For those who were at Milan Design Week in April, the work of NM3 would have been hard to miss. From their collaboration with Visionnaire at 10 Corso Como and an installation for Armani Archivio to a domestic-meets-retail environment for Swedish textile brand Magniberg and a site-specific listening room for Stone Island in a disused swimming pool, the whole city was peppered with their work. Meanwhile, its Casa NM3 installation, in the north of Milan, offered a clear demonstration of the domestic opportunities of their products, staged within a contemporary home interior.

NM3 and Wallpaper* at Milan Design Week 2026

We have been observing the industrial design studio's work with interest for some time, so we tasked them with creating furniture for the Milan Design Week debut of our new Travel Guides series, which we launched from a city kiosk reimagined by long-term collaborator DWA. The furniture, which included a bench and a magazine/book display with removable shelves, featured the studio's distinctive galvanised steel finish and modular composition.

‘Our goal is to demonstrate that our systems can, and will, do many things, so it's interesting for us to respond to any functional requirement through our language,' says co-founder Nicolò Ornaghi. ‘We want to solve problems through the most basic functionalist approach.'

A contemporary approach to materiality and modularity

Founded in Milan in 2020 by Ornaghi and Francesco Zorzi, who are both architects, and photographer Delfino Sisto Legnani, NM3 works exclusively with a single material, steel, operating with an ethos that is grounded in radical essentialism.

‘Metal fabrication is the most common among family-run businesses in northern Italy, so we opted to explore the full potential of this technology and material,' says Ornaghi. Operating as a design studio, production aggregator (collaborating with a network of local manufacturers) and brand, NM3 comfortably merges the worlds of fashion, art and design.

In their furniture, steel panels intersect to form the structural base for tables; standard modules are arranged into infinitely composable storage units; and perforated metal sheets serve as supports for upholstered modular sofas or beds. Screws or welded corners are visible, and the material is mostly left raw or, at most, polished to reveal its most expressive potential.

The studio in its present incarnation was born out of necessity. Pre-2020, the trio's practice mainly focused on exhibition design (the metal offered an alternative to the wood pallet aesthetic that dominated the field, at a similarly cheap cost) and when that stopped during the pandemic, they needed to come up with a new job. ‘We had to look elsewhere and the home was the most logical place to turn to,' says Ornaghi.

At the core of their output are a series of ‘fundamental' rules. ‘What we produce, and our aesthetic approach, are closely linked to what we can do, not what we want to do,' says Ornaghi. ‘We like to work within the rules defined by manufacturing restrictions, in a contemporary creative context where we look for our role within the rules. Within these limits, we find a lot of freedom.'

Not coincidentally, their aesthetic is rooted in modernism: ‘We are nostalgic for the modern movement,' admits Ornaghi, mentioning some of the trio's creative pillars, which range from Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Egon Eiermann to Richard Neutra and Angelo Mangiarotti (‘his designs were conceived like his architecture'), representing ‘an architecture for people, done intelligently, at reasonable cost and with a modernist aesthetic'.

For them, the visual language is as important (possibly even more important) than the project itself, and they see their work as an evolution of a process rather than individual design experiences. At the core of their practice, there is always a functionality rooted in the most classic industrial design approach, a refreshing point of view that allows (and has so far allowed) for virtually infinite possibilities. ‘We are not here to be inventors, we are here to solve problems,' notes Ornaghi.

The word itself gives something away. To the American ear, a ‘line' is simply a line. The British ‘queue', on the other hand, contains multitudes: the soft consonant, the sighing vowels trailing listlessly behind like people who've already given up. It's a word that expects patience of you before you've even reached the end of the aspiration.

The Hungarian-British satirist George Mikes once observed that an Englishman, even if alone, forms an orderly queue of one. A wry quip, perhaps, but it also suggests that queuing isn't really about waiting at all; it's about enacting a social identity, a public declaration of belonging.

And wasn't it the sociologist Émile Durkheim who insisted that society runs on invisible forces – norms, obligations, collective agreements – as binding as any physical law? What, I ask, is a queue but Durkheim made flesh? Society's invisible hand; a spontaneous, self-policing act of mutual deference that requires no referee, no rulebook, no app. You simply take your place and trust the system.

Of course, not everyone does. In India and China, the queue is a polite fiction, a non sequitur to be circumvented by the quick-footed and the shameless. In Singapore, the opposite pathology prevails: see a queue, join it, find out why later. It is civic trust with a dash of FOMO in its purest form.

Milan Design Week, which draws half a million visitors through the city each spring, has become the world's most theatrical queue, with design houses measuring their success by the length of the snaking line outside.

The queue has a darker face, too. At disaster relief points and refugee camps the world over, it is something altogether grimmer – a rationing mechanism for food, water and medicine; scarcity made visible where lines measure not patience, but desperation.

At the other end of human experience entirely, consider the Titanic, where men in evening dress heroically stood back and let women and children – strangers – board the lifeboats first. The most extreme queue in history was also the most distilled act of civilisation that proved the line holds, even when everything else is literally going under.

For what the queue demands of us (patience, deference, faith that order will eventually deliver us somewhere worth going) is a rehearsal for how to live alongside other people. But the point is, the front of the line will come. It always does.

This article appears in Wallpaper’s July 2026 Design Directory, available from 4 June, in print on newsstands, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today

As the Wallpaper* July 2026 issue – our annual Design Directory (above left) – hits newsstands, subscribers will have in their hands a copy bearing this month’s limited-edition cover (above right). Pictured is furniture created exclusively for us by NM3. Notwithstanding a heavy commitment at this year's Milan Design Week (MDW), which included a collaboration with Visionnaire at 10 Corso Como, a domestic-meets-retail environment for Swedish brand Magniberg, and a site-specific listening room for Stone Island, the studio produced two pieces to help launch our new Travel Guides series, which debuted at a flower kiosk reimagined by longtime collaborator DWA.

Flanking the canary-yellow cabin were a bench and magazine/book display, fashioned using NM3's distinctive galvanised steel finish and modular composition. The approach, according to the studio, was largely birthed of necessity: well versed in exhibition design, it had to pivot during the pandemic. ‘The home was the most logical place to turn to,' they say.

We discovered a similar sense of enterprise and a dedication to problem-solving on our travels around MDW and further afield, and this year's Wallpaper* Design Directory, which features the latest trends in furniture, kitchens, bathrooms, lighting and more, taps into that energy.

As our global design director Rosa Bertoli remarks in her accompanying essay to our portfolio of MDW highlights, design felt ‘at the centre of the conversation regardless of its location, ideas flowing between venues, with collectible design infiltrating the once-rigorously industrial fair, and industrial design being very present in the city'.

Elsewhere in the issue, we follow photojournalist Nipun Prabhakar as he explores the work of Austrian architect Carl Pruscha in Sri Lanka and Nepal; tour Poliform's gracious new Milanese HQ in the former Palazzo Trussardi; celebrate the salvaged-wood sculptures of Loewe Foundation Craft Prize 2026 finalist Hervé Sabin; and talk to visual artist Anne Imhof on the eve of her London show.

And for this month's End Paper, Daven Wu considers the queue, a staple of many aspects of our everyday life that finds its apotheosis at events such as design weeks, where the air of expectancy overrides all other considerations when it comes to getting ‘in line', and patience brings its own rewards. Enjoy the issue.

Bill Prince
Editor-in-Chief

Wallpaper’s July 2026 Design Directory is available from 4 June, in print on newsstands, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today

At Rho Fiera, during Salone del Mobile 2026, French designer Thélonious Goupil and Italian furniture brand Campeggi – a specialist in convertible furniture – took the foldout bed to new extremes. ‘Bienvenue’ is a compact wooden box that unfolds into a ‘guest room’ complete with bed, duvet, pillow and privacy screen.

Closed, the unassuming shell of stained and varnished birch plywood can serve as a stool, a step or a surface. A bean-shaped handle on its side makes it easy to lift; slide one panel away, and what's within is revealed. Out emerges a self-supporting foldable headboard and a Lycra-covered mattress, inflated via an electric pump, that expands into a complete sleeping space – including a partition to offer a sense of enclosure that places this well beyond the territory of the traditional portable bed.

The name, meaning ‘welcome’, signals the intent: ‘Bienvenue’ is imagined as a next-level solution for the overnight guest. Tongue firmly in cheek, it combines hospitality and design ingenuity – an optimistic proposition for an era of shrinking square footage.

The project grew from a conversation between Goupil and Guglielmo Campeggi at the Small Small Space gallery in Milan, where Goupil had exhibited ‘Paysage Industriel’, a series of lamps that also appeared on Campeggi's stand at the fair. Their conversation turned to a shared question: how do we inhabit spaces that keep getting smaller, and can well-designed objects help rekindle the art of welcoming others within them?

Goupil, a graduate of Ensci-Les Ateliers who trained at Ransmeier and Jasper Morrison, has long worked at the intersection of utility and cultural observation – an approach that extends to his co-direction of Collections Typologie, a publishing house devoted to the study of ordinary objects (from boules to the camping tent). Campeggi, meanwhile, has spent decades building a portfolio of transformable furniture. In ‘Bienvenue’, both sensibilities converge: an object that is as functionally impressive as it is culturally resonant.

During Milan Design Week in April 2026, AMO/OMA and Solidnature staged a surreal stone supermarket that replicated the mundane shopping experience with a humorous minimalist take. For one month only, you can order the pieces that stocked the playful installation.

A stone supermarket by OMA/AMO and Solidnature

Titled ‘Il Sonno’, the supermarket was conceived by architect Samir Bantal, AMO's director, and was based on the idea of celebrating the expressive potential of stone, which was the sole material for shelving units as well as groceries, offering an immersive experience within the space.

'Nobody thinks while shopping; it’s a reflex,' says Bantal. 'At Il Sonno Supermarket, this reflex is frozen in stone. Commodities have been transformed into desirable objects, stripped of function. The dream lies in the interval between recognising an object and realising that it has solidified. A supermarket with a fleeting stock, forever frozen in time. The experience of rushing through the supermarket is slowed down to wonder.'

For one month only, until 21 June 2026, you can pre-order 12 of the items from the supermarket shelves, which include onyx bananas, red marble steaks, sandwiches made of travertine with red marble and green onyx, and beautifully veined Flamingo Nebula marble milk bottles. Each piece from the limited edition is unique, as it will feature the chromatic and textural variations of the natural stone.

'Natural stone introduces a different sense of value, rooted in sustainability, durability and authenticity,' says Solidnature owner, David Mahyari. 'Unlike systems built on speed and disposability, it shifts consumption towards awareness, where everyday choices become part of a larger dream – shaping a more conscious and future-oriented world.'

Order now from solidnature.com, prices start at €90

Some weeks after the dust has settled on the whirlwind that is Milan Design Week, we find ourselves reflecting on the objects that lingered most vividly in the memory. Many this year, we realised, came in the form of glass.

Across the city, designers explored the material in ways that reinterpreted glassmaking traditions for a new generation – headliners dedicated to the medium included 6:AM’s standout showcase at Piscina Cozzi and Valentina Ciuffi’s The Romance of Fragility at Delvis (Un)Limited, while the highly decorative works of designers such as Sema Topaloğlu and Christian Pellizzari pushed traditional techniques into more dreamlike territory.

Rather than polished perfection, many embraced irregularity, distortion and visible process – using glass to create objects that felt expressive, spontaneous, and at times, wonderfully unruly.

Here are some of our favourites.

'Over and over and over and over' by 6:AM

Set within the dramatic surrounds of Piscina Cozzi, 6:AM presented its latest collection, including the multicoloured cast-glass stools originally created for Bottega Veneta’s S/S 2026 runway show. As the exhibition’s title suggests, the installation explored repetition as a generative principle, with towering compositions that took full advantage of the piscina’s lofty proportions.

‘2026 Chapter 1’ by Barovier&Toso

Historic Murano glassmaker Barovier&Toso used Milan Design Week to unveil ‘2026 Chapter 1’, marking a new era under artistic director Luca Nichetto. Presented within a softly layered showroom installation by Nichetto, the collection paired Murano craftsmanship with more restrained, architectural forms, signalling a shift towards a contemporary visual language while preserving the brand’s historic identity.

‘Boswellia’ wall lamp by Christian Pellizzari

Christian Pellizzari's spellbinding Murano glass ‘Boswellia’ lamp was a particular highlight at ‘La Casa Magica’, an exhibition curated by Valentina Ciuffi for Nilufar Gallery. Here, an international roster of designers explored the home as a symbolic and ritual space. Inspired by the Boswellia tree, Pellizzari's sculptural piece merges traditional Venetian craftsmanship with contemporary design to create its fantastical form.

'The Romance of Fragility' at Delvis (Un)Limited

At Milanese gallery Delvis (Un)Limited, curator Valentina Ciuffi brought together delicate and precarious glass forms by a stable of international designers that explored vulnerability and impermanence. Cracked textures, fine edges and seemingly unstable compositions repositioned fragility as a strength – both aesthetically and conceptually.

‘Light as Medium’ by Bocci

Bocci transformed glass into an immersive study of light, volume and atmosphere. Presented in the brand’s Milan apartment showroom, the installation was laid out over a series of rooms transformed by mesmerising glass lighting, including folded sheet glass and clusters of suspended globes that explored the idea of illumination as something emotional rather than purely functional.

