After meeting and sleeping on uncomfortable beds at the last edition of Salone del Mobile, Vispring and Tom Dixon decided to get into bed, creatively speaking, with each other. 'It was really important for us to work with someone with a British connection and global resonance to mark this 125th anniversary,' Clare Schifano, global marketing director at Vispring, explains.
'My narrative now is that I couldn't find a hotel room, so I had to build my own hotel,' says self-taught British designer Tom Dixon, reflecting on the inspiration behind the Fuorisalone activation at the Mua Mua Hotel. 'I think it actually resonates with anybody going to Milan because it's become the big nightmare – hotels become a conversation six months before Milan every year.'
Vispring was founded in 1901 and counts royalty among its clients. It famously created a split-tension mattress for Princess Diana and Prince Charles, each side tailored to their individual comfort. The company was especially keen to explore the contemporary twist Tom Dixon could bring to its heritage-brand aesthetic, the feeling was mutual. 'I have always wanted to do more with British manufacturers and the bedroom itself has become somewhat overlooked compared to, say, bathrooms and kitchens,’ Dixon says. ‘And bedrooms need to be rethought and reinvented, there hasn't been a space for truly extravagant design since waterbeds in the 1970s.'
‘Bedrooms need to be rethought and reinvented; there hasn't been a space for truly extravagant design since waterbeds in the 1970s’
Tom Dixon
Hotels offer a rich canvas for interior designers, a typology that Dixon's Design Research Studio (DRS) knows well, having completed numerous hospitality projects worldwide. The Mua Mua Hotel is a 12-room property designed by DRS on the Mulino Estate, the latter originally designed in 1929 by Piero Portaluppi Chiodi and Gio Ponti for the Sordelli family. Created for Milan Design Week, but set to remain a permanent hotel, the space hosts new pieces including four headboards and a bed inspired by Dixon's designs, plus bespoke showpieces made exclusively for Milan that will be distributed to Vispring showrooms once the event closes.
The ‘Fat’ chair design becomes a complete bed offering, while the ‘Groove’ headboard is inspired by Tom Dixon's furniture and lighting featuring ridges. 'The use of ridges and grooves results in very good cushioning,' Dixon explains. ‘Rainbow’, ‘Heart’ and ‘Wingback’ headboards are also on view at the hotel, with the collection giving a nod to Vispring's art deco golden years.
'I have always wanted to do more with British manufacturers and the bedroom itself has become somewhat overlooked compared to, say, bathrooms and kitchens’
Tom Dixon
Completing the collaboration's debut are three concept pieces created exclusively for Milan Design Week: the ‘Flare’, the ‘Arch’, and ‘Bunny’. Adding a playful nod to Vispring's royal craft credentials, the brand will also present its own interpretation of ‘The Princess and the Pea’ with a Vispring mattress layered with a series of toppers, that showcase its range of fabrics and materials, both current and archival. This activation is more than a Milan moment, the designs check out and Mua Mua Hotel will soon be welcoming guests to stay.
Public space at Mua Mua Hotel
Public space at Mua Mua Hotel
Tom Dixon and Vispring at The Mua Mua Hotel, Via Aosta 2, Milano 2155, 21-26 April 2026, 10am – 7pm