As Salone Raritas prepares to make its debut, we reflect on the momentous rise of the collectible design fair

Amid the din of design news that clamours for our attention each April, the arrival of a new member of the Salone del Mobile family dedicated to collectible design deserves pause for thought.

This year, pavilions 9-11 at the Fiera Milano fairground have been given over to Salone Raritas, which will play host to 25 international exhibitors in a lantern-like space designed by Formafantasma. One might skim over this news as just another cultural activation by the Salone juggernaut, but there is much to be said about what Salone Raritas represents in a microcosmic sense about our industry as a whole.

Industrial design fairs are in decline: IMM Cologne cancelled its 2025 edition, while the Stockholm Furniture Fair will return as a biennial event from 2027. Conversely, events for collectible design have great momentum behind them, not just in number but in economic potential and ‘engagement and reach'.

They are fun, cultured places to be. Hitch your wagon to Collectible in New York, Fog in San Francisco, Unique Design X in Mexico City or the travelling Nomad, and you will find storied environments, where curated furniture sits comfortably with contextual resonance and you will be surrounded by well-dressed people enjoying themselves. And if you're not able to join this jolly circuit in person, fear not: you can follow along on Instagram, because these design pitstops are catnip for celebrities and influencers alike.

Is collectible design the most successful realm of design today? Does the arrival of Salone Raritas at the world's greatest design fair suggest that the industrial complex, and its broader promises of progress, are waning, in favour of a design market that behaves more like the art one? The whole notion of ‘rare' design sits in opposition to the post-war premise of industrial manufacture enabling better things for more people. Value was a consequence of efficiency, function and form; scarcity was never the goal.

Salone del Mobile's president Maria Porro is characteristically frank and buoyant when discussing the integration of limited-edition design into the fair. ‘We are living in a post-disciplinary creative culture,' she says. She breezily mentions Carlo Mollino and Andrea Branzi as maestri who enjoyed playing with the balance of industrial and collectible design, ‘like acrobats balancing on a tightrope'.

She goes back further to William Morris, founder of the Arts and Crafts movement, who, she notes ‘produced both patterns and unique pieces for interior environments. Industrial and one-off designs have been part of the interior design toolkit for well over a century. Salone Raritas is a response to understanding what our audience wants. It's time to give space to collectible objects, showing antiques and craft alongside contemporary industrial design. For us, it's a way to underline the role of research and experimentation and craftsmanship at the base of industrial production.'

Porro suggests that Salone's audience of interior designers, architects and developers are looking for a layer of collectible design to add to their projects as a special sauce. For Porro, the market is expanding as traditionally siloed fields become ever more porous; one sector is not growing at the expense of another.

Salone Raritas is curated by Annalisa Rosso, an anthropologist by training with an interesting insight into our shifting demands for design. ‘It's not only about money, rarity and exclusivity; it's about identity,' she says. ‘After years of being able to travel anywhere and stay in a hotel that has the same furniture, whether you are in New York or New Delhi, means that today we want things to reflect people and place. We express our individuality through design; it has the power to reflect who we are and where we come from.'

Specificity is certainly a buzzword in design these days. You might also call it craft and, as Rosso suggests, this realm responds to our greater desire for meaning in interiors as in life. If we want emotional connection with our design, then the workshop is an easier wellspring than the factory.

Nina Yashar, of Nilufar, is one of the 25 inaugural exhibitors at Salone Raritas. Her presence is a mighty vote of confidence in the new venture, given that Yashar has two sought-after venues of her own in Milan. She does not need the floorspace at the fairground for visibility. ‘Salone Raritas is a wonderful opportunity because it allows us to place our approach to collectible design within a larger, institutional context,' says Yashar. ‘Via della Spiga and Nilufar Depot are our own intimate ecosystems, where we can experiment freely. Raritas doesn't replace these spaces – it amplifies them, giving us a wider stage.

‘Both the fairs we participate in and the market for collectible design have evolved enormously since 2016,' Yashar continues. ‘The audience has become younger and more diverse. Fair programmes now include talks, special visits, and openings of historic houses; food and beverage experiences have also become central. The challenge remains to preserve authenticity and a deep connection to artistic expression while offering these richer, more immersive experiences.'

Dan Thawley is artistic director of the wildly successful upstart Matter and Shape in Paris, where collectible and industrial design sit comfortably side by side. What is his take on whether the furniture fair of old is a thing of the past? ‘I am convinced that it is the format and the context that is the problem, not the quality of industrially produced design, nor that there is a perpetual hunger for niche collectible design,' says Thawley. ‘Formats need to adapt to the new reality of their audience and consider the atmosphere and service that go with it.'

In the case of Salone Raritas, there is only so much immersion that is possible in the hangar-like halls of the Rho-Pero fairground, even with Formafantasma's magic wands. With a strong commitment from the Salone team that Raritas is here to stay, it will be interesting to see whether future iterations depart the fairground in favour of a more culturally immersive home. One thing's for sure, though: collectible design is no longer just for collectors, it is now a mainstream venture.

Salone Del Mobile 2026 returns from 21-26 April, Fiera Milano, 20017 Rho

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