Design brand Fornasetti is a juxtaposition. Founded by Piero Fornasetti in 1940 and now under the artistic direction of his son Barnaba, it marries heritage with a contemporary flair in its collections of furniture, accessories and objets – uniting the old with the new. This ethos is translated into the brand’s newly renovated Milan flagship store, which was unveiled during Milan Design Week 2026.
Step inside the new Fornasetti store
The atelier called upon Felizia Berchtold and Oskar Kohnen of design studio Tutto Bene (also behind the new fashion and private shopping spaces at Globus Basel) to help reimagine the new store interior. Piero Fornasetti grew in popularity from his early printing works and collaboration with architect Gio Ponti, later establishing a surrealist style in furniture. The store’s interior design codes nod to this trajectory, with a sprinkling of modern touches, coupled with historic prints and graphics.
Tutto Bene used contradiction as the foundation of the transformation. The spatial narrative unfolds with classical and modern touches, ornamental and radical. The design studio also wanted to bring craftsmanship and individuality to the forefront, highlighting the importance of tactility within an increasingly digital landscape.
‘As designers, we see our role as both custodians and interpreters: honouring the density and authorship of the archive while ensuring it remains alive, curious, and experimental’
Oskar Kohnen of Tutto Bene
From its entrance on Via Senato, the store opens up into what the designers describe as a ‘sequence of environments’ where the Fornasetti collections are presented as part of an evolving world.
During Milan Design Week, the space debuted Fornasetti Fiori by Fjura, a 12-week residency by visual artist and Fjura founder Simone Gooch. The store takes on the role of a flower shop, personally run by the artist, selling Fornasetti-inspired floral arrangements.
The first floor, titled ‘The Living Archive’, is rooted in Fornasetti design codes, showcasing ceramics, trays, and decorative pieces, displayed in an archival style. The second floor is conceived as four distinct domestic living spaces, each dedicated to a theme – architecture, metaphysics, identity and astronomy – and showcasing Fornasetti designs.
‘As designers, we see our role as both custodians and interpreters: honouring the density and authorship of the archive while ensuring it remains alive, curious, and experimental,' says Kohnen. 'In many ways, the collaboration mirrors Milan itself – a city where rigour and decoration coexist, precise yet imaginative, disciplined yet full of feeling.’
Fornasetti
Via Senato, 2, 20121 Milano MI, Italy