‘Something Blue’ by Completedworks

Displayed within the multi-level Convey exhibition, these slouchy glassworks formed part of Completedworks’ presentation. Hand-blown using melted-down window and bottle glass, the 'Silo' and 'B517' vases from the studio's 'Fold' series possessed a soft pale-blue hue created naturally through the recycled material. Their flowing, draped forms referenced the way painters have historically used fabric to suggest movement, while offering a more sculptural and conceptual counterpoint to traditional decorative glassmaking.

‘Liquid Parlour’ by Sudden Object

Also spotted at Convey, we loved these stemmed glasses with pebble-like bases cast from epoxy resin by experimental Rotterdam studio Sudden Object. Displayed within a reupholstered 18th-century vitrine sealed behind epoxy doors moulded from carved wood detailing, the warped pieces formed part of 'Liquid Parlour', a collection exploring repair, collage and the beauty of damaged or discarded objects.

‘Disco Aperitivo’ by Sophie Lou Jacobsen

American glassware designer Sophie Lou Jacobsen brought her playful approach to drinkware and entertaining into an apartment installation that included Swarovski crystal-jewelled glasses, bowls, patterned glass plates and a glass ashtray – her personal tribute to Milanese aperitivo culture. Shop the collection.

‘Facetas’ by Berto

Presented at Exhibit C during Milan Design Week, Berto Sánchez’s collection explored geometry, light and material through the 'Tiffany' technique – a 19th-century method of joining glass with copper and tin. The faceted forms shifted with light and perspective, while visible solder lines celebrated the handmade process and the beauty of imperfection.

‘Layers of Light’ by Venini

Venini presented Layers of Light, an immersive installation exploring the relationship between glass, light and architecture. Modular systems including 'Lunettes' by Michele De Lucchi, 'Parete Pop' by Michele De Lucchi and 'Volcano' by Manfredo Vaccari Giglioli transformed glass into a spatial device rather than a decorative object, using layered transparencies, colour and reflection to create atmospheric architectural environments.

'Layers' by OOG Objects

Presented along a windowsill at the Franco Albini-designed Villa Pestarini – one of Alcova's two destinations this year – OOG Objects founder Alicja Hajkowicz-Rudzka unveiled 'Layers' – a series of glass vessels built from overlapping forms that accumulated density at their centres while fading into transparency at the edges.

'Tales in Glass' by Gallotti e Radice

To mark its 70th anniversary, Gallotti e Radice celebrates with ‘Tales in Glass', an exhibition that will culminate in a group show featuring new work by a global cohort of female designers, including the LA- and Uruguay-based Estudio Persona; London's Miminat Shodeinde; Milan's Valentina Cameranesi Sgroi; Belgian-Dutch designer Ivania Carpio; Tokyo's Fumie Shibata; and the Dubai- and Montreal-based Rania Hamed.

The narrative lived within an immersive installation designed by Parisian architect Sophie Dries. ‘The scenography is inspired by crystal, so we're wrapping the walls with fabric and passementerie threaded with raw pieces of reclaimed glass,' says Dries. ‘It will feel quite precious, but, at the same time, the movement is very dramatic.

Sema Topaloğlu at Alcova

At Alcova’s Baggio Military Hospital site, Sema Topaloğlu presented 'The Waiting Room' – an installation centred around psychedelic chandeliers adorned with multicoloured glass flora and fauna that appeared almost extraterrestrial. The Turkish designer also presented 'Firfir in Garden', a series of flower-festooned vessels, alongside 'Tea Time', an arrangement of glass flowers and vessels displayed across the balconies of Villa Pestarini.

Vessels by Szkło

Szkło showcased a series of wobbly glass vessels as part of group show, 'Semiophores. Obiecta Animata', at Alcova. Hand-blown by Polish artist Aleksandra Zawistowska with a team of craftsmen, the vessels' production challenges conventional techniques. Zawistowska explains: 'As no traditional moulds are used in the process, the sculptures assume spontaneous forms, often challenging the notion of beauty. The glassblowing process becomes as important as the final form itself.'

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.

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

Milan Design Week exists on its own timeline. Days start late, exhibitions flow into cocktails, which flow into dinners and parties. You often leave for the day and come back quite close to the following morning, after a dozen or more hours looking at engaging installations, new furniture and objects, and immersed in conversation with people you often only see on this occasion.

For years, the after-dark events have been as important as a day at the fair, for the encounters with other creatives, conversations peppered with laughter, banter and cocktails (so many red drinks - from Aperol spritzes by the pint, to negronis as strong as they get).

And despite a week of late nights, we board our flight still annoyed that we actually have to leave Milan and miss the dinners and lunches that continue well into the weekend.

And for those who went to all the events and still have energy left to party? Well, there is Bar Basso of course, which never fails to gather and serve people well into the night. Cheers to that!

Here we bring you the best of some of our favourite parties from Milan Design Week 2026.

Milan Design Week 2026: the parties

Late Night Dance Party by Volker Haug Studio and The Future Perfect

Honey Dijon was on the decks at the Late Night Dance Party by Volker Haug Studio and The Future Perfect, hosted at Detune in Milano. With Aperol Spritzes by the pint, the party was both a wild dancing gathering and the debut of the studio's first portable lamp launching later in 2026.

Salone del Mobile dinner at Teatro La Scala

Salone del Mobile treated us to a dinner on the Stage at Teatro La Scala. We dined and chatted among sets and lighting equipment, and the atmosphere was magical. In her welcome speech, Salone del Mobile President Maria Porro (who had a theatre background before moving to furniture) invited us to look up, to the rigging loft: ‘it’s a fantastic work of architecture, design, craftsmanship and respect for tradition.'

H&M x Kelly Wearstler

The tiramisu at Kelly Wearstler and H&M Home's cocktail dînatoire matched the collection, featuring the silhouettes of the collection's vases

Knoll and Dozie Kanu at Bar Nico

Knoll and Dozie Kanu (pictured) took over Bar Nico for a night to celebrate the launch of their collaboration, a party which went from aperitivo to late night drinks and dancing with absolute ease

Wallpaper* x Rosewood

Wallpaper* and Rosewood invited guests to relaxed aperitivo illuminated by Andrea Branzi's handcrafted lamps in Japanese rice paper, casting a warm, diffused glow over guests.

Guests (including long-term Wallpaper* friend Ron Arad, pictured above) moved through the installation 'Objects That Speak, a conversation continued with Andrea Branzi'

P:S x Apartamento x Uniqlo

Creative agency P:S, in collaboration with Apartamento and Uniqlo, hosted an intimate dinner party at Michela Pelizzari’s home to celebrate the end of Salone. The informal gathering combined Italian food with Spanish drinks, reflecting the collaboration between P:S (Italy) and Apartamento (Spain).

The central element of the party was the 'closet Karaoke' (a nod to Uniqlo's Japanese origins), set up in Pelizzari’s own closet. Guests, including Matter and Shape artistic director Dan Thawley, Alcova co-founder Valentina Ciuffi and Eleni Petaloti, one half of design studio Objects of Common Interest.

RH

RH's grand opening in Milan was a star-studded soirée with celebrity guests including Margot Robbie and Zoe Saldana (pictured) and music by French DJ Huel

Marni X Wallpaper* at Pasticceria Cucchi

A cocktail with a serious design pedigree, the Marni x Wallpaper* party at Pasticceria Cucchi celebrated the fashion brand's takeover of the popular Milanese cafe. It was the perfect spring night topped with Negronis and colourful pastries.

Camron dinner

Global communications agency Camron's annual Milan Dinner took place at Dimorestudio-designed Trattoria del Ciumbia in collaboration with Lumens. The evening kicked-off the design week with dinner, dancing and disco, with guests including Faye Toogood, Charlene Prempeh (pictured above alongside Camron's Sujata Burman), Marc Benda, Lee Broom and Aric Chen.

Molteni

Molteni & C's annual Salone del Mobile dinner took place in the immersive botanical installation Elisa Ossino had created to showcase the company's new outdoor collections. The evening also doubled as Vincent Van Duysen's birthday, and a celebration of a decade as creative director

Salone del Mobile and Milan Design Week 2026 were great opportunities to observe the ever-evolving priorities of living. In the past few years, how a space conveys feeling has infiltrated the way interiors are designed. First, the distinction between indoor and outdoor became ever-more blurred, as we started seeking a closer connection to nature in our domestic spaces. Then, living spaces increasingly turned into conversation pits – whether as structural interventions into the space, 1960s-style, or furniture built for conviviality and natural gathering.

At this year’s events in Milan, a new sense entered the conversation, as aural experiences drove the interior design agenda. Whether through conceptual spaces created as brand-building exercises, or products and interiors intended as inspiration for everyday life, sound seemed omnipresent and impossible to ignore.

Sound in interior design: a lesson from Milan Design Week 2026

For a long time, mainstream design seemed to reject the notion of sound inhabiting a space, as launches in that sphere were mostly geared towards cancelling noise, with acoustic materials promising silence and sound absorption. This has now changed radically, and sound seems to be embraced as something to promote and propagate, rather than muffle and reduce.

At Visionnaire, 'Déjà-Vu' featured a listening room created to celebrate the return of two 1970s armchairs from the company's archives. Curated by Marco Morandini, the space was designed as an intimate interior inspired by 1970s clubs, with speakers by Giorgio Di Salvo.

'We have always believed in sound as an integral part of a design quality, and that it also has a therapeutic value,' says Visionnaire art director Eleonore Cavalli, who has lived and breathed club culture throughout her life and whose collections have included aural elements such as embedded speakers for the past several years. 'I believe that sound design is destined to become increasingly integrated into our homes.'

'I think Milan Design Week audiences are a bit tired of looking at chairs and lights in silent rooms and that there is a need to stimulate people’s senses by creating more interactive or simply active spaces,' adds Vintage Audio Institute Italia founder Pontus Berghe, who brought his collection of 1960s and 1970s synthesisers to Alcova in collaboration with Slalom Acoustics. 'People were mesmerised when they saw an eight-track tape recorder spinning, musicians improvising and concentrating or simply manipulating an analogue synth or drum machine; you usually don't get to see much of the active creative process at Salone, rather just the sleek results.'

He also defends the tactility of the objects he brought to Alcova, representing a time in sound technology when tactility in the form of buttons and clear interfaces was still the norm. 'Generally, modern consumer objects lack the tactile finesse of 1960s and 1970s design, and I see that coming back as a trend with actual vintage, or vintage-looking, designer objects and tech featuring bigger controls like volume knobs and push buttons, on the opposite spectrum of i-Phones and induction burners.'

Sound spaces enhancing brand identity and elevating experiences

Sound also played a crucial role in shaping brand identities through space. At Asics, experiential design practice Nuova Studio created a listening room as part of the brand's immersive public installation created to introduce the new Gel-KineticM2.0 sneaker. With music curated by Mateo Garcia, the space helped immerse visitors in the company's key pillars of movement, energy, and emotional connection.

At Capsule Plaza, another example of aural design blending into branding came courtesy of Japanese brand Karimoku, whose research projects were presented as another intimate listening room at Capsule Plaza.

Nearby, Stone Island and NM3 also staged a much larger, sound-inspired installation that doubled as a lounging space. Including a sound system by Friendly Pressure Studio, the space took over a disused swimming pool and featured interiors by NM3.

At group show Deoron, an emerging generation of designers and brands made it very clear that sound is at the centre of the contemporary design agenda. Guests entering the airy, industrial space were greeted by a modular composition by Stack Furniture with speakers embedded into the aluminium shelving.

'Sound was definitely one of the hot themes at Milan Design Week 2026,' say Serdar Ayvaz and Coşan Karadeniz of Yont, whose sound bar created with New Fidelity and Varia Instruments acted as a centrepiece to the show. The space hosted listening sessions by international DJs during the week. 'It feels like electronic sound and listening spaces are gaining more weight in popular culture and the design scene these days.

'In interiors, sound systems are no longer secondary technical elements; they are becoming spatial anchors. They influence how a room is used, how people gather, and how long they stay. People engage well with spaces that are not only visually considered, but also immersive and atmospheric through sound.

'As Yont, this opens up an interesting territory for us. It is quite inspiring to think about how sound can shape spatial perception, almost like a material. In our exhibition at Deoron with the Brutalist DJ Booth, it felt like a gothic church altar; a ritualistic experience. It was magical.'

More sound and design from Milan Design Week 2026

These days, like never before, Milan Design Week finds itself as a creative focal point for a number of different industries, not just furniture and interiors. The irresistible draw of pure, concentrated creativity – and the eyes, lenses and social media accounts of the world’s media and content creators – ensure that making a Milanese splash is a PR no-brainer, bolstering the connection between creativity and commerce in as direct a way as possible.

Activations varied wildly, from traditional car reveals through to immersive experiences, bespoke commissions and the welcome opportunity for car makers to spread their reach and showcase some real cultural clout. Big names were in evidence – Audi enlisted Zaha Hadid Architects and Mini continued its long-running partnership with Sir Paul Smith.

Chinese brands were also in evidence, including Nio with its firefly city car, and Lepas, which used Milan Design Week as the backdrop for its European launch of the forthcoming Lepas 6, a sister car to the Jaecoo 7.

Admittedly, some of these displays could have taken place anywhere, demonstrating how Milan Design Week has effectively become a handy waypoint on the international exhibition trail, bolstering the role of a traditional auto show with way more buzzy, creative surroundings and attendees. Other brands chose to dig deeper into the context, playing up the Italian connection and the city’s rich backdrop.

