Salone Del Mobile 2025: Paolo Sorrentino, Robert Wilson, Sou Fujimoto and Pierre-Yves Rochon amongst this year's contributors

‘The starting point is the human feeling, and thus the human being who experiences the space,’ said Maria Porro, President of the Salone del Mobile.Milano 2025, as she presented today the 63rd edition of the industry's leading international event (8th-13th April, Fiera Milano). Her view is undoubtedly inspired by the communication campaign ‘Thought for Humans’, which reminds us, she underlined, that every project must respond to human needs in the name of emotional intelligence.

To address these needs, after listing the event's numbers (2,000 exhibitors, 38% of whom from abroad, and 148 brands, including first-timers and returnees), Porro revealed three big names who contributed to the next Salone del Mobile.Milano cultural program: Pierre-Yves Rochon with ‘Villa Héritage’, Paolo Sorrentino with ‘La dolce expectation,’ both on the fairground, and Robert Wilson with ‘Mother’ at the Museo Pietà Rondanini - Castello Sforzesco.

Rochon, the architect and designer who revamped the Danieli in Venice and the Dorchester in London, signs his Villa Héritage: ‘It is inspired by my Salone experiences. You have so much to see, you want to see everything, and you are so tired,’ Rochon said, announcing what will be an oasis of beauty and a space of relief to rest. With a video, Italian film director Paolo Sorrentino announced the immersive installation La Dolce Attesa, which, he explained, aims to approach the non-places through which we all pass, such as hospital waiting rooms or airport boarding areas: ‘My concept is to dismantle the stylistic features of classic waiting and to create a place where waiting is deceived.’

‘Light makes spaces appear,’ Wilson explained. His eagerly anticipated Mother, a conversation with Michelangelo's Pietà Rondanini at the Sforzesco Castle, is the ideal way to remind everyone that this will be the year of Euroluce. We all recall the great innovations of the previous edition, including a new layout by Lombardini22 and the 'darkened' pavilions. This year sees a new evolution, with the first edition of The Euroluce International Lighting Forum, directed by Annalisa Rosso with the collaboration of APIL: the focus of the two-day event, literally, will be to stimulate the exchange of ideas and promote innovation in the lighting world through masterclasses, round tables, and workshops, hosted in The Forest of Space Arena designed by Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto.

The cultural program remains dense and rich: for the third year running, the Formafantasma Arena will host ‘Drafting Futures. Conversations about Next Perspectives’, featuring, among others, thinkers and architects such as Lesley Lokko, founder of the Africa Futures Institute and curator of the 18th International Architecture Exhibition of Biennale di Venezia, and Valeria Segovia, Director and Design Director of Gensler in London, with filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino concluding the lecture series.

Finally, SaloneSatellite, which brings together young talents under 35, will have 700 designers (‘And we still receive requests, despite the applications being closed,’ explains with pride SaloneSatellite's creator and soul, Marva Griffin) from 36 countries and 20 international design schools and universities. All united by the theme of ‘New Craftsmanship: A New World’: Griffin describes it as an invitation to reimagine the world of handmade products beyond the vernacular. A highly stimulating reflection - or, more specifically, some thoughts for us humans.