The unmissable lack of diversity at Milan design week pointed to a wider issue within the industry, writes Amy Frearson.

The lack of diversity in the design industry is no secret, but the scale of the problem came fully into focus during this year's Milan design week. In the several hundred exhibitions dotted around the city, you could find designers across a wide range of ages, races and genders. Yet if you looked solely in the showrooms of major furniture manufacturers, that spectrum narrowed significantly.
As the days went by, I lost count of the number of brands launching new products by primarily or, in many cases, entirely male designers. There were so few Black designers that I could count all the ones I saw on one hand. And, perhaps most surprisingly, young designers were also in short supply; it was rare to find anyone under the age of 40. The lasting impression was of an industry not just closed to minority voices, but to any new voices full stop. When it came to female designers, it was always the same names
To a casual visitor, it may not have looked that bad. The gender issue was significantly improved by the presence of two women whose names need little introduction. Milan-based Patricia Urquiola launched so many new designs that her studio released a map to help people locate them all, while the various offerings from London-based Faye Toogood included an exhibition that was boldly feminist, featuring rugs that celebrate sex and the human body from a woman's...