Milan Fair Posters

They reflect not only the evolution of advertising, manifested in forms and colours tied to developments in painting, poster art, advertising design, and graphic design, but also developments in the economic, political, and social history of Italy and the city of Milan, which has been home to the fairgrounds since the very first Milan Fair opened on April 12th, 1920.

The fair itself emerged and grew around Milan’s urban and economic model, shaped by industry, business, and the services sector.

Its expansion was driven by continuous progress and in turn it came to serve the nation’s entire industry system in a recognisably Italian way, bringing with it technological innovation and creativity, fresh input for architectural and industrial design, infrastructure and an ever more advanced tertiary sector, new cultural dimensions and social dynamics, and new prospects for trade.

In 1929, the Fair Board engaged for the design of its official poster Piero Todeschini, a Lombard painter from a family of artists, specialised in the production of advertising posters.

A maker society that has always been distinctively “Italian” in its way—unique in the diversity of its manufacturing know-how, but also in the regularity with which it delivers its unmistakeable Made in Italy style.

The Italian dream is seen vividly in these posters, which convey all the bright hope of individual and national betterment. And they remind us of the arduous task facing institutions today of rebuilding that confidence we once had in the world of work and in our creative drive, something young people today still have, but are unable to channel.

In reality, for the people crowding the fairgrounds in those times, the main form of transport was the train. Signalling their arrival in Milan was the new Central Station designed by Ulisse Stacchini.

...in the common pursuit of culture and as a celebration of the foundation’s historical continuity with the old Fair Board—the Ente Autonomo Fiera Internazionale di Milano, whose growth over the years accompanied and anticipated the changes and transformations of the city of Milan and Italy as a whole. In the hope that the story of Fiera Milano today, will continue to consolidate its importance for society.