We’re biased, of course, but the real automotive stars of Milan Design Week 2026 were Wallpaper’s quartet of Fiat Topolinos (see our editors’ Milan blog for more, and Fiat’s small car-focused exhibition), resplendent in the liveries of our recently relaunched Wallpaper* Travel Guides. Aside from these delightful four-wheeled tchotchkes, read on to find out what else made mobility news this year in Milan.

Range Rover ‘Traces’

Range Rover’s Milan installation at Galleria Meravigli was a comprehensive assemblage of the art and craft component of the British manufacturer’s more luxurious offerings. Overseen by Storey Studio, the ‘Traces’ exhibition starred the newly released Bespoke Pearl of Tay edition Range Rover, alongside a selection of contemporary Scottish crafts curated by Bard, the Edinburgh store and gallery founded by James Stevens and our very own Hugo Macdonald.

Bard’s selection of sparkling, earthy and authentic crafts was billed under the heading ‘Memory and Material'. The pieces on display mirrored the attention to detail and materiality used in the Pearl of Tay car, a demonstration of Range Rover’s ability to move freely in the same rarefied circles traditionally occupied by Rolls-Royce and Bentley.

These were joined by two more galleries, or chapters, ‘Memory and Colour’ and ‘Memory and Motif’. The former incorporated a film and projection by Felipe Sanguinetti, reflected across a series of mirrors, to trace the inspiration and emotion behind colour choices (one of the big USPs for clients using Range Rover’s Bespoke service).

‘Memory and Motif’ featured works by four artists, Hvass & Hannibal, Lisa Rampilli, Petra Börner and Jules Julien, transformed into embroidered pieces by the Range Rover Bespoke Materiality. These were then presented in a series of champagne-gold mirrored vitrines, connected to the first chapter by a continuous soundscape composed by sound designers Father.

The final space, ‘Memory and Material’, culminated in the Pearl of Tay car, alongside the 14 objects chosen by Bard. With black gravel underfoot and a rippling installation above, the space was both geometric and nature-inspired. This is the second consecutive year Range Rover has gone big in Milan. ‘Traces’ also included a café space, furnished with icons from Gubi’s collection of contemporary design.

RangeRover.com, @RangeRover

‘Origin’ by Audi x Zaha Hadid Architects

Are we living in a post-pavilion age? Audi clearly thinks not, enlisting well-established pavilion-wielding provocateurs Zaha Hadid Architects to create its installation, the ‘Audi Origin Pavilion’. Described as a portal to the company’s new design era, ‘Origin by Audi x Zaha Hadid Architects’ marked the German manufacturer’s 13th year of participation at Milan Design Week and celebrated not just the introduction of a new design language but also the company’s debut in Formula 1.

The structure was a classic slice of ZHA parametric whimsy – the practice uses the pavilion form as a testbed for software, design and structure. Located in the courtyard of the former Archiepiscopal Seminary on Corso Venezia, ‘Origin’ was a silvery spaceship of a structure, flanked by the Audi R26 F1 car and the new Audi RS 5. The structure’s matte metallic skin was very ‘Audi’ in its referencing of industrial processes, cutting-edge materials and sober perfectionism.

Audi.com, @Audi

‘Mini: A Garden of Curiosity with Paul Smith’

Moving away its focus on urban and domestic design prototypes, Mini dived straight into its most warm and welcoming collaboration of recent years, a partnership with Paul Smith. The venue was a ‘Garden of Curiosity’, hosted in the grounds on the Palazzo Borromeo d’Adda.

Not just a welcome contemplative spot to duck into away from the Milan madness, the ‘Garden of Curiosity’ was a spot of British whimsy, with delectable design presented by way of Lewis Carroll, Gertrude Jekyll and impeccable tailoring.

The House of Mini on Via A Manzoni was built around the latest Paul Smith Edition of the evergreen city car. Colour was, of course, preeminent, with a dedicated Colour Theory Room inviting visitors to compose their own Smith-style panoply of stripes.

There was also a listening room, replete with recordings of Sir Paul’s thoughts on colour theory, both set among the verdant surroundings alongside a Mini Cooper Convertible Paul Smith Edition. In the main courtyard, the automotive display consisted of three cars, starting with the original Paul Smith 40th Anniversary Mini classic from 1998, the pared-back Mini Strip and another contemporary Paul Smith Edition.

Mini.co.uk, @Mini

PaulSmith.com, @PaulSmithDesign

Lexus ‘Space’

Another Milan stalwart, Lexus presented a clutch of installations, including its own ‘Space’ and ‘Discover Together’ presentations at Superstudio Più. The automotive centrepiece of ‘Space’ was the six-wheeled Lexus LS Concept, set before a 360-degree screen that animated the car and its sumptuous interior.

This cinematic experience was paired with a group exhibition under the banner ‘Discover Together’. Included was the ‘Visible Invisible’ tearoom by Kyotaro Hayashi and Yumi Kurotani, ‘Wearable Space’, a coat emblazoned with fibre optics shaped by Guardini Ciuffreda Studio and ‘A Moving Sanctuary’, Random Studio’s reimagining of the automotive space as a serene, relaxing retreat.

Working with its own design team, the company also exhibited ‘The Crafted Cosmos’, a precision piece of crafted woodwork overseen by Shingo Yamashita, the company’s wooden model craftsman.

On display in the same space was another concept, the LS Micro 1 personal mobility machine, and the Lexus Catamaran autonomous luxury yacht concept first shown at last year’s Japan Mobility Show.

DiscoverLexus.com, @DiscoverLexus

Kia Vision Meta Turismo

Kia’s installation involved a collaboration with Bcomp, a Swiss company working in renewable, bio-based fibre composite material. Bcomp has contributed its ampliTex material to the interior and exterior of the Kia Vision Meta Turismo concept car, on show for the first time in Europe as part of the ‘Resonance of Opposites’ exhibition in Milan.

The Vision Meta Turismo was originally unveiled as part of Kia's 80th anniversary celebrations last December, an all-electric GT Crossover with an airy, lounge-inspired cabin replete augmented-reality windscreen. The concept foreshadows the evolution of the company’s already very distinctive design language.

The work with Bcomp is part of Kia’s ongoing search for sustainably sourced materials that can work just as well on exterior forms as well as interiors, conforming to all necessary safety and strength requirements.

According to Bcomp’s Nicolas Samson, senior sales manager of automotive interior, the project ‘shows that natural fibre composites are not only a design statement, but also a realistic solution for both interior and exterior applications’.

Kia.com, @KiaUK

Bcomp.com, @BcompLtd

Škoda’s ‘Sculptural Space’

Working with Spanish architect designer Ricardo Orts of Ulises Studio, Škoda went all out on playfulness with an exhibition entitled ‘Ooooh, that’s EpiQ!’. Rather than channelling the spirit of 1970s British sex comedies, the theme was colour, form and family-friendly entertainment.

Cars on display included the new Epiq EV (in bold camouflage) alongside a soft-bodied counterpart, the Epiq Sculpt – modelling clay was one of the key stylistic themes. The entire courtyard of the Palazzo del Senato was filled with illuminated inflatable forms that spilled out through the colonnades to create space for meeting, coffee, talks and even yoga classes and a soft play area.

Škoda-Storyboard.com, Škoda.co.uk, @SkodaUK

Ulises.Studio, @Ulises.Studio

Pininfarina at ‘10 Years of Open-Air Motor Shows’

Two of the centrepieces on the ‘10 Years of Open-Air Motor Shows’ exhibition on Via Tortona came from the studios of Pininfarina SpA. The event, which celebrated a decade of Andrea Levy’s urban motor show format in Italy, featured the Battista Nino Farina from Pininfarina Automobili and the one-off Honda HP X, originally shown at the 1984 Turin Auto Show in 1984. Restored and updated by Pininfarina itself, the HP-X resurfaced in all its 1980s glory at the 2024 Monterey Car Week.

The show also featured a presentation on the new JAS Tensei project, one of many automotive commissions being undertaken by the Italian design consultancy.

Pininfarina.it, @Pininfarina_official

500 Spiaggina by Garage Italia Customs

Away from the ‘Ciao Futuro! show at Magna Pars’, another facet of the Fiat empire showcased its latest venture into restomod design. Founded by Fiat family scion Lapo Elkann, Garage Italia Customs ventures into uncharted creative territory, transforming the company’s compact models into bespoke objets d’art.

For 2026, Garage Italia is showcasing its Icon project series, which focuses on the classic Fiat 500. In the company’s hands, the original 500 becomes the all-electric 500 Spiaggina. Shown in Milan in the context of the immersive Urbano Mediterraneo installation, the Spiaggina was represented in two editions. The first was inspired by the pink walls of the Palazzo Avino hotel on the Amalfi Coast, a one-off EV completed with custom fabric Pergola roof by Mariaflora.

A second Spiaggina was out on the streets for the duration of Design Week to celebrate the work of Milanese creative consultancy 10 Corso Como. The logo-spotted bodywork evokes the organisation’s branding and HQ, with jacquard fabric interiors by Mariaflora. Finally, Garage Italia also showed a 500 Spiaggina with a livery that embodied the diversity and colour of Design Week, with a white striped exterior and an interior featuring red Bonacina rattan seats.

Garage-Italia.com, @GarageItalia

Saunas are having a moment. From Finnish-designed Lowlu saunas opening in London, to the debut of France’s largest sauna, Sant Roch, and Klafs’ innovative S1, the world’s first retractable sauna, hitting the US market, it seems that everyone is seeking a soothing reset, both physical and mental. Longing for something similar while touring Salone del Mobile 2026, we saw Italian wellness brand Effe unveil its collaboration with Spanish designer Patricia Urquiola, a partnership that unites wellness architecture with contemporary design.

‘Baluar’, as the new sauna and hammam collection, is rooted in its material selection, light, and shape. Urquiola wanted to redefine the concept of wellness spaces, and worked with Effe to focus on the relationship a person has with their own place of regeneration. Using this as a framework, Urquiola envisioned the modular collection as a compact piece of complete architecture.

Patricia Urquiola reimagines sauna and hammam for Effe

The finished system unites both hammam and sauna in a single modular unit, while offering flexibility to form different compositions. This nods to the brand’s ‘Petra SH’ modular system, which launched in 2025 and features a home sauna, hammam, and a plunge bath all in one. Effe also noted that 'Baluar' can be combined with other elements and adapted to different spaces; whether it becomes part of a spa, for example, or stands alone, it blends Urquiola’s design and technology to create a truly immersive wellness experience.

The Spanish designer drew inspiration from the bastion, a projecting architectural element of medieval fortified buildings that provided protection for those looking out over the surrounding area while defending the property.

‘I wanted to transform this architectural element into a wellness space, a compact, almost archetypal space where you can relax and unwind,' says Urquiola. 'The system combines a sauna and hammam in a modular structure that adapts to any environment, while still making a bold design statement.’

You could say that 'Baluar' acts as a modern-day bastion, offering a space of protection where bathers can cocoon and switch off from everyday reality.

Other design details include heat-treated lime-wood cladding in a dark or light tone, controlled lighting and narrow vertical grooves, all of which add architectural integrity, while also setting the mood for an immersive sanctuary.

‘Patricia Urquiola’s ability to blend heat, material and function is taking us in a new direction, where the focus is no longer just on the technology but on spaces that speak to the emotions,’ says Effe CEO Marco Borghetti, ‘places where heat and steam rituals can offer an emotional experience to bathers.’

effe.it

As we looked at interior design trends emerging from Salone del Mobile 2026, a few materials and furniture genres kept popping up and it became evident they are going to set a new direction for interior design in the coming year and beyond.

Walking the halls of Salone del Mobile and exploring Milan's new Fuorisalone locations, installations and more, we kept coming across a few recurring themes that will help shape how we imagine our homes in the year ahead.

From the ubiquitous use of lacquer – which is infiltrating soft furnishings, adding structure and elegance to sofas and chairs – to the inescapable sculptural table, there are plenty of signs that bold visual statements are the shape of interiors to come.

Here are the key interior design trends we observed in Milan, for 2026 and beyond.

Lacquer infiltrating soft furnishings

The ultra-softness and comfort-led approach of upholstered seating that we’ve seen in the past few years was definitely disrupted this year by lacquered elements inserted into sofas, supporting armchairs and breaking up conversation-style seating arrangements.

At Tacchini and Frigerio, for example, armchairs old and new were enriched by shiny structures that enriched their aesthetic. 'Lacquers envelop products like a thin, protective skin, capable of holding and preserving the impressions collected,' said photographer Massimo Gardone, who worked with Tacchini on their nature-inspired collection of reissues by Tobia Scarpa, Vico Magistretti and Gianfranco Frattini. 'Colour is no longer just a surface, but a living memory of the matter from which it originates.'

Meanwhile, Visionnaire, Minotti, Molteni & C and Living Divani all subscribed to this new wave of exceptional seating. These are sofas that take over a space with their intricate geometries – it's no longer just a matter of modularity, but a bigger concept where elements are placed in dialogue with one another throughout systems that play with materials, surfaces and colours.

Take Minotti's ‘Orion’ sofa, a system devised by Giampiero Tagliaferri: for the design, he was inspired by John Lautner’s architecture to create a spatial vision that goes beyond seating.

For Mauro Lipparini at Visionnaire, the sofa is part of a larger structural idea. 'In the “Baton Rouge” sofa, the compact base and rear connecting elements reinforce the project’s constructive logic, allowing the sofa to bring order and rhythm to the space,' reads a note introducing the new piece.

