mobility to fashion, from aerospace to wine, from opera to cinema), with prominent speakers both local and from Italy.

On September 1, the space will be the launch site for the Detroit Month of Design, the annual festival dedicated to design in Detroit, the only UNESCO city of design in the United States. For the occasion, the Consulate of Italy in Detroit, represented by Consul Allegra Baistrocchi, has once again confirmed to Ludovica Serafini and Roberto Palomba, as Ambassadors of Italian Design in the World and catalysts of many international projects, the role of designers and curators of the physical exhibit. In the 2023 edition, LoveITDetroit will once again aim to attract the attention of the international public, elevating and exalting the Made in Italy vision. In particular, the installation in Detroit will highlight how Italian companies have embarked on a path towards sustainability, integrating this approach with the essence of the Made in Italy.

The spaces will therefore be filled with stories of Italian creativity and sustainability – from the wooden statues of the Verginers (Willy, Matthias and Christian) and the glass ones of master Chiara Taiariol; from the textile materials of virtuous realities such as Dolcevita, Orange Fiber, and Rada, obtained from the recycled materials (cotton, orange waste, and plastic collected from the oceans) to the look of the stylist Stella Jean (which combines sustainability with her attention to social justice issues). The opening evening will be dedicated to the ecological transition of Kartell, which will celebrate 20 years of Phillipe Starck's "Louis Ghost" chair (60% less polluting today than its initial version) and the "Rechair" model (completely made with recycled Illy capsules). Six of the most important Detroit artists will paint the Kartell chairs in a live show during the evening. The chairs will then be exhibited for the entire month and auctioned off for charity.

The exhibit will incorporate the aptitude for contamination that distinguishes Palomba Serafini Associati, described in the words of Ludovica+Roberto Palomba: “We can define our approach to design as ‘holistic’. We develop every detail focusing on the overall image because in the end, all the individual elements of the design - like the voices of a choir - come together in a single identity.”
The Metaspace

To represent the value of Italian design in Detroit, also for this year, the event will be hosted in parallel in our dedicated metaverse with a highly engaging exhibit in which the virtual and real worlds will dialogue. The company Wedoo again created this third edition of the virtual space based on a design by Ludovica+Roberto Palomba. Version 3.0 of the LoveITDetroit metaspace will show (after the Made in Italy 1.0 version and the 2.0 edition which hosted an exhibition of the National Gallery of Modern Art in Rome) Fashion Panorama – The Italian New Wave, a project of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, curated by Vogue Italia. The intent of the initiative is to tell the story of contemporary Italian fashion through the vision and work of 10 brands - ACT N°1, Gisèle Claudia Ntsama, Cormio, lessico familiare, Magliano, Marco Rambaldi, Medea, Panconesi, Niccolò Pasqualetti, SSHEENA - which, while reshaping artisanal traditions in an unprecedented way with innovative languages and methods, have been able to maintain a solid and integrated relationship with the other Italian cultural and creative industries through original themes close to contemporary society.

“We are proud to participate in the beautiful LoveITDetroit initiative with Fashion Panorama - The Italian New Wave, confirming Vogue Italia's desire to create bridges and synergies between our country and the rest of the world. The main objective of this traveling exhibit is to tell the many stories of Made in Italy that make us proud today, demonstrating that there is new fertile ground thanks to the work of young designers who, with their different creativity and intuitions, are however united when it comes to their values and the desire to build a better future”. Francesca Ragazzi – Head of Editorial Content of Vogue Italia.

Thanks to MIGreenPower by DTE Energy, to which Bedrock (owner of the space where LoveITDetroit will take place) also participates, 100% of the electricity consumption (for the installation, the in-person events, and the metaverse servers) for the entire month of September will derive from renewable energy sources produced in Michigan.

In the words of Consul Baistrocchi: “LoveITDetroit will once again be an international showcase for Italian excellence, with the goal of also spreading awareness about the importance of a sustainable approach in the creative industry and inspiring the use of Italy's best practices in integrating tradition and craftsmanship with technology and innovation. For the love of Italy. For the love of Detroit. And for the love of design!”

Consulate of Italy in Detroit
The consular jurisdiction of the Consulate of Italy in Detroit includes five States: Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee. For further details about the Consulate, visit our website: https://consdetroit.esteri.it/. The LoveITDetroit project was created by Consul Allegra Baistrocchi. More information regarding the exhibit and the 12 in person events can be found on the website https://loveitdetroit.com.

Dante Alighieri Society – Michigan Chapter
Since 1924, the Michigan Chapter of the Dante Alighieri Society has been involved in the promotion of Italian language and culture through cultural events, Italian courses for children and adults, and PLIDA certification. www.dantemichigan.org 

Ludovica+Roberto Palomba
Ludovica+Roberto Palomba, architects and designers, founded Palomba Serafini Associati in 1994 in Milan focusing on architecture, interior and industrial design, yacht design, and much more. Their distinctive style emerges from the ability to combine a contemporary vision of society with the needs of the user, thanks to the study of the history and culture behind the design, producing results that cross the past and the future. In 26 years of activity, their projects have received more than 70 international awards such as: Compasso D’Oro, Elle Decoration International Design Award, Red Dot, Design Plus, Good Design Award, German Design Award, Ahead Award.

Vogue Italia
Vogue is the world's most influential voice on fashion and culture. Part of the Condé Nast publishing group, it is the most influential brand in fashion journalism and is able to guide readers towards future trends thanks to inspiring, relevant, and always influential content and narratives, in all formats. Online: www.vogue.it.