Room for surprise: how fresh design partnerships could learn a lot from romance

Everyone in Italy is in love. Or, at least, that’s what it feels like. All of the cities, at least the ones I’ve travelled to, have a spirit of bringing people together – of partnership.

It is most easily noticed as two people sit closely on one side of a table, cigarettes hanging casually out of their hands. Or on Vespa rides, two bodies linked as they navigate the narrow streets. This theme of connection ladders up to the way these storied cities have embraced change, are home to both new and old, welcome the big and small. It is why Milan is a deciding voice and a presentation centre of good collaboration.

In that way, if you look around, Milan is full of “Xs”. I am not talking about former boyfriends from my time abroad in Florence, but rather X marking joint ventures, shared goals, boats (or in this case brands) being raised by the same tide.