‘Each piece emerges from a desire to create forms that are both generous and precise, sculptural yet calm, expressive yet familiar,' said Vincent Van Duysen of his Molteni & C collection. 'Lines flow seamlessly, without rupture or tension, allowing the eye to move gently from one curve to another. Light becomes part of the design itself; it glides across surfaces, tracing the movement of a hand, revealing the textures of wood, fabric, and lacquered finishes.'

Architecture was also on Piero Lissoni's mind for his latest effort at Living Divani. Aptly titled 'The Edge', his sofa is defined by a lacquered container that envelops it on three sides. '“The Edge” is a sign that draws space. It does not occupy the room, but acts as an edge that organises it. It has a precise, pure geometry, almost architectural,' he says. 'The different elements that make up the seating form an open line, a perimeter for conversation, pausing, living.’

Sculptural tables

At Salone del Mobile this year, we spent a lot of time crouching under tables to admire their sculptural bases. It is clear that the dining table is no longer just a functional piece of furniture, but is now encouraged to set the aesthetic tone of a room, taking up space with imaginative structures supporting its top.

At B&B Italia, Ronan Bouroullec was unconsciously inspired by the architecture of the company's HQ, by Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers, to create his 'Abaco' table. 'I was both delighted to finally discover the place and eager to become part of this story,' he says. 'This project of tables and seating speaks of architecture, construction, and connection.’

Bouroullec wasn't the only one to bring bigger thinking to the table: at Minotti, Hannes Peer had Florence Knoll and Ray and Charles Eames on his mind for his ‘Blaine’ table, while Sebastian Herkner was inspired by brutalism for his 'Tara' table.

At Baxter and Frigerio, meanwhile, expressive marble elevated the sculptural nature of the forms. 'Assembled in a corolla shape, the panels form an architecture like a millefeuille, sometimes with sharp edges, sometimes with soft, rounded lines,’ said Delcourt of his 'Zaho' table for Baxter. ‘A base like a building, as light as it is monumental.’

Bigger influences are also at the heart of Calvi Brambilla's 'Kumo' table for Frigerio. 'Organic abstraction and sculptural presence characterise the project, which thrives on the dynamic contrast between mass and void, balance and tension, in a continuous dialogue between autonomous forms,' write the architects. '“Kumo” fills the space like a dance, evoking the fluid forms and bold colours of the sculptures of Alexander Calder and Henry Moore.'

The evolution of the tubular chair

The design world has been enamoured with the tubular chairs for a few years now, and Salone del Mobile 2026 confirmed that the genre is very much here to stay. The chairs were present at the fair and across town, in the form of new designs as well as reissues of originals, merging a sense of nostalgia for modernist ideas and a desire to innovate and expand the concept.

At Flexform, Antonio Citterio's 'Avalon' combined the essential character of the tubular base with a 'sartorial attentiveness' that is typical of the Italian company.

A fresh take on a classic tubular chair was offered by Cassina and Karakter, who joined forces to reissue Nicos Zographos' 1966 cantilevered chair. The design reverses the classic s-shaped Bauhaus cantilever, creating instead an equally elegant b-shaped seat using a continuous line of chromed tubular steel with gentle curves.

Japanese brand Time & Style also offered a new vision for the tubular chair, made of moulded plywood to add warmth to the design.

A different, humorous direction was seen by Carlo Colombo at Lema, who took the material to new horizons with the 'Graffetta' armchair: named after a paperclip, its tubular metal frame supports a leather seat and combines an essential visual gesture with a familiar concept.

Environmental richness

This year, designers didn't hold back when it came to decorating spaces. Milan Design Week not only offered new takes on traditional furniture, it also gave us a glimpse into how maximalism can transform spaces with elegance and how traditional ideas can be emboldened through new conceptual approaches.

David/Nicolas have long been serious proponents of boiserie – intricate wood cladding – and this year they staged a wooden takeover of their studio to show the technique’s creative opportunities, not just as a wallcovering, but for doors, cabinets and hooks for artworks. The project is the result of years of research from the Lebanese, Milan-based designers, and their modular system 'transforms the wall into an architectural feature'.

Elsewhere, the spaces created by designer Hannes Peer (who filmed a local’s guide to Milan with us – check it out before your next trip) also featured a rich, textural approach to dressing walls. Projects such as his Officine Saffi Lab takeover or his Casa Di Marmo for Margraf gave a good idea of how surfaces can be treated as art, to give interiors a new dimension.

Other designers took old-school wallcoverings to new horizons. Patricia Urquiola's 'Mosso' three-dimensional tiles for Cimento, for example, were used on the wall to encourage movement in the space.

Another shake-up was found at Artemest, where New York-based studio Gachot didn't hold back. We were impressed by its mirrored wall, a nod to 20th-century apartments, that works perfectly in contemporary interiors.

Elsewhere in town, designers Nicholas Gardner and Saša Štucin of genre-defying creative studio Soft Baroque chose to reinterpret the 1926 Frankfurt kitchen with an unexpected decorative take on Formica surfaces.

Textile wallcoverings also took a novel turn. At Nilufar Grand Hotel, for example, David/Nicolas and De Gournay showcased them in three-dimensional guise. 'The motif employs an array of hand-embroidery techniques, where “stumpwork” forms a rich dimension alongside silk, raffia and fine metallic threads,' reads a note from the company to explain the richness of the setting.

Design firm Studioutte, known for the cinematic quality of its interiors, worked with lighting studio De Troupe and textiles by Dedar for its ‘Camera Fissa’, an immersive space that nodded to private clubs. And while immersive was a buzzword across Milan Design Week this year (not always offering an experience matching the description), the considered approaches we’ve revisited here certainly promise interiors that absorb and engage.

At the new Prada Home space on Via Montenapoleone, Theaster Gates presents Chawan Cabinet, an installation organised around ceramic vessels and the behaviours they produce. During Milan Design Week 2026, the project brought together editioned works by Gates alongside Japanese potters Taira Kuroki, Yuichi Hirano, Shion Tabata and Koichi Ohara, with larger sculptural elements from Gates’ Chicago studio and tea master Yukino Washizu.

Gates, who works across sculpture, urban planning and pedagogy is clear about where this began. 'Part of what I wanted to do with the project is demonstrate how when you have a specific ideological position, you can then make a very precise declaration,' he says. 'It’s not exactly Japanese, but it is with my friends, who are Japanese. It’s not exactly the Blackest thing in the world, but it has funk on it. [I am] just trying to have a sincere moment where my passion for everyday things meets this company that is willing to make an investment in a big idea.'

The clay is gathered and worked across the American Midwest: Wisconsin, Indiana, North Carolina, then fired in a Japanese-style kiln built in Chicago. The resemblance to Tokoname is deliberate, achieved through a transfer of technique, not a fixation on origin. Gates describes this in terms that move well outside the studio, tracing a line through religious and intellectual histories where knowledge is carried and translated, accumulating as it moves.

It is tempting to treat that transfer as metaphor, though he resists it. 'The hand is the mind,' he says. 'People have worked really hard to separate physical labour from intellectual labour, but if you can put aside capitalism, you really unite the mind and the hand again. I know more because I’ve touched more.' The statement lands plainly in a room where the objects are not sealed off from contact, but welcome it instead.

The forms are specific and named: chawan, yunomi, guinomi, tokkuri, each carrying their own discipline. A chawan should be turned twice, clockwise, before it is brought to the mouth to preserve and respect the front of the object. The cabinet sits between the category of furniture and something closer to staging; around it, Gates introduces larger elements from his studio, forms that carry more weight than the vessels, which thicken the space.

Italian craftsmanship is present throughout without resolving into polish; Venetian plaster has been reworked with straw and a rougher aggregate, the finish feels as though it has been padded by many feet, even though it has only just been applied.

Behind the bowls, Gates points to a stack of Pelican cases – one in safety orange, another in military green – their moulded shells and pressure valves in direct contrast to a chawan, turned slowly, fired in a kiln tuned by hand. 'It makes total sense that my tea bowls will be in a pelican case. I’m merging a transfer of knowledge.'

Gates moves easily between the scale of a cup and that of a building, though he does not pretend they ask the same of him. 'Ideas trump scale,' he says. 'If you have a philosophy that’s clear enough, that aesthetic intention can be applied to the composition of things on this table, composition of this room, composition of this block.'

There is also the question of duration; the installation was timed to the week, yet its end is not fixed. In a wabi-sabi sense, Gates speaks of it without certainty, which feels consistent with the project’s underlying logic. A home, as he frames it, is not guaranteed by walls or ownership; you don’t know how long it will hold, or what brings it to a close.

'I had the problem of contemporary art versus retail store, craft versus conceptual practices, and I’ve tried my best through the cabinet to unify utility and beauty,' Gates says. At Prada Home, a chawan, turned and returned, sets the pace; in that waiting, something like a position on how knowledge is carried through the body becomes clear.

The new Prada Home space is now open on Via Montenapoleone 6, Milan

'Japanese design has this ability to combine precision with a poetic dimension. Minimalism is not a stylistic choice, but a way of thinking – removing what is not necessary to give more clarity and strength to what remains.' Maria Porro, president of Salone del Mobile, was speaking to Wallpaper* about the ever-growing influence of Japanese design in Milan – and true to her words, the city was awash with high-quality projects from Japan. Design innovations spanned the spectrum: from architectural rugs, quiet paper innovations and crafted chairs designed to “not to be noticed” to textiles created by sound.

Japan's creative output has perhaps never been more relevant, according to Porro: “Japanese design offers clarity at a moment of global complexity. It demonstrates a strong ability to translate cultural values into contemporary forms, while maintaining continuity. For me, its relevance lies not only in its aesthetics, but in a way of thinking that is rigorous, responsible and increasingly necessary in shaping the future of design.”

Here, Wallpaper* highlights a fraction of the many Japanese projects that left an imprint on Milan’s designscape this year.

Best Japanese design at Milan Design Week 2026

‘bit by bit’ by Haruka Misawa at ADI Design Museum (until June 7)

Paper – with thread, wood, wire, nail, leaves, stones, pencils, glass beads, acrylic pipes. These ingredients shape the quiet beauty of ‘bit by bit’, Haruka Misawa’s first solo exhibition in Italy. Spanning long rows of steel displays are time-slowing creations – cut, pasted, stitched, layered and minutely crafted. One paper work has tiny squares containing the miniature intricacy of staircases; another has a small missing segment – the cut out part transformed into a cloud-like puff of light paper shreds. A highlight? Tiny paper shapes that dance, float and spin – the otherworldly result of a meticulously researched combination of washi paper containing metal powder with a hidden magnetic system. 'Paper is thin and flat yet it has many possibilities,' Misawa, a respected designer who helms Misawa Design Institute at Nippon Design Centre, tells Wallpaper*.

Koyori at Salone del Mobile

Sunrise – or hinode in Japanese. This is the inspiration behind Vincent Van Duysen’s debut collection for Koyori, a Japanese furniture brand rooted in quality craftsmanship and contemporary design, launching at Salone for the first time. Showing Wallpaper* his warm T-shaped chair and tables with softly twisted wood edges, Van Duysen explains: 'Hinode is about new beginnings and a homage to nature. Wood is a material I carry in my heart. Natural. Timeless. Real textures. The beauty of imperfection. In terms of executing details, the craftsmanship at Koyori is on another level.'

Ronan Bouroullec also unveiled the pared-back beauty of his Ichirin chair, its structural purity and lightly sensual edges sharpened by a clean-lined wood grain. 'I wanted this to be a chair you don’t notice,' he explains. 'You just feel good in the room. Like a teabag in a glass of water. It’s almost nothing. Just function.' Added to the mix were GamFratesi’s latest Koyori pieces, including their playful Kinomi side tables – acorn-like forms balancing lightly on tripod legs. 'Not everything needs to be big,' says Enrico Fratesi. 'We want to create a memory and an emotional connection.'

Oke by Junichiro Yokota Studio at SaloneSatellite

Oke – or wood bucket. This everyday Japanese object is the inspiration behind the Oke chair, a curved sweep of vertical wood components, rising in clean lines around two minimalist panels – crafted from leftover wood. The chair was created by Junichiro Yokata, a Tokyo product designer, who explains: 'the feeling of being enveloped in the surrounding wood teaches us the inherent richness of materials.' Also exhibited was his atmospheric Toi table lamp (a pendant version launched last year), a softly-curved glow of organic washi paper; plus Extra, a contemporary basked shaped by two interlocking circles – all explorations of the 'ordinary' in everyday life, anchored in a pared back beauty and minimalist simplicity.

Unseen Objects / Overflow by We+ and Heiwa Gokin at Galleria Rubin

Burr – the surplus metal removed during traditional casting processes – shines in the spotlight in Unseen Objects / Overflow, a new furniture collection brought to life in an innovative collaboration between Tokyo design unit We+ and century-old foundry Heiwa Gokin based in copper casting hub Takaoka. A contemporary excavation of traditional craftsmanship, the project taps into the 'imperfect' formations that trace material surfaces during large-scale metal castings in sand moulds – delicate fringes of metal known as burrs which are typically removed in the making process. Leaving these material imperfections in place, cast panels were layered into a puzzle of aluminium panels to create unique shelving and low-level tables – creating structural furniture imbued with an elemental, primitive and organic essence. The furniture launch follows last year’s launch of small objects such as vases, using the same technique.

