Design Wunderkammern. The contemporary practice of collecting design

The practice of collecting design can be considered as a new phenomenon. For the last two decades the demand for historical rare objects and for contemporary pieces that transcend the boundaries between design and art has steadily increased. People have been showing a new attitude towards design objects and as a consequence the design market and the industrial manufacturing system have been changing their patterns. Galleries have begun presenting design objects as if they were artworks. Auction houses started holding sales dedicated to historical and contemporary works by designers and architects. Fairs devoted to limited-edition design has seen a significant increase in sales and attendance and a noticeable number of industrial designers has shifted to craftsmanship because unique pieces are highly requested by the market. Along with a growing attention by collectors toward the realm of collectible design, what is happening today is a progressive overlapping of roles and responsibilities in the research and experimentation within the design field. The key players of both the primary and the secondary market are shifting from being only involved in the sale and exhibition of collectible design to becoming meaningful actors able to encourage appreciation and understanding of design culture. Through curated exhibitions, sales and online platforms they influence the development of the market and they address critical issues related to historical and contemporary design. Although an academic interest in the market of collectible design is still in its infancy, mostly because it is seen as a commercial phenomenon not worthy of being investigated from a theoretical perspective, this research study relies upon the main hypothesis that the cultural implications connected to the distribution and production of non-industrial design could truthfully enrich and develop the multifaceted culture of design. The present study focuses on the assessment of the role of limited-edition design beyond its commercial value and on the delineation of the design market’s infrastructure, with particular attention to the Italian design scenario and to its perception by collectors. Adopting a multiple case studies methodology and a direct observation viewpoint, this research study intends to gain greater understanding of market players’ curatorial and marketing strategies and to define the extended boundaries of the discipline outside the industrial’s processes. The main aim is thus to underline how the market for collectible design distinguishes itself from the art market, of which he inherited timing and mechanisms, and how the market players helped to shape the theoretical framework behind the expanding practice of collecting design. The final output of the dissertation is a meta-project tool aimed at providing museums and cultural institutions with a new platform to identify and share historical and contemporary design pieces transiting the market. The developed interconnected scenario could indeed increase and nurture the non-industrial design heritage and could also facilitate procedures, discourses and relationships between the collectors and the stakeholders of the contemporary design scene.