The Italian design industry is seeing a generational change when it comes to gender equality, says Maria Porro, the youngest-ever president of Salone del Mobile and the first woman to hold the role.
Porro, born in 1983, was appointed president of Salone del Mobile in July. Prior to Salone, she was president of Assarredo, the Italian trade association for furniture manufacturers, where she was also the first woman in the role.
Porro also works as the marketing and communications director of Italian design brand Porro, which was co-founded by her great-grandfather Giulio, and grew up visiting Salone with her grandfather.
"[Salone del Mobile] is an appointment that I've never missed since I was a child," she told Dezeen.
However, she pursued another creative career when she was growing up, studying set design at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts. "I studied set design, and I've been working in the field of theatre and the events," she said.
Porro comes to Salone in a "moment of transition"
As well as working as a production supervisor for the opening of both the London 2012 and Sochi 2014 Olympic games, Porro has also created costumes and set designs for both Italian and international theatres.
"But at the same time I always kept a strong connection with my family brand and with the architect Pierro Lissoni, who I started to work with," she said. Lissoni works with the Porro family brand as an architect and designer.
"I grew up with wo...