Borromini, Armani/Casa 2009-2010. Courtesy of Armani/Casa

With less than 24 hours remaining before the Salone del Mobile 2009 officially begins, Milan is already bursting with design-induced excitement, which is palpable on every street corner. As early as 9 a.m. this morning, international journalists and photographers were hopping across town attending press event after press event, all against a backdrop of furniture being delivered and finishing touches being made to shop displays (Kartell’s Barbie pink windows on Via Turati are certainly worth keeping an eye out for.)

The anticipation is matched by the staggering number of events that have been lined up for the week ahead, extending everywhere from Zona Tortona to Porta Romana and the Triennale.

There will be over 2,700 exhibitors and an anticipated 300,000 visitors attending the main venue located at Rho on the outskirts of the city centre, whilst 450 events will liven up the heart of Milan over the next 6 days. This will be a welcomed breath of fresh air amidst the credit crunch gloom, and as anticipated by Franca Golfetto (lecturer of marketing at the Bocconi University), the Salone will bring over 500 million euro into the city.

This is certainly music to many a designer’s ear, for it is no secret that the global recession has affected the design industry across all areas–established brands included. At Giorgio Armani’s Armani/Casa press conference held earlier this morning at Nobu, an impressive 40 million euro was disclosed as the brand’s retail turnover for 2008, yet it could not hide the fact that sales in North America have suffered a strong downturn.

Nevertheless, optimism is brimming from Milan’s every design pore–and rightly so. Considered as the most important design week in the world, the Salone this year promises to be, if anything, better than the last.