Milan 2016: the old model of working for royalties is "completely dead" according to Stefano Giovannoni, the latest designer to turn entrepreneur and launch his own brand.
"Today we are at the end of one period and the beginning of a new one," the Italian designer told Dezeen. "With the internet we are in a period where designers can launch their own brands."
Swedish studio Front have also designed products for Giovannoni's first Qeeboo collection
Giovannoni's new brand, Qeeboo, will manufacture products by a stable of designers including Richard Hutten and Nika Zupanc, which will be sold on the internet.
"I was really frustrated over the last few years working with companies," Giovannoni said. "We've arrived at a ridiculous situation where all the designers work for the same companies, so the companies are similar one to another. We need to bypass this situation." The internet allows designers to get affordable products to market without having to rely on anyone else, he said.
Designer Sebastian Wrong also launched his own lighting brand Wrong London during Milan design week 2016
"The concept of Qeeboo is to create a completely different brand from all the traditional design companies," he explained, saying the brand has outsourced its warehousing and distribution to keep costs down.
"Our company is a very light company with a minimal structure. We want to arrive in people's hearts with a very iconic and em...