NII at Salone del Mobile

Playful, contemporary, flexible: NII is a high-end new office furniture brand created by Itoko, a long respected Japanese office solutions company dating back 125 years. Its launch collection included the clean Lego-like modularity of sofa system Bitmap by Todd Bracher; light filtering shingle-like wood screens Pigna wrapped around seating, by AMDL Circle; the transparent river-like flow of glass table Connexa, on a structural base with hints of shrine gates by Rodolfo Agrella; the organic curves and ergonomic modularity of Parlamento sofa system by Jun Aizaki of Créme; and the super-smooth glide of Allround stools with clean modern silhouettes in glossy shades (red, blue, beige).

'It’s about ingenious design,' says Hirotaka Tako, creative director at NII, his red socks matching the red stool he is gliding on at Salone while chatting to Wallpaper*. 'The boundaries between office design and hospitality design are increasingly blurred. There is flexibility and freedom in these spaces – and furniture needs to adapt to this.'

Faces by Kengo Kuma for Jaipur Rugs at Crespi Bonsai Museum

Architecture and rugs don’t often tangibly overlap – yet Faces is a new Jaipur Rugs collection designed by Kengo Kuma, which translate facades from his building designs into woven rug creations. Handwoven surfaces are imbued with the Japanese architect’s spatial language, expressed through light, shadow and rhythm motifs. Launched with an atmospheric installation at Crespi Bonsai Museum on the outskirts of Milan, the new rugs were scattered among light-filled greenhouses and gardens.

Five designs include Sukima – the space between forms, allowing light and air to flow – inspired by the Suntory Museum of Art in Tokyo, with subtly shifting linear planes; while small square motifs imprint the surface of Chirashi, a reimagining of the stone structure of the Museum of Kanayama Castle Ruin and the Kanamaya Community Centre. Jaipur Rugs MD Yogesh Chaudhary tells Wallpaper*: 'These are all inspired by actual buildings. But it’s not just the facades – it’s how it interacts with light and air. It’s a way of seeing.'

Wave Weave by Hosoo with Carsten Nicolai at Hosoo Milan

A sublime mesh of textiles, music and technology shapes Wave Weave, by centuries-old (and ever-innovating) Kyoto textile company Hosoo, with German sound artist Carsten Nicolai. Unravelling the auditory poetry of textiles, the exhibition – unfolding in the intimate elegance of Hosoo’s Milan flagship – centres on a 22-minute film of Hosoo’s workshop. Nicolai’s soundtrack was then translated into a textile design, with sound visualised as a sonogram – resulting in an exquisitely otherworldly silk obi (kimono belt), with cloud-like woven abstractions (a minimalist installation light moves just above the textile, matching the exact musical notes being played to the material).

Nearby is another digital expression reborn in material form: new textile collection Raster Gradient. Monochrome silk panels are peppered with a gradated spectrum of tiny white dots emerging from deep black oblivion before dissolving into pure light – the result of years of experimentation (each handmade panel contains 9,000 warp threads alternating black and white). 'Technology and textiles are very close,' explains Masataka Hosoo.

Karimoku Case at Salone; Karimoku Research at Capsule Plaza

Intimate, minimal and quiet, it had all the ingredients of a hotel – from the wooden front desk and calm lobby to a spacious suite. Karimoku Case created 'A Thoughtful Stay' at Salone del Mobile, tapping into its holistic philosophy of designing objects and spaces in harmony, as envisioned by Norm Architect and Keiji Ashizawa Design. Layers of wood harmonised with natural materials (paper, stone, textiles), alongside signature triangular lanterns and the smooth crafted lines of Karimoku Case furniture. 'The goal was to showcase the brand in a holistic boutique hotel environment,' says Frederik Werner of Norm Architects.

Across town at Capsule Plaza, a different rhythm shaped 'Research Published as Furniture'. Shoji paper screens and bright colour pops were the backdrop for the Milan debut of four new brands developed through Karimoku’s research projects. Among them was a structural glass table from CMPT by Lichen, plus the soft olive leather textures of ZE Sofa from Karimoku Re:issue by Lichen, reimagining an iconic 1982 design; alongside stacked formations of modular wooden containers from Stakko, a brand created with Postalco. A second space was filled the modern playfulness of sculptural shapes in jewel tones by wagetsu わ月, a brand made with LA-based Waka Waka – including angular low tables with high-shine surfaces, made using a technique typically used for pianos.

Meeting Horizons at Time & Style Milan

A light tangle of wood curves floating like a cloud. Solid wood shelving with softly tapered edges and traditional joinery. Cantilevered chairs, hovering above stone floors. Time & Style unveiled the Meeting Horizons collection in the near temple-like serenity of their Milan flagship, with a thoughtful layering of Japanese and Western influences. There is Yoshino Breath Armchair, its clean-lined cubic cedar form assembled without metal fittings; Soe, by Wohl Hütte, its layered planes and vertical bamboo element riffing on traditional Japanese alcoves; a lightly hovering mobile of steam-bent wood by Drill Design and a natural new textile of cotton and wool by Noriko Tsuiki. An exhibition in the paper-wrapped vaulted basement also showcased the minimal white curves of stone artist Ayako Ueda on wood blocks with traditional Japanese joinery.

Future Memories by Roberto Sironi with Sansui at Rossana Orlandi

Picture a circle of light-reflecting polished steel, its water-like surface floating above an angled base of sturdy pine beams darkened with time – fragments of wooden carpentry from an abandoned house in rural Japan. This mix of new and old, lightness and strength shapes Future Memories, a contemporary installation of sculptural objects which gives a fresh lease of life to salvaged beams from Japan’s empty kominka farmhouses, by Italian designer Roberto Sironi in collaboration with Sansui, a century-old Japanese carpentry company. Centre stage in a vaulted stone space are fragments of beams reconfigured to create sculptural objects, chairs and tables. Written into the material are traces of time, with nail-free joinery and hints of human touch on hand-carved surfaces. 'Each beam has its own story,' Sironi tells Wallpaper*. 'There’s no painting, no vanishing, just the patina of time.'

Noritake Design Collection at Alcova

Curved, flowing, fragmented, in earthy tones – just like the earth. This idea shapes the abstract beauty of Landscape, a debut ceramics collection by Michele De Lucchi of AMDL Circle for Noritake, a Japanese company dating back to 1904.

Studio Toogood also launched Kiln: a harmony of sculptural curves and lines, cleanly shaped in monochrome black and white. 'I wanted to bring some strong geometry to the Noritake table, taking influence from its incredible relics of manufacturing,' says Faye Toogood. The new Imperial Peacock Collection was also displayed, a collaboration with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, inspired by stone carvings at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo. These new additions to Noritake Design Collection were showcased at Baggio Military Hospital – where talented master artisan Masami Okada from Japan, sat surrounded by paints and brushes, showcasing his quiet mastery of ceramic painting, throughout the week.

Lesson in Relations by Takt Project at Chiesa di San Bernardino alle Monache

The atmosphere tilted at the threshold of Chiesa di San Barnardino alle Monarche: inside the empty church was Lessons in Relations by Takt Project, a conceptual exploration of nature, humans and materiality. Scattered on the ground were branches collected from forests in Nagano, completed with 3D-printed white elements – looping, knotted, tied, threaded, wrapped around the wood. Each 'branch' was placed in a delicate white circle of instructional text on the floor, in Italian and English – such as 'find a circular fragment within the branch'. The result was poetic record of a human-forest relationship – as the Tokyo studio explains: 'This project takes the branch as a motif to explore a contemporary way of relating to materials.'

Sur+Plus by Atma at Alcova

Sitting in a quiet concrete space in the basement of Villa Pestarini was a sculptural scattering of unique chairs created from fragments of material offcuts (stones, marbles, wood, tiles, carpet). Created by Tokyo studio Atma, the Sur+Plus chairs are made from a simple tilt of two panels, attached by a clean-lined metal fixture. Minimally visible design intervention amplifies the beauty of the pastel-toned textures, disparate fragments and organic material edges that shape the chairs, each unwaveringly unique. 'What emerges is a form of co-existence – elements connected while their differences remain,' explain the studio founders.

Hideo at Salone del Mobile

Behind a white curtain in pavilion 10 at Salone del Mobile was a small pocket of Japanese bath serenity. It was the Salone debut of Hideo, a company created by the so-called Japanese master of modern bathtub design Hideo Shimizu. The Japanese designer, based in Italy, has spent decades reimagining traditional Japanese design and craftsmanship into contemporary form. On display in the Time & Style-designed space were two white bathtubs designed in Japan and made in Italy, using a high-tech material rooted in a plant-derived bioresin – including keyhole-shaped Chiave and the curves of Infinity.

If Milan Design Week increasingly rewards spectacle, where does that leave the furniture itself?

In recent years, the city’s showrooms and palazzos have been overtaken by immersive installations – environments designed to be experienced, documented and shared. From carousels and meadows to pavilions and private apartments, these types of attractions have become the instagrammable stars of the show. For brands with smaller budgets, the challenge is less about what to launch than how to make it visible.

'Le Design Défilé' offers one answer. Organised by French Living in Motion – an alliance between L’Ameublement Français and Le FRENCH DESIGN – the project is intended to present a unified picture of contemporary French design, spanning both industry and independent practice.

To bring it to life, French architecture studio Jakob + MacFarlane was invited to create a show set that could showcase 53 pieces by 28 designers and brands all within a constrained showroom space and courtyard in the city's Brera district. The practice landed on a concept centred on a single scenographic idea: the runway.

Rather than placing objects on plinths, the project unfolds along a wooden catwalk that cuts through a sequence of indoor and outdoor spaces, inviting visitors to encounter furniture in motion – in relation to the body, to gesture and to one another. The format draws on the shared language of Paris and Milan as fashion capitals, reframing furniture as something closer to couture than product.

As architect Brendan MacFarlane explains, the idea emerged from a desire to connect design more directly to movement and experience. ‘We’ve always looked at furniture as something where the body is implied, but not there,’ he says. ‘We wanted to get closer to this idea of the body and movement.’

That thinking is reflected in the scenography itself. Developed in response to the site’s courtyard and double-height interior, the catwalk shifts and rises through the space, creating what MacFarlane describes as a continuous ‘parcours’ – a choreographed journey rather than a static display. Its open structure creates shifting sightlines, whether viewed at ground level or from the mezzanine above.

The show begins with an introduction to emerging French designers, from the 'Totemique' cabinets by APPRT2 for Solum Ligum to 'Tripodal' armchair by Bérénice Curt for Scenario Edition, before moving onto work by 13 French manufacturers – including giants like Ligne Roset and Fermob – each presenting three pieces that reflect their material expertise and production processes.

For Paris-based designer Franck Genser, who is among the exhibitors, that emphasis on making is key. ‘I'm always trying to produce new contemporary things that are of their time but will last,' he says.

Genser, who founded his studio in 2016, works with a network of artisans alongside his own in-house prototyping workshop – a set-up that allows him to test ideas that might otherwise be dismissed at production stage. ‘We have our own internal production, because if we come to an external maker with our drawings, they say, “No. You know why nobody did it before? It’s because you can’t do it,”’ he smiles. ‘I actually have a name for that – I call them the “ooh là là” – because when you show them the drawings, that’s what they say.’

At 'Le Design Défilé', Genser presented the totemic ‘Cascade’ alabaster floor lamp – an elegant stack of alabaster components – alongside the chubby ‘Scarf’ armchair and the ‘Brutaliste’ table, its hollowed-out stone top painted a deep aubergine – 'the colour of the old Royal family in France,' Genser tells us. Together they showcase the breadth of the studio’s savoir-faire. Elsewhere at the fair, Genser is also presenting with Louis Vuitton, on a table that was two years in the making. 'I think we are lucky [in France] because we have a huge past to draw on,' he says, reflecting on what it means to be a French designer. 'It's not something coming from nowhere.'

Displayed without hierarchy, the works form what the organisers describe as a ‘living landscape’ of contemporary French design – one that balances scenography with substance. If the premise borrows from fashion, the underlying ambition is more grounded: to give furniture a clearer stage at a moment when it risks being overshadowed. Here, the spectacle serves the objects – not the other way around.

The Salone del Mobile may be vital to the commercial ecosystem of the design industry, but it is not an especially sustainable event. According to the report Milan Design (Eco) System, published annually by the Politecnico di Milano, the furniture fair produces 13.12 kilograms of waste for every square metre of exhibition space at the Rho Fiera, where it is held. It’s a staggering figure, not only for its environmental toll, but also because much of it could be avoided simply through smarter design.

It’s a problem that Enrico Magistro, founder of QuadroDesign – the Italian brand known for its pared-back stainless-steel taps – sought to address when he invited the Milan-based designer Giacomo Moor to design the company’s booth for the 2026 edition. Magistro had seen Moor’s series of easy-to-assemble wooden furniture developed for the LiveinSlums initiative in Nairobi and was struck by its potential to evolve into an architectural system.

From Salone del Mobile booth to social-impact structure in Zambia

'He wanted to create a pavilion that would have a second life once the fair was over,' explains Moor, who has devised a lightweight modular structure that will be dismantled and shipped to Masala, Zambia, where it will be installed by the social-impact company Koalisation as a public restroom at a local charcoal market. 'It’s a market that is predominantly run by women, who often bring their children to the workplace,' Moor says of the open-air bazaar, which previously lacked adequate sanitation facilities. 'So it will be equipped with showers and changing areas for children.'

