Rossana Olrandi

Good afternoon. How’s everything going?

Yes, we are fine, we won’t be able to join the next Milan Design Week due to Covid-19, but we hope to present our new works in Milan next year.

Yes, we are looking forward to it. We are now planning to use digital solutions to allow designers to participate in projects without having to be in Milan.

Great! Now let’s start the interview. You used to work in the fashion industry, but about 20 years ago you made a big career change and started Rossana Orlandi Gallery. How did you start the gallery and what is the concept behind it?

I have been working in fashion for many years. It was a very passionate and exciting thing, and I also worked with Japanese company for eight years. That was a wonderful experience. So I love Japan. However, I was tired of the rapidly changing trends in the fashion industry and I didn’t find it interesting anymore. That’s when I happened to come across this very wonderful place and decided to start a gallery. I have always been fascinated by design and was a design collector. Selecting pieces to show in the gallery is always an emotional experience, and I try to create a dialogue between the pieces. That is my style.

Rossana Orlandi Gallery is famous in Japan as a gallery that deals with what is called “collectible design” and “contemporary design”. What does design mean to you?

I think that design is very open and creates positive emotions. It is simple, but what I value is that it is based on emotions and inspiration.

When you think about it, you could say that the gallery is “you”.

Yes, the gallery is my pleasure. Being with my work all the time is the most important thing for me.

In Japan, the collectible design scene is not that active, and places like your gallery are hard to find. How do you feel about Japanese design?

I like Japanese design, including your work. I think it is very sophisticated and culturally mature. Unfortunately, I have not worked with many Japanese designers.

What is the role of design in society?

In this day and age, designers have to think about how to use materials in a sustainable way, and I think they have a responsibility to confront many social issues. It’s not enough to just make beautiful things, I feel that the necessity and validity of making things is becoming more important. It is a very positive trend that there is a demand for designs that are beautiful, entertaining, and full of future possibilities. With this in mind, the gallery will make two presentations at this year’s Milan Design Week. One is Collectible Design, which showcases the best of the best, and the other is the Guiltlessplastic®︎ project that I started with my daughter, which aims to solve the plastic problem. It will be a very large presentation on the importance and value of used plastic and waste, and many people will enjoy the adventure of used plastic made possible by technology and innovation.

In your introduction to the Guiltlessplastic®︎ project, you say that plastic itself is not guilty, but the problem is misuse and abuse of it. Can you tell us the details of the project?

Plastic itself is not guilty. Plastic is a fabulous material and we cannot live without it. So a few years ago, I started the Ro Plastic Prize to show the value, beauty, and reusability of recycled plastic. I wanted to engage people who cannot change their mentality and encourage them to take action. In the early days of the prize, there were only a few designers who used recycled materials, but now there are many wonderful and valuable creations that can help solve problems. People should be more aware of the importance and value of works made from recycled plastics. But the most important thing is to protect the environment by encouraging people not to throw away any more plastic.

The launch of the prize has changed the way people think, hasn’t it?

Absolutely yes. I think the situation has changed a lot, because more and more people understand the problem, and there are wonderful works of art made from recycled plastic. When I started this project four years ago, some people said, “Her theory is wrong!” But now, what was not possible then is technically possible.

I always feel the power of design and art through your projects, and it is really wonderful that people are being changed through the Ro Plastic Prize. By the way, environmental issues are a big theme that people all over the world are facing, but the pandemic of the Covid-19 is also a big problem. In a previous interview, you said that your gallery is a meeting place for all kinds of people, and that you welcome talented people to join you. Is the role of the gallery changing now because of the difficulty of meeting?

The pandemic has changed everything dramatically, but this is the dawn of a new era. Everyone is trying to find a different way than we used to before, but the new way of communicating with technology tends to leave out the emotions, so we are trying to find a better way of it. It is always exciting to work on something new. It is true that we don’t get to travel as much, and there are fewer opportunities to get emotional but it also means that we are given precious time to consider and think deeply. Milan never stops!