ABSTRACT
The Triennali di Milano were by far the most prestigious international exhibitions in the design world in the 1950s.1 This was the place to see and be seen for those seeking international acclaim. These exhibitions were also instrumental in shaping the international reputation of ‘Scandinavian Design’, and their pan-Scandinavian focus provided a golden opportunity for Norway to piggyback her neighbours en route to international fame. However, the image of Scandinavian Design culture mediated by and through these events was a carefully crafted one, effectively playing to the crowd of international design cognoscenti. These exhibitions were, in short, instrumental in creating the stubborn stereotypes of Scandinavian Design, which have informed and restricted the portrayal of Scandinavian Design both in popular media and in design history. As such, they are prime examples of strategies in constructing and furthering what Stuart Burch has dubbed ‘banal Nordism: a series of common - place suppositions and, by extension, disassociations’ about Scandinavian Design and culture.2