Known for bridging design, architecture and carpentry through his multidisciplinary Milan studio, Moor approached the challenge with a system-oriented eye. He developed a modular timber grid based around a custom aluminium four-way connector that allows the structure to be dismantled, rebuilt and reconfigured for different uses. 'We wanted to create a truly replicable system, even in sociocultural contexts different from ours, where they might not have the same machinery,' he explains. Standardised wooden elements slot into the joint to create a lightweight structural lattice that can expand horizontally and vertically, while panels – used as partitions, shelving or roofing – can be added or removed depending on the context.

'The booth at the fair will be very ethereal, very light, with the addition of coloured panels that provide a graphic explanation of the project,' Moor told us of the temporary pavilion, which presents a teaser selection from his Thumb collection – originally conceived for the kitchen and now evolving into the bathroom – alongside the Hum range designed by Philippe Malouin, and a set of new stools by NM3.

'In Africa, on the other hand, the architecture becomes more closed and functional, because it also needs to allow users moments of privacy.' The real challenge, he adds, was ensuring that neither purpose compromised the other. 'The most complicated part was designing something capable of accomplishing two tasks that are so diametrically opposed – a commercial exhibition space on one hand, and a fully functioning restroom on the other – without sacrificing either.'

Salone del Mobile, International Bathroom Exhibition | Hall 06 | Stand B41

Large-scale experiential installations have become a mainstay at Salone del Mobile and Milan Design Week; they can help artists, designers and curators communicate ideas that leave an indelible mark on viewers and participants. Often, they are visually arresting spectacles, but messaging can easily lose potency as people scramble to capture photos rather than question the meaning of what they are seeing. AI technology features prominently at this year’s fair, as do references to nature and the environment. Here are just a few of the impactful and effective experiential presentations from Milan Design Week 2026 – see our guide to what’s on and our live blog from editors on the ground for more.

‘Anima Mundi. A Visionary Impulse’ by Dot Dot Dot and Geely

At the Fondazione Istituto dei Ciechi (Blind Institute), transdisciplinary studio Dot Dot Dot and car-maker Geely are making people stop and listen. In a neoclassical room with a self-playing organ, the sound is triggered by the number of people in the space. Semi-transparent veils produce imagery fed by data-gathering from the room using AI. The floor-to-ceiling veils are angled to create a perspective view with the organ as a focal point. ‘We wanted to question what renaissance means now, today humans are no longer at the centre, but part of an ecosystem where we need to listen to the other elements, too,’ explains Dot Dot Dot co-founder Laura Dellamotta. The dramatic musical composition is designed by Nicola Ariutti and reinterpreted by an algorithm and played through the 4,000 pipes.

Fondazione Istituto dei Ciechi Via Vivaio 7, Milan

‘Garden of the Hesperides’ by Annabel Karim Kassar

Annabel Karim Kassar recreates the Greek myth of a lost world with fruits of immortality. ‘Garden of the Hesperides’ is aptly sited in a hidden orchard – Orto Botanico di Brera – as part of the wider exhibition, ‘Interni Materiae’. Kassar has translated the latin word materiae to mean origin and concept, creating a sense of wonder through storytelling. The architect encourages visitors to discover the nine nymphs (Hesperides) who protect the fruits of immortality from a serpent. Large-format figurative paintings on Plexiglas are dotted around the garden, while a celestial blue-framed arched walkway guides participants on their path to discovery.

Orto Botanico di Brera, Via Brera 28/via Fiori Oscuri 4, Milan

‘Infinity’ by Marco Nereo Rotelli

This AI-driven installation by Venetian artist Marco Nereo Rotelli transforms Milan’s Cortile della Farmacia into a space for reflection on human values. The immersive, interactive installation uses environmental sensors that respond to visitors' presence, making them participants in the work. You interact with it by choosing a question such as: ‘Would you pay more to save the planet?’ You answer, and a poetic verse by Valerio Magrelli is projected onto one of the screens. Rotelli has collaborated with 2007 Nobel Prize-winning climate scientist Riccardo Valentini, while musician Alessio Bertallot contributes ‘Codice d’Acqua’ (water code), a generative AI soundscape.

Università degli Studi, Via Festa del Perdono 7, Milan

‘The Sound of Premium’ by WOA Studio for Continental

Tyre manufacturer Continental’s installation at Base in the Tortona district highlights the impact of sound pollution. Visitors walk through a space filled with tall columns of varying heights, representing an urban setting; the columns illuminate in time with the music as it builds to a crescendo and quietens back down. Designed by WOA Studio, ‘The Sound of Premium’ also proposes one way to reduce sound pollution: better tyres. Continental’s innovative ‘ContiSilent’ and ‘Silent Pattern’ tyres, which are designed to reduce noise levels, contributing to quieter cities.

Base, Via Bergongnone 34, Milan, base.milano.it

‘Metamorphosis in Motion’ by Lina Ghotmeh

Paris-based architect Lina Ghotmeh has transformed the courtyard of Milan's historic Palazzo Litta into a pink labyrinth. The installation, called ‘Metamorphosis in Motion’ (read our review), creates distinct zones for reflection, conversation, movement, and rest. Scents of cypress, cedar, and olibanum evoke Ghotmeh's Lebanese homeland, while soft seating, a talk space, a bookshop, and a food tasting area invite visitors to linger. Conceived as an antidote to the design fair’s frenetic pace, the work prioritises human connection and participation over spectacle.

Palazzo Litta, 24 Corso Magenta Milan, moscapartners.it/variations-2026

‘Oasis’ by Rick Tegelaar

Another installation offering respite is ‘Oasis’, a solo show by Dutch designer Rick Tegelaar, that provides insight into his process. Botanical artist Pim Schrier has helped Tegelaar create a verdant ‘room’ that instantly calms the senses. You enter the installation through a tunnel made from illuminated, woven plywood screens. This leads to a new lighting collection by Tegelaar called ‘Traces’, featuring pendant and wall lights, also made from plywood, stained in wood oil, bent and suspended into a stingray form. The air is softly, but noticeably perfumed with a scent by SOM Tales of Perfume, while mechanical panels create a gentle breeze around a sanctuary that’s designed for meditation.

Spazio Adatto, Viale Abruzzi 13, Milan

‘Aqua Sanctuary’ by Grohe

Grohe has created an exhibition focused on wellbeing, called ‘Aqua Sanctuary’, which unfolds across three sanctums. The first reimagines what a shower can look like, with light and water working in harmony to highlight a sculptural faucet suspended from the ceiling. In the second sanctum, precious stone and metals are the foundations of the Atrio Private Collection – a Buster + Punch collaboration offering elegant tap fixtures with quartz inserts. In the final sanctum, a bath in Phantom Black with Caesarstone Vanilla Noir details steals the show. This piece can be personalised thanks to its interchangeable inserts.

Teatro Studio Melato, Via Rivoli 6, Milan

When the world's biggest design fair announced Salone Contract 2027 earlier in 2026, the annual Milanese event, long the foremost staple in the global design calendar, showed that it does not rest on its laurels. Under the presidency of Maria Porro, Salone del Mobile is launching a new project focused on contract furniture and interiors – a take that is intended not only to shake up the industry and 'create concrete opportunities' for growth and sustainability, but also to place the focus firmly back on quality in the design and architecture world. From this year's Raritas (dedicated to collectible design) to next year's Contract, the fair is keen to address all scales in the design world's broad spectrum. The ambition is there – our ears have pricked up.

Salone Contract 2027: the global fair’s newest project

Salone Contract 2027’s announcement was arguably received with a mixture of excitement (the project promises a wealth of new opportunities for the design and manufacturing industry, and it's a new area for the fair to address) and questions (what does 'contract' mean? And how does it apply to designers of all scales?). Pioneering architecture studio OMA was revealed as leader of the project's masterplanning and design. At this week's Salone del Mobile 2026 – where Wallpaper* editors are on the ground and keeping a live blog – the architects offered a glimpse of what's to come during the dedicated Salone Contract Forum at Pavilion 14's Drafting Futures Arena.

'This is a very important step for the evolution of Salone,' Porro said at the event. 'The world of furniture is changing a lot, and this is a big opportunity for design. We thought about creating a Contract pavilion, but we soon realised that our usual rules do not apply here. The name of OMA instantly came to mind [for this journey].'

We attended the forum, so you won't have to – and put together a guide that explains all. Scroll down for more.

Who is designing Contract?

OMA and its research arm, AMO, are perfectly placed to take on the challenge of designing Salone Contract 2027, given their track record of acclaimed, high-profile projects, which range from the EU's visual identity and Barcode flag to the Prada catwalks. Always challenging the status quo and offering new takes on the way forward, the Dutch architecture studio is co-defining, together with Salone president Maria Porro, what Contract work means for the industry and what its physical space might look like.

Led by the practice's Rem Koolhaas and David Gianotten, Salone Contract 2027 promises to break down the complex and often obscure (to the outsider) work and collaborations within contract projects, showcasing how they can provide space for design to grow bigger and better through such a process.

What is Contract?

At the Salone 2026 forum, David Gianotten and Maria Porro brought up several times how misunderstood the idea of 'contract' can be – and how complex its nature is. So, what is Contract? Gianotten explains the notion and practice of creating through contract work as an ecosystem – an entire environment: 'Contract tries to represent how a project is done as a one-stop shop, and its ecosystem, which is not only about producing furniture or interior, but it is really about the total environment. And in the end, it's even about the reuse and the end of the life cycle [of a project]. So it's not about aesthetics.'

Respectively, the space within Salone that will host this section 'is not a fair, or a show', he says. 'It is more like a stock exchange.' It is also about working with different specialists to move away from the product alone (although product design, of course, remains central), to more of a systems-building, something that thinks about broader lifecycles of projects and a space where maximum innovation can flourish.

What contract is not, Gianotten highlights, is 'just hospitality'. Contract design has a different timeline to single product design, and a very global aspect. Architect and MAXXI director Lorenza Baroncelli, who took part in a panel discussion on the theme, explained that contract may be about scaling up, but 'it is not about missing on quality – it is the future of quality'.

Salone Contract 2027’s physical space

'Creating the pavilion [for Salone Contract 2027] is as important as its content,' Porro stressed at the 2026 Contract Forum. She selected her architects carefully and first engaged with OMA seven months ago to co-define what this new area of the fair might look like.

'Contract is a start situation, not an end situation,' Gianotten says. Following that way of thinking, the Contract space is designed to be open, flexible and collaborative, aiming to create the right environment and ecosystem for value and collaboration.

There is a discreet entrance sequence, an entryway which the architects describe as an 'introduction' to the concept of Contract, familiarising the visitors with what they are about to see, before stepping inside the large exhibition hall. A round area at the centre of the structure will act as a 'forum of exchange', a (literal) circle which will be the project's social heart.

From there, case studies radiate, exhibited as little universes, with each display having the end result, the project at its core, and all the companies involved with it around it. The aim is to show how Contract is all about relationships and collaboration, contributions big and small. Movable elements will be used so that formats can adapt and change project by project and year on year as required.

Who can exhibit there?

OMA's Contract section aims to display how a contract brief is about creating an environment – 'not buying single objects and putting them together', Gianotten explains, 'but designing the whole environment at once'. The exhibitors will be fittingly diverse and covering all aspects of a bigger project – from design and architecture, to furniture design, but also larger manufacturing, smaller independent contributions and anything in-between.

'[Here, we are] not so much interested in the product by itself, but they're really interested in the whole system of the project,' he adds. 'It's not about the sales moment, but it is really about this long-term engagement for all the actors present, even the client, the designer, the producer, but also the operators.'

The naval industry is ahead of the game in this section, Gianotten flags. 'Already, 95 per cent of the boats are done under contracts. It is a sector that has already moved completely into that realm.'

Contract throughout history – key examples

A tightly packed lecture by Rem Koolhaas offered valuable context to the idea of contract work and an analysis of OMA's thinking for the project, going through some of the historical examples the team researched in order to develop their response to their brief for Contract. Koolhaas visited case studies of global work where a similar approach was adopted, and they range a lot, in typology, result and geographical location.

In Roman times, buildings were commissioned in a collective way, Gianotten explains. '[The contract approach was already embedded] in this mindset, where people would deliver everything from the local environment to the use of that building and even the after-use.' Examples cited vary from the way ancient Romans worked in commissioning as a sort of Gesamtkunstwerk, to the fascinating design story of the Rockefeller Centre in New York, as presented by Koolhaas.

The latter was run by John Rockefeller himself in a 'very rigid manner' that enabled the project not only to survive and complete, but also allowed a 'density of thinking and collaboration' with the important physical beginning of this contract: [It was to be] accommodated and housed in a single environment and [for the different actors] to be together for five years, day in day out, as a single team'.

The striking Lagos International Trade Fair Complex in Nigeria, designed based on hexagonal floorplans, was another key example of contract work with impressive historical intel and delivery results. Meanwhile, Koolhaas also used an ongoing OMA project in Miami, a private home, to showcase the complex nature of creating architecture and interiors, and how current affairs and global challenges, such as war, climate change and political decisions, affect manufacturing and supply chains – which in turn play a key role in a designer's decision-making.

What's next?

While the full scale of what's to come has not been revealed, there are enough hints to offer a taste of next year's Contract space and the opportunities it might offer to exhibitors and visitors. What sits at the heart of Salone's creatively disruptive approach also resonates with Koolhaas and his team. At the Contract Forum, the architect spoke about taking risks – and seeing risk-taking not as a detractor but a rich and even necessary condition to moving the needle in building and the construction industry, a traditionally slow-moving and arguably risk-averse field.

