Дизайнер Анна Гьяннис адаптирует европейские тренды под климат и образ жизни Австралии

For interior designer Anna Giannis, this year’s visits to Casa Decor Madrid and Milan Design Week offered two very different windows into the direction of contemporary interiors. Both are among Europe’s influential design events, yet their scale and character could hardly be more different. Casa Decor transforms a single historic building into dozens of fully realised interiors, while Milan Design Week spills across an entire city, bringing together major brands, independent designers, art, fashion and technology. For Giannis, the value of experiencing both lies not simply in spotting the next trend, but in seeing how ideas, materials and ways of thinking can be interpreted for a very different Australian context. Two cities, two very different experiences Casa Decor was a first for Giannis this year. The month-long Madrid event takes over a historic building, with designers, architects and artisans creating a series of room-scale installations that explore materials, lighting, spatial solutions, craftsmanship and the relationship between heritage and contemporary design. Milan, by contrast, operates on an altogether different scale. Anchored by Salone del Mobile and accompanied by Fuorisalone events across districts including Brera, Navigli and Tortona, the city becomes a vast platform for product launches, installations and experimentation. “The biggest contrast between Casa Decor Madrid and Milan Design Week is how differently they express design culture,” Giannis said. “One is intimate and immersive, the other is global, spectacular and industry-defining. “At Casa Decor you are stepping inside 40 to 50 fully styled installations, all within a majestic single historic building. Milan Design Week feels like stepping into the global design universe, spread across an entire city, with brands, designers and installations competing for attention at a massive scale.” Natural materials, warmer palettes and a stronger sense of texture Beyond the spectacle of the major European showcases, Giannis identified several shifts she believes are likely to find their way into residential interiors. Homes, she says, are becoming “more tactile, more nature-connected, more expressive in colour and more atmospheric in lighting”. Among the clearest trends were natural materials, texture-rich surfaces, warmer palettes, mixed metals and softer, grazing light. Rough stone, brick, matte timber, leather, bouclé, microcement and limewash were frequently paired with polished concrete, raw metal and glossy lacquer, as well as softer finishes such as velvet and linen. “Texture is becoming a focal point rather than a background element,” she said. Australia is no longer simply following Europe Giannis also sees a broader shift in the relationship between European and Australian design. European fairs have long served as international reference points, with ideas and trends eventually filtering into other markets. Australia, however, is no longer simply waiting to follow. “The short answer: Australia is no longer simply ‘following Europe’,” Giannis said. “We’re absorbing European ideas, yes, but the Australian design conversation has become distinct, climate-driven and increasingly confident. What I saw in Madrid and Milan is influencing us, but not defining us.” The distinction, she says, is also one of context. “Europe is talking about heritage, craft and conceptual experimentation. Australia is talking about climate, lifestyle and nature-integrated living. “We borrow European aesthetics, but our design identity is now shaped more by light, landscape, sustainability and informality than by European tradition.” Bringing the ideas home That difference is central to how Giannis approaches the ideas she encounters overseas. Rather than reproducing a particular room or adopting a European trend wholesale, she sees international travel as a way of sharpening her own perspective. “The influence is real, but it’s not a simple copy and paste,” she said. “What happens when I return from Madrid and Milan is more like a recalibration. I find my design lens widens, instincts sharpen and my sense of possibility expands.” European design, she adds, does not dictate her work. “You bring back ideas, attitudes and refinements, then translate them into something that fits Australian light, climate and lifestyle.” From a greek workshop to the international market Another highlight of Giannis’ Milan visit was interviewing George Papadatos, general manager of Papadatos Home. Founded in 1996 by brothers Georgios and Nasos Papadatos, the company manufactures much of its collection north of Athens and has representatives in more than 40 countries, along with flagship stores in Athens, St Petersburg and Shanghai. For Giannis, the company’s story is compelling not simply because of its international expansion, but because it has grown without losing sight of its origins. “Papadatos has evolved from a small Greek workshop into an international luxury brand by doubling down on craftsmanship, restraint and Mediterranean warmth,” she said. “That tension between heritage and global ambition is what makes the company interesting.” Giannis said the company’s origins in hands-on upholstery and furniture making remain central to its identity. “This is the kind of heritage story clients respond to — authenticity without nostalgia.” She also points to the company’s decision not to build its identity around short-lived trends. “They didn’t chase trends. They built a brand around timelessness, which is rare in a world obsessed with novelty.” For Giannis, Papadatos’ success also speaks to the changing position of contemporary Greek design internationally. “It shows that Greece has moved from being a regional craft culture to becoming a recognised contributor to global luxury design, with its own aesthetic language, its own manufacturing credibility and its own design philosophy,” she said. “Papadatos proves that contemporary Greek design has matured into a globally relevant design identity — one defined by Mediterranean warmth, craftsmanship, restraint and timelessness rather than trend chasing. “Its success shows that Greek design is no longer ’emerging’ — it’s arrived.” For Giannis, that is perhaps the lasting value of returning to Madrid and Milan: not simply discovering what is new, but encountering different materials, ideas and approaches that can be reinterpreted rather than replicated. The journey back to Australia is therefore less about importing a European look than about adapting what resonates to a different place, climate and way of living.