Every year during Milan Design Week, Hermès takes over the spaces of Via Palermo’s La Pelota to stage what has become known as the best design spectacle of the week. For 2022, the colourful set is inspired by brutalist water towers, whose forms were replicated with voluminous wooden structures covered in translucent coloured paper. The four structures by Hervé Sauvage and Charlotte Macaux Perelman glow in the cavernous space, their jewel hues concealing the maison’s latest furniture and accessories.
Lightness is the theme of this year’s presentation, with special attention to home textiles in bright cashmere (one of the materials favoured by the house), whose application is explored via a series of techniques.
Plaids are made of strips of cashmere combined in a patchwork motif by American artist Carson Converse, or panels joined through a technique borrowed from couture (relinking), replicating the geometries of Gianpaolo Pagni’s work. The finest woven cashmere is also used as a canvas for fine stitching, creating more expressive geometries for new tactile pieces.
The theme continues in the furniture and accessories, such as porcelain tableware referencing the colours of the sun, or discreetly folded leather becoming a series of centrepieces, their geometric patterns elegantly applied freehand with a brush.
The sophisticated furniture offering includes the ‘Oria’ chair by Spanish architect Rafael Moneo, a balanced composition of curved oak with canework and leather details, while Álvaro Siza’s Japanese-inspired stool merges a delicate cane structure with a leather seat.
Lightness is perhaps best exemplified by Tomas Alonso’s series of lights. Parachute fabric folded and held in place by a simple bamboo structure forms the shade for these lamps, whose light source is held by a circular steel piece and reflected on the painted textile and a carefully conceived light switch, a bold piece in blue and teal that’s not to be kept hidden from view.
INFORMATION
ADDRESS
Via Palermo, 10
20121 Milano
-
This clever café-cum-playroom in Poznań makes space for everyoneDesigned by Poland’s Cudo Studio, Sunday proposes a warm, dynamic take on the family café
-
Irys is an app designed by photographers for photographers. We take it for a test runIrys celebrates the art and quality of photography, along with the joy of discovery. We discuss the nature of online creativity and the artlessness of social media with founder Alan Schaller
-
Pantone chose white as colour of the year: resistance to plurality, or quiet emblem of hope?The Pantone Colour of the Year 2026 – Cloud Dancer white – was met with both intrigue and horror from the design community. We speak to four design professionals who weigh in on this year's candid hue
-
‘Locally anchored and globally conversant’: Salone del Mobile debuts in Saudi ArabiaSalone del Mobile lands in Riyadh (26-28 November 2025), bringing its creative and manufacturing know-how to one of the world’s fastest-growing markets and setting the stage for Italo-Saudi design relations
-
Alcova 2026 locations include a Rationalist gem and an abandoned churchAlcova returns for an 11th edition in 2026 (20-26 April), once again opening up two exclusive Milanese locations, the Baggio Military Hospital and Franco Albini's Villa Pestarini
-
Salone del Mobile 2026 will embrace collectible design with Salone RaritasSalone del Mobile has Salone Raritas, a new exhibition space at the fair (21-26 April 2026), curated by Annalisa Rosso and designed by Formafantasma
-
O Milano! Design's epic annual spectacle in photosCall us biased, but we believe that Milan Design Week is, at this moment in time, the greatest show on earth
-
For its 24th edition, Triennale Milano's International Exhibition examines the theme of ‘Inequality’The design institution shines a light on events such as the Grenfell disaster, climate crises and the Israel-Hamas war through architecture, art, products, technology and data
-
‘Romantic brutalism’ rethinks Polish craftAn exhibition in Warsaw gives local makers their due, looking inside the burgeoning world of Polish design
-
Eight designers to know from Rossana Orlandi Gallery’s Milan Design Week 2025 exhibitionWallpaper’s highlights from the mega-exhibition at Rossana Orlandi Gallery include some of the most compelling names in design today
-
Bentley’s new home collections bring the ‘potency’ of its cars to Milan Design WeekNew furniture, accessories and picnic pieces from Bentley Home take cues from the bold lines and smooth curves of Bentley Motors