'I am not comfortable with being comfortable,' Koolhaas says. 'We shouldn’t be avoiding risk; by avoiding risk, we avoid creativity.' Gianotten added: 'Risk-taking is important to innovation. Innovation means taking risks.'

It is the right attitude to instigate change – and the hope is that Salone Contract 2027 will provide the platform for just that.

Check our guide to what to see at Salone del Mobile and Milan Design Week 2026 and follow our editors’ live blog for latest news.

Salone del Mobile 2027 will take place from 13-18 April, Fiera Milano, Rho

If fashion week is all about showcasing new product, the fashion industry’s presence at Salone del Mobile and the wider Milan Design Week is all about proposing an experience. The fashion brands opting to join the design world in Milan this year largely opted for immersive activations, eschewing product collaborations in favour of inviting guests into their world (albeit a very well-dressed one).

After a few years of nostalgia and sense-driven activations, the mood this year was a playful one. Louis Vuitton Objets Nomades presented monogrammed artist trunks and mermaid fuzzball cabinets; Gucci immortalised creative director Demna in its tapestry-inspired exhibition, ‘Gucci Memoria’; Valextra squeezed inflatables into its flagship windows for its Objects of Common Interest collaboration; and Marni took over the legendary Pasticceria Cucchi in an effervescent celebration of their shared hometown.

Those with established home-design arms of their business, meanwhile, revisited icons that have stood the test of time, a reminder – as if we needed it – that good design lasts forever in every medium.

Here, Scarlett Conlon highlights the standout fashion moments of Salone del Mobile and Milan Design Week 2026 (also follow our editors’ live blog of all that’s new and notable to see across the city).

Jil Sander opened a ‘Reference Library’

For Jil Sander’s first major outing at Salone del Mobile, creative director Simone Bellotti unveiled Reference Library, a presentation of 60 books chosen by 60 creatives close to the house to spotlight the ideas that have inspired a million more. Staged at the brand’s HQ and designed in collaboration with Milanese architecture practice Studioutte, each tome was placed on a chrome lectern with a reading lamp, waiting to be leafed through by guests who were each given a pair of perfect white gloves for the occasion. From Patrick Suskind’s Perfume, selected by director and playwright Celine Song, and Masanobu Fukuoka’s The One Straw Revolution – An Introduction to Natural Farming, selected by artist Rirkrit Tiravanija, it resulted in the ultimate reading list and a poignant reminder of the joy – and luxury – of slowing down to read.

Gucci immortalised the house’s history in tapestry

Putting a sprawling vending machine in the courtyard of the 16th-century Chiostri di San Simpliciano, churning out baby cans of fizzy pop called ‘Fashion Icon’ and ‘Drama Queen’, is exactly the kind of tongue-in-cheek(i)ness we expect from Gucci creative director Demna. Inside the building’s porticoes hung the tapestry-inspired wall hangings the designer had commissioned to symbolically celebrate various eras of the brand throughout its 105-year history. Starting with founder Guccio Gucci’s early days in London, the 12 hangings spanned various decades and creative directors, finishing on a depiction of Demna himself in a fitting. In the centre of the space, a wild flower garden inspired by Gucci’s Flora motif became an immersive scented setting that visitors to the brand’s Montenapoleone boutique will discover for themselves when the flowers are cut into complimentary bouquets later this week.

Valextra filled its store with inflatables

With a near 90-year trajectory at the meeting point between engineering, design and style, and the first Compasso D’Oro (for its Premier briefcase) in the trophy cabinet, Valextra is something of the designers’ designer. For this Design Week, it collaborated with Athens-based studio Objects of Common Interest to create ‘Soft & Tender Topographies’, an installation that placed contrasting materialities in a playful conversation with each other – as is Valextra’s MO. Glossy black inflatable structures were deliberately squeezed into the windows of its Via Manzoni flagship with perfect Greek marble that created a cradle of limited editions of its iconic Iside handbag, the Iside Sculpt and the Iside Editor. The installation was later transferred to the legendary Bar Basso, a long-term collaborator of the brand, in a celebration of experimentation, innovation, and timeless Milanese energy that define them both.

Hermès stripped things back at La Pelota

‘The Material Speaks, The Object Tells A Story’, was the tagline of this year’s Hermès ‘Collections for the Home’ exhibition. With La Pelota stripped back to a series of white plinths dotted around the space, this was a year of a blank canvas on which the brand allowed its creations to do the talking. Its equestrian roots were, as ever, the common thread throughout. Hand-hammered palladium-finish bowls and vases whipstitched in Chamkila goatskin and decorated with horsehair to resemble a manicured hoof were joined by the standout Carrara Venato and Verde Alpi marble table in the shape of a saddle with its legs striped in the house’s ‘Jumping’ motif. The sumptuous blankets that are the ultimate in status soft furnishings didn’t disappoint either. Handwoven cashmere with ribbed webbing that looked like hessian but felt like a cloud came with velvet lambskin tassels and a discreet resist-dyed ‘H’ motif. Elsewhere, leather marquetry using Chamkila goatskin on mahogany, sycamore and cassia wood boxes, alongside the perforated ‘Confetti’ baskets in Crayola hues, are strong contenders for the ultimate desk accessories.

Marni embraced Milanese café culture at Pasticceria Cucchi

Like every Italian city, daily life in Milan is defined by its gastronomic rituals. From morning coffee to evening aperitivo, how one bookends the day is a non-negotiable – as is where you do it. As one of Milan’s most celebrated original fashion exports, Marni knows what’s good, which is why it chose Pasticceria Cucchi to take up its Milan Design Week residency. Much like the beloved fashion brand, the legendary corner café is famous for its warmth, humour and round-the-clock style and this partnership is a celebration of all the above. Envisioned by RedDuo Studio, the three-month project launched with a very Milanese aperitivo party – hosted in collaboration with Wallpaper* – where the takeover was revealed. Red and green striped awnings, customised tea and coffee sets, and branded bags of sugar set the scene that will continue with live performances every week, inviting guests to discover the joy-filled world that Marni and Cucchi both inhabit.

Louis Vuitton took over a Milanese palazzo for its latest Objets Nomades

You know it’s Milan Design Week when a Milanese palace plays host to a mermaid fuzzball table-inspired cabinet. For Louis Vuitton’s ‘Objets Nomades’, the brand brought its usual idiosyncratic elegance to proceedings across seven rooms charting its evolution from the art deco era to the digital age. Highlights include an imagined 1920 train carriage in a nod to the golden age of train travel and the savoir faire of its iconic trunks, featuring rare artefacts from the Louis Vuitton Heritage archive. The centrepiece was a four-foot trunk transformed into an artist’s compendium, complete with paint brushes and oil paints. Elsewhere, Estudio Campana’s ‘Cabinet Kaleidoscope’, crafted from leather marquetry in the form of a large leather fuzzball table complete with mermaids as players, and its suspended ‘Cocoon Dichroic’ chair, created in collaboration with Géraldine Gonzalez, were playful contemporary counterpoints to the house’s decadent furniture collection and table settings.

Dior’s Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance-designed lamps were inspired by the New Look

Taking inspiration from the sculpted lines of founder Christian Dior’s 1947 New Look, Dior’s Design Week installation presented a collection of lamps designed by Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance that reinterpreted the silhouette of the ‘Corolle’ skirt. It was staged at the Palazzo Landriani, and guests entered an immersive garden crafted from raffia designed by Thai artists Korakot Aromdee and Vasana Saima, evoking the wonder of the gardens of Monsieur Dior’s childhood home, Villa Les Rhumbs in Granville. Comprising pieces made from mouth-blown glass in the Murano tradition in the house’s signature shades of grey, pink and white, alongside woven bamboo in ode to the art of Japanese basketry, each lamp refracted the light in mesmerising patterns. ‘Light projections are as important as the work on the material that gives rise to them,’ relayed Duchaufour-Lawrance. ‘Through these reflections, light, itself, turns into matter.’

Prada Frames took place in a historic church

If anyone thought that last year’s Prada Frames location, a train designed by Gio Ponti stationed in Milano Centrale, was a hard to beat, second-guess Prada at your peril. For this edition, the brand brought guests into possibly the most famous Milanese landmark after the Duomo (maybe next year?), the Santa Maria delle Grazie, home to Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper. The brand’s annual symposium, staged in collaboration with Formafantasma, is always a highlight for its thought-provoking conversations that bring together academics, authors, and future thinkers to muse on a singular theme. This year, it was ‘In Sight’, focusing on image making and the power the process has in shaping history, contextualised by the brilliant Alice Rawsthorn. Conversations ranged from examining how images challenge the idea of visual proof across histories of racial violence, war and environmental crisis, to how machine vision influences perception and ‘embeds social and political biases into everyday visual experience’.

Armani/Casa revisited its most iconic pieces

The first showcase of Mr Armani’s beloved home collection since his death last September provided a moment of celebratory reflection at its Corso Venezia flagship. On the ground floor, archival icons – the ‘Baloon’ armchair, the ‘Seine’ console, the ‘Riesling’ bar cabinet, the ‘Dustin’ director’s chair, the ‘Tokyo’ armchair, the ‘Winchester’ screen, the ‘Logo’ lamp, and the ‘Danzica’ coffee table – were placed beside new editions from the current collection, letting their timeless credentials speak for themselves. Above were scenes that paid homage to the homes of the legendary founder. In one, the ‘Borgonuovo’ games table (chess pieces on top, card games in the drawers beneath) was positioned against a backdrop replicating Mr Armani’s famous wall of photos in his Milanese home (here rendered in his favourite medium of watercolour) and with his ‘Logo’ table light (immortalised in that famous image of him) now standing tall as a floor lamp. In another, fabrics and furniture inspired by his homes in Pantelleria and New York served as tributes to the timeliness of one man’s vision that is beautifully evolving in the hands of his team.

Bottega Veneta drafted Kwangho Lee to create leather lighting

Forever a byword for exquisite leather artisanship, Bottega Veneta’s leather is one of those quiet signatures that denotes Italian craft the world over. Under creative director Louise Trotter who started her tenure at the house last year, the brand’s Milan Design Week exhibition, ‘Lightful’, celebrated its luxurious strips of leather with a site-specific light installation in its flagship boutique by its three-time collaborator Korean artist Kwangho Lee, whose artworks featured in the brands show space last September. Suspended over the water fountain in various formations, each installation sends the light in a different direction, creating a pattern of abstracted shadows around the boutique. A reflection of the beauty and endless possibilities of its main material.

Issey Miyake crafted furniture from recycled paper

Issey Miyake presented a lesson in full-circle creation with its installation, ‘The Paper Log: Shell and Core’. On a visit to the brand’s factory a few years ago, where its iconic pleats are pressed into material between wafer-thin sheets of tissue-come-wax paper, artistic director and head designer of Issey Miyake Studio Satoshi Kondo saw something in the way the paper was compressed to be disposed of. Having retained colour transfer from the garment pleating at high temperatures, the rolls of paper now had geological-esque marbling (like the cross-section of quartz) that captivated Kondo. Compressing them further, he created a large cylindrical ‘log’ and proceeded to make the stools for guests to sit on at the house’s S/S 2025 show in Paris in 2024. Fast forward to last year and a collaboration with architecture office Ensamble Studio has seen the rolls transformed into architecture-inspired furniture hardened with crystalising agents that effectively froze each pleat in time. The result? A dialogue in byproduct becoming beautiful product – the ultimate ‘waste not, want not.’

Loro Piana put material innovation centre stage

Loro Piana stole the show last year with its cinematic collaboration with Dimorestudio. This year, it shifted focus to its own craftsmanship with ‘Studies, Chapter 1: On the Plaid’, the first in a series of case studies that will see the brand interrogate a specific object. Comprising 24 plaids showcasing different techniques, the display took guests around four chapters devoted to material innovation, from embroidery to jacquard to quilting, exploring the precise practice behind each. Crafted with couture levels of artisanship, the numbers say it all: the Sherazade Notte plaid, constructed in cashmere velour and finished with three layers of hand-trimmed cashmere appliqué and glass beads, took a total of 1,850 hours to complete.

Fendi hosted its inaugural Design Prize

Fendi had a busy Design Week, unveiling the winner of its inaugural Fendi Design Prize, its new Fendi Casa interiors collection, and a new edition of the brand’s iconic Baguette handbag by creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri. The first has been realised to nurture new talents in design and craftsmanship, with six finalists selected from 70 student applications by a panel that included Patricia Urquiola and Alcova co-founder Joseph Grima. The winner was Swedish designer Gustav Craft, whose collection called ‘Via’ was inspired by the historic cobbled streets of the house’s birthplace, Rome. ‘Everyone looks up at the beautiful buildings in Rome, but they forget to look down at the amazing roads and all its history,’ he said after receiving his prize. Elsewhere, the house’s history and codes informed the evolution of the Fendi Casa collection, with new designs from Toan Nguyen, Ceriani Szostak Lewis Kemmenoe, and the Fendi Casa Studio. Meanwhile, Chiuri’s take on the brand’s most famous bag, the Baguette 26424, was a message of reinvention, said the brand. ‘To re-launch this bag today, to multiply the versions, is to say that every woman can be what she wants: there are no models, let's invent models ourselves.’

