The Milanese influencer and creative director is ready to judge the submissions to the award’s sixth edition

Paolo Stella makes his debut among the judges of the 2021 edition of the Archiproducts Design Awards promoted by Archiproducts to celebrate excellence in international design. But don’t call him (only) an influencer!

Blogger, creative director, owner of a digital communications company, writer and actor, Paolo Stella is undoubtedly a multifaceted artist who eludes definitions and labels. He doggedly pursues new stimuli and experiences ranging from art and architecture to fashion and lifestyle.

Always passionate about design, last year, Paolo Stella imagined and executed a new way of communicating design together with his multidisciplinary team. In sync with a historical moment in which the home has once again become the centre of our daily lives, the Suonare Stella project – in his Milan flat designed by Palomba Serafini –  transformed the theme of furnishings into a hot topic even for non-experts.

‘The Suonare Stella project was born in March 2020, during the first lockdown. I saw how the home was taking on a completely different intrinsic value than previously. Homes were becoming new theatres and exhibition spaces, so I thought my house could become a showroom and a virtual art gallery.’

Much more than an interior design project, the Suonare Stella format is a stage that changes appearance every six months. From his home/showroom, Paolo Stella narrates objects, artworks and famous Italian design icons. Guests animate the home through an innovative formula consisting of stories on Instagram, masterclasses and shopping experiences. He is assisted by his team, made up of Francesca Noseda, responsible for press and communications, and Laura Angius, an e-commerce expert.

We asked Paolo Stella, a member of the 2021 Archiproducts Design Awards jury, a few questions to discover his personal point of view on the state of innovation in the world of design and his expectations for this year’s candidates.

From the left: Laura Angius, Paolo Stella and Francesca Noseda, inside the Milanese flat ‘Suonare Stella’. Photo © Valentina Sommariva.

How do you think the pandemic has affected design?

Design is experiencing a golden moment, even if many people don’t realise it. It is a difficult period of transformation, of lack of certainty, but also of infinite possibility. There has never been such a precise and careful focus on the topics of home, design and architecture. It is not only a commercial question but rather it is about giving people the chance to live in a world that protects them, supports them, gives them the beauty they need to live better lives. Will beauty save the world? I think so.

In the post-pandemic era, how can design define a ‘new normal’?

The ‘new normal’ has become the most intimate space we have: the home. We are not accustomed to living within the house’s four walls so continually for such a long time. Today the home is everything: our stage, our restaurant, our cinema, our office, our social space, our safe place.

What do you expect from the nominations for the 2021 Archiproducts Design Awards, and what features should the winning products have?

I have always been passionate about light.  I love how light changes the perception of space, how it modifies the environment on an emotional level. I would like to see a lighting system that can follow my emotions and transform a room into what I need at that specific moment.

What role do you think a Design Award should play today?

I think the role of a design award is to make the development of an idea democratic and meritocratic—no more hiding behind a brand’s prestige. Innovative designers should grow professionally. I hope that this award will bring the right idea of design – a conception that contemplates the need for the sustainable impact of everything that will ever be designed –  to as many people as possible.

How should contemporary design evolve to meet the needs of the community?

Just listen to people. Eliminate the egocentric imprint that has characterised this world for so long.