At Wallpaper*, there is a decided buzz leading up to Salone del Mobile and Milan Design Week.
We discuss it all year long, we plan our routes weeks in advance, we spend our days talking to our Milanese and international friends about their plans, their projects, and their installations.
To make things easier, we have created this map of some of the exhibitions we are most excited about visiting, ranging from celebrations of design history giants to creative installations by new-guard pioneers. If you want to find out more of our must-see moments, pick up a copy of the Wallpaper* May issue, and follow us on Wallpaper.com, where our team will be sharing their findings in a live blog throughout the week.
And our love for this city is such that we have dedicated one of our inaugural Travel Guides to Milan. Find us via the star on the map, and make sure you come and say hello.
The Wallpaper* Kiosk. Via Rivoli, corner Via Tivoli
Wallpaper* Kiosk
Wallpaper* takes over a traditional Milanese kiosk to mark the return of our Travel Guides, the essential companion for today’s design lover.
Drop by to pick up a copy of one of our new series covering Milan, Paris, New York City and London, and to check out our DWA-designed kiosk alongside new furniture by NM3.
Via Rivoli, corner Via Tivoli
Nilufar Grand Hotel
Gallerist Nina Yashar’s Nilufar Depot is Milan’s ultimate treasure trove of modern and contemporary furniture. This year, this gigantic dollhouse-like space becomes the set for an immersive grand hotel, with bedrooms by David/Nicolas, Filippo Carandini, Bethan Laura Wood and Allegra Hicks.
Viale Vincenzo Lancetti 34
Salone del Mobile
This year, Salone embraces the world of collectible design with the launch of Salone Raritas. Taking place in a space designed by Formafantasma, the exhibition will open the fair up to unique pieces, limited editions and ‘outsider’ objects. Salone also debuts a new programme, led by OMA, dedicated to contract furniture.
Fiera Milano Rho
Triennale Milano
The city’s leading cultural design institution presents a line-up of creative excellence, including a solo exhibition of Barber Osgerby’s work, celebrations of Danish design by Fredericia and Kvadrat, Kettal’s Eames Pavilion System, and an overview of the work of Lella and Massimo Vignelli.
Viale Emilio Alemagna 6
Alcova
Design platform Alcova is showing at two locations: a former military hospital and a rationalist gem designed by Franco Albini. Projects include an initiative honouring the legacy of architect Luisa Castiglioni (at Pestarini) and works by leading European architecture and design schools (at Baggio).
Villa Pestarini / Baggio Military Hospital
Dropcity
Located in the arches of Milan’s Central Station, the Andrea Caputo-designed centre for design and architecture research comes to life during Milan Design Week when more than ten studios, showcasing ceramics, textiles, woodworking, model making, 3D production and more, will be open to the public.
Via Giovanni Battista Sammartini 60
Hermès
Don’t leave Milan without popping into Hermès: the French maison’s takeover of La Pelota, a venue in the heart of the Brera design district, regularly enchants and excites with larger-than-life installations whose inspirational concepts merge culture and history with pieces from its home collections, old and new.
Rosewood
Curated by Wallpaper* contributing editor Deyan Sudjic, ‘Rosewood: Objects that Speak. A Conversation Continued with Andrea Branzi’ is an exhibition honouring the influential Italian designer’s legacy. On display are Branzi’s signature paper lamps, a result of his research into ‘unrepeatable sequences’.
Via Carlo de Cristoforis 1
Veuve Cliquot
Artist Yinka Ilori has collaborated with Veuve Clicquot on a limited- edition collection, ‘Chasing the Sun’, on show at Mediateca Santa Teresa. It includes a reinterpretation of the Clicquot arrow, as well as a Champagne bucket and a series of portable drinking vessels that are more akin to sunlit sculptures.
Via della Moscova 28
Fiat
Join the car brand that continues to redefine urban mobility for a look back and a leap forward. This exhibition traces how Fiat has evolved design-wise while still remaining faithful to its roots. Also on show are a series of new visions for the future, shared by leading Italian design schools.
Via Vincenzo Forcella 6
Sima Glazed Bar
Our Milan Travel Guide Insider Massimiliano Locatelli is the creative behind this takeover of the Sima Townhouse, which is housed in a building dating back to 1590.
Featuring hand-painted ceramic tiles made in Vietnam using traditional techniques, the project includes mosaics of bottles and cocktails.
Corso di Porta Vigentina 12
Polish Modernism
The 16th floor of the landmark Torre Velasca hosts this multilayered exhibition presented by the Visteria Foundation. ‘Polish Modernism: A Struggle for Beauty’ explores the country’s post-war legacy through a mix of historical and contemporary works to highlight the role of beauty as cultural resistance.
Torre Velasca, Piazza Velasca 3-5
Marni
One of Milan’s most fashionable pasticceria, Cucchi provides a striking setting for Marni’s unique celebration of the city’s rich design culture. More than a pop-up, the project was designed with interior design studio Red Duo to create a multisensory experience lasting more than three months.
Cucchi, Corso Genova 1
Lina Ghotmeh
Architect Lina Ghotmeh takes over the courtyard of Palazzo Litta, with ‘Metamorphosis in Motion’, a bold-hued labyrinthine installation based on her ‘archaeology of the future’ philosophy and inspired by the history of the location and the courtyard’s role as a public space of reception and representation.
Palazzo Litta, Corso Magenta 24
Miu Miu
The fourth edition of Miu Miu’s literary club, ‘Politics of Desire’, explores themes of sexuality, desire and consent through the work of Nobel Prize-winning French author Annie Ernaux and Ghanaian writer, politician and academic Ama Ata Aidoo, alongside a programme of lectures and performances.
Circolo Filologico Milanese, Via Clerici 10
When Apricots Blossom
Architect Kulapat Yantrasast curates this immersive show commissioned by the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation. Inspired by the country’s intricate bread stamps, flora and suzani tapestries are contemporary interpretations by the likes of Nifemi Marcus-Bello, Marcin Rusak and Raw-Edges.
Palazzo Citterio, Via Brera 12