Supper Scene: design boutique Spazio Pontaccio’s pop-up dining event becomes an in-store installation

With so many events and exhibitions, cocktails and dinners competing for attention in Milan this week, determining the standout invitations can be a task in itself. But when a set of heavy golden cutlery arrives in the post, hanging from a gilded ring like a bunch of keys, it's a safe bet that this will not be your run-of-the-mill Milano mélange or Prosecco parade. And indeed, last night's Supper Scene, a dinner hosted in the windows of design boutique Spazio Pontaccio, was anything but.

On the opening night of Salone, a set of these glittering accoutrements was one of the hottest tickets in town. Offering an extraordinary one-off theatrical dining event in the Brera district, Supper Scene hosted 50 guests drawn from the international design stage with a spread cooked by a Michelin-starred chef, and presented on and around limited-edition tableware, furniture and accessories.

Charging Uruguayan-born chef Matias Perdomo (of Milan's experimental Al Pont de Ferr) with the food, Spazio Pontaccio's idea was to create an extraordinary, bespoke environment in which everything from the rug underfoot to the lighting overhead was considered. 'We believe that the beauty of a chair can influence the beauty of conversation, and that a table's legs can support a line of reasoning,' the gallery outlined in an animated teaser in the lead up to the event.

So can a lamp enlighten ideas? Maybe when it's a cage-like piece by Jason Miller and Philippe Malouin for Roll & Hill, illuminating Bethan Gray's marble humbug striped 'Alice' collection of tableware (originally commissioned for last year's Wallpaper Handmade exhibition), glass stools by Ron Gilad, a maze carpet by Daniele Lora for CC-Tapis and elaborate plates designed by Federico Pepe. And certainly when your guest-list includes the likes of Jasper Conran, Tom Dixon and Patricia Urquiola. The only unanswered question is whether last night's lively and energetic atmosphere was due to the never-ending supply of Veuve Clicquot, or the fact it was served in Lee Broom's stunning new 'On The Rock' glasses.

This was a dinner that proved a meal could indeed be more than the sum of its parts. The menu itself was as curious as it was delightfully presented, with several dishes appearing like bubbles of Murano glass and Perdomo's famous 'Lego and Campari' dessert causing an Instagram sensation. The multi-course affair included the likes of 'blown tendons with caviar and burrata' and 'beef tenderloin with foie gras sashimi'.

And now that the leftovers have been cleared, the table with all its porcelain, crystal and glassware will remain on view in Spazio Pontaccio's windows - and available to buy - for the rest of the month.

ADDRESS

Spazio Pontaccio
Via Pontaccio, 18
20121 Milan

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