Tod’s drew inspiration from Italian design icons

What happens when an Italian fashion icon meets an Italian furniture icon? For Tod’s Icons by Icons exhibition, it results in four limited editions of the ‘Gommino’ driving shoe inspired by masters of Italian design and their most famous pieces. The lines and colours of the ‘Elda’ armchair by Joe Colombo, the ‘Crosby’ chair by Gaetano Pesce, the ‘Kristall’ table designed by Michele De Lucchi for Memphis Milano, and the Brionvega RR226 Radiofonografo by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni have each been applied to the ‘Gommino’, resulting in a riot of colour and eclecticism that will be available to purchase as collector’s items. The finished product and its corresponding design icon were placed side-by-side at the brand’s event as its artisans demonstrated their making in a celebratory demonstration of art inspiring art.

JW Anderson drafted basket weaver Eddie Glew

Design week wouldn’t quite feel right without JW Anderson in the mix. Having departed Loewe last year, with whom he staged an annual extravaganza under his tenure (the brand was absent this year), it fell to his eponymous label to provide a glimpse into where his personal passion for craft has taken him of late. It transpired that it led him to discover Eddie Glew, a Yeoman Basketmaker based in Staffordshire, who created three handbags for Anderson’s A/W 2026 collection, the Blanket Basket, the Log Basket, and the Laundry Basket. Glew travelled to Milano for Salone to stage an intimate demonstration of the time-honed technique that he learnt from his father that involves sculpting British willow using a shave, a knife and his hands. For Milan Design Week, he made flowers (an extension of a Romany tradition that sees flowers crafted from hedgerow twine using a pocketknife) that attendees were gifted. As the brand put it, ‘a piece of pure craftsmanship, hands shaping nature into art’.

Ralph Lauren Home got cinematic

‘A cinematic journey from town to country,’ is how Ralph Lauren Home described its new homewares collection, unveiled at the Palazzo Ralph Lauren. It was realised in two singular expressions of Lauren’s signature aesthetic that were completely unique and, at the same time, ‘so Ralph’. The first, Saddlebrook, was an ode to the Lauren family home, exuding a romantic lived-in charm with its oak-panelled walls, jacquard cushions upon cushions, and generous bowls of fruit and candles piled on books. The second, Sterling Square, riffed straight off the polish of a New York City penthouse with art deco influences, modern art, sateen bed linen, and cashmere blankets in cream and camel. As ever, each space was a fully realised room where every detail is so considered that you feel like you could actually be walking into his home. Transporting people to his world is one of Lauren’s greatest talents with his fashion collections, but it’s really here that his collections are at their most aspirational.

‘Objects that Speak: A Conversation Continued with Andrea Branzi’ sees Rosewood make its Milan Design Week debut with an installation that feels less like an exhibition and more like a space for thought. Curated in collaboration with Deyan Sudjic, the project traces Rosewood’s evolving relationship with design while paying tribute to Andrea Branzi, one of Italy’s most influential design minds, who passed away three years ago.

Set in Via Carlo de Cristoforis 1 and open until 25 April, the installation centres on a striking, almost meditative display: 15 monumental lamps by Branzi, crafted from Japanese rice paper and Belgian bluestone. Towering yet ethereal, these 'lamps' gather in the room like silent presences, accompanied by two of his wall paintings, shown publicly for the first time. ‘Rosewood is an unusual company run by people who are curious about design culture,’ says Sudjic. ‘It was their idea to look at Branzi’s work, and they asked me to help set up the exhibition and explore the continuing relevance of his approach to design.’

A leading figure of Italy’s Radical Design movement, Branzi helped redefine the discipline, placing narrative, symbolism and ritual on equal footing with function. ‘Branzi always questioned the tyranny of mass production, in which individuality is sacrificed to the needs of production technology,’ explains Sudjic. ‘Rosewood has an analogical approach; each hotel is different but also has a shared ethos for the guest experience.’

The conversation does not end with Branzi. The installation unfolds further through works by a new generation of artists and designers commissioned for Rosewood properties around the world, including Maarten Baas, Jaime Hayon and Marc Quinn, alongside six others. ‘It is a selection from around the world; some work with their own hands, others with technology. My criteria was that they would feel comfortable to share the same space as Branzi,’ adds Sudjic.

In the midst of Milan’s frenetic design week, the installation offers a rare space to pause and reflect. ‘I really appreciate the contrast of the craziness of Milan in the middle of Design Week with the calm of the Branzi installation,’ says Sudjic.

In-between. This is a word that comes up often in conversation with designer Nao Tamura, whose quietly intuitive work typically hovers between tension and balance, space and time, motion and stillness. It also places her among our pick of leading female creatives defining Milan Design Week 2026.

Tamura – who also slips easily in-between the cultures of her native Japan and her adopted home, New York – has long been in the spotlight for her contemporary objects, furniture and spaces that often blend clean-lined purity and a quiet, modern poetry with a sense of lightness.

Milan has also played a key role in her design journey. It was in 2010 that Tamura won the inaugural SaloneSatellite Award at Salone del Mobile – an influential accolade that has since recognised a string of high-profile creatives. Fast-forward 16 years, and Tamura is again back at Salone this year, with scattered flocks of her bird-inspired portable ‘Tiki’ lamps in new shades (from sunshine yellow to pebble grey) alongside oval-topped ‘Fez’ tables at Established & Sons at the fair; she has also launched her clean-lined new ‘Ryo’ bookcase for Porro.

With Design Week in full swing, Tamura pauses from the Milan circuit to talk to Wallpaper* about her designs, the beauty of balance, making childhood Christmas presents, and all things in-between – herself included.

Wallpaper*: Which three words best sum up the essence of your designs?

Nao Tamura: Balance, interconnection and in-between. I’m always interested in how elements relate to each other, how tension and balance are created and how something can exist between two states rather than being fixed in one (like myself). That sense of ‘in-between’ is something I return to often in my work.

W*: How has your creative perspective been influenced by your time overseas?

NT: Living abroad for many years has given me a certain distance from my own cultural background. That distance allows me to see things more objectively, and in a way, it made me more aware of Japan than when I was actually living there. When I was in Japan, I was always looking outward. I don’t think I was fully aware of being Japanese, of my roots, or what is unique and valuable about Japanese culture. I think my perspective is shaped somewhere in-between. Not fully inside, not completely outside, but constantly moving between the two.

W*: How often do you return to Japan – and what Japanese influences shape your vision?

NT: It really varies depending on whether I have projects in Japan. Rather than specific forms or motifs, I think what influences me more is a way of thinking – how to find beauty in simplicity, how to respect material and how to create meaning through subtle relationships. Or maybe a relationship between us humans and nature. There are many things. These are not always visible, but they are always present in my work.

W*: Can you share a favourite Japanese word, idea or concept?

NT: Words I often think about are ma (間) or yohaku (余白). The meaning can be understood as space, pause or the interval between things. It is not emptiness, but something that allows elements to exist in relation to each other. In my work, I am often thinking about how to create this kind of space, where form, light and people can interact more freely – kind of like the ‘Ryo’ shelf I am launching this week with Porro.

W*: What does Salone mean to you, as a former 2010 SaloneSatellite winner – and how has Salone impacted your creative journey?

NT: SaloneSatellite was where my career really began. At that time, I didn’t overthink it, I simply applied and showed my work. I guess winning gave me visibility, but more importantly, it gave me a small confidence to continue. Looking back now, what I remember most is not the award itself but the moment of putting my work into the world, without fully knowing what would happen. That feeling still stays with me.

W*: Can you tell me a little about the latest versions of ‘Fez’ and ‘Tiki’ with Established & Sons?

NT: ‘Tiki’ was originally designed about ten years ago. It was inspired by a small, quiet moment, a bird perching briefly nearby. A bird never stays in one place. It lands, pauses and then moves on. But when it happens close to you, it brings a subtle warmth, a quiet kind of joy. ‘Tiki’ has now returned as a portable lamp. By making it cordless, it became freer, able to move with you, just like the bird itself. Gently turning the bird’s body adjusts the brightness, adding a small, intuitive interaction.

‘Fez’ was originally conceived as a perch for the ‘Tiki’ lamp. It is a side table with an off-centre top on a cone-shaped base, inspired by the delicate balance of a bird resting on the tip of a branch.

Both pieces share a similar geometry, creating a quiet connection between them. With these works, I hope to bring a small moment of awareness into everyday life, something subtle, but meaningful.

W*: Can you also share some insight into your new ‘Ryo’ creation at Porro?

NT: ‘Ryo’ is based on the idea of two planes meeting to form a structure. It is made from a folded sheet of metal, not as decoration, but as a natural result of how force is distributed. The triangular form exists between stability and lightness – and when repeated, it creates a quiet rhythm in space. It plays with light and shadow – and introduces a sense of ma, the space or interval between elements.

W*: What is typically the starting point for your design process?

NT: I grew up in a family of designers – my parents, grandmother, aunt and uncle were all involved in design in different ways. When I was a child, Christmas was a very special event in our home. It’s not very common in Japan, but my grandmother was born in San Francisco, so we celebrated it in a big way. My mother had one rule: instead of buying gifts, we had to make them ourselves.

Through that experience, I learned to think about what would truly make someone happy, not in terms of money, but through creativity. How can I bring a smile to someone’s face?

W*: How has that impacted you today?

NT: Looking back, I feel that what I do today as a designer is essentially the same. So it’s not simply about making someone happy in a direct way, but for every project, the initial conversation with the client is very important. Understanding their background, what they are good at, what makes them different, and what they are passionate about – these elements gradually form a kind of map for the design.

W*: What currently inspires you?

NT: Right now, I am very inspired by the idea of time. In a world where everything moves incredibly fast, there is still another kind of time that flows at a much slower, more constant pace, the same as it has always been. This is something I explored in my ‘Moment’ series with WonderGlass. I’m interested in how to bring that sense of time into making, especially through processes that are closer to craft, where you can feel the presence of time in the material itself.

W*: Finally, what are your hopes for the future?

NT: Right now, I’m working on retail projects in Paris for a Japanese fashion brand. It’s a different scale from what I’ve done before and I find it very exciting. Until now, much of my work has been shaped through collaboration with clients. That process has been very meaningful. But looking ahead, I feel that the next ten years might be a time to explore my own voice more directly. Perhaps the work may become closer to art, but I would like to step into that unknown territory and see where it leads.

Follow the latest news from Milan Design Week 2026 with our live blog, from Wallpaper* editors on the ground

‘Girls run the world’, the poet Beyoncé once said. In the design world, though, female creatives are still sadly underrepresented and under-recognised. Progress is being made, but the design and architecture professions are historically male-dominated – and great work created by women often doesn’t make it to highlight-level at major design events.

Wallpaper* aims to redress that imbalance. In Milan, where our editors are currently on the ground reviewing all that's noteworthy during Design Week 2026, we keep track of the achievements of incredible female creatives in the city – from Salone del Mobile president Maria Porro, injecting new ideas into one of the oldest design institutions in Italy, to trend-setting curator Valentina Ciuffi, whose Alcova has become an example of championing creativity from all corners of the profession, and doyenne of collectible design Nina Yashar (watch our Ground Report interview), whose galleries Nilufar and Nilufar Depot are among the most important places to discover design.

We also have a careful lens on the work that Patricia Urquiola is doing at Cassina, in terms of both innovation and championing an emerging generation of creatives; and the electric energy with which Visionnaire art director Eleonore Cavalli finds the most exciting ways to shake up her company's strong heritage (through unexpected collaborations with the likes of metal stalwart NM3, for example).

Here, we gather a small directory, spotlighting just some of the women whose work has defined this year's Milan Design Week. For many more, follow our coverage on Wallpaper.com, where you’ll find the likes of Federica Biasi and her respectful interpretation of Maddalena De Padova's legacy; the inimitable Bethan Laura Wood, reinterpreting Baccarat's baroque and subverting its rules; and Nao Tamura and her sculptural origami furniture for Porro that leave us marvelling at her creative gestures every time we encounter them.

Nine female creatives to know at Milan Design Week 2026

Faye Toogood

Faye Toogood is the queen of prototyping, and this Milan Design Week has made it even clearer that the British designer is the best when it comes to visualising ideas in compact ways. We are particularly fond of her mini carved butter sofas, a prelude to her collection of seating for Tacchini (aptly called ‘Butter' and comprising different modular elements, or ‘slabs of butter’: a three-seater sofa, an armchair and a storage unit). But her miniature-making prowess was also evident in the perfectly compact ‘Lie Low’ bed, for Poltrona Frau, and the folded paper experiments that represent her ‘Crease’ collection for Meritalia, inspired by flat-pack constructions.

And while the life-size versions of these furniture design concepts are magnificent in their own right, seeing the ideas unfold in small scale (and in such imaginative, expressive ways) always puts a smile on our face.

Linde Freya Tangelder

The work of Belgian designer Linde Freya Tangelder (also known as Destroyers Builders) is a powerful whisper. Over the years, the designer has built an aesthetic identity that is unmistakably hers, based on a version of minimalism that is multi-material and takes modularity to unexpected horizons. At Milan Design Week 2026, Tangelder and Cassina staged a display at 10 Corso Como titled 'Fluid Re-Collection', an immersion into her creative world that includes her furniture, objects and study models placed in conversation with the lighting design she has been creating with the Italian company since 2022.

Ambra Medda with Amy Tai

'I love being part of a city that is changing and evolving at such speed,' said design curator Ambra Medda, who recently moved back to Milan from her longtime base in London. Her new creative space in the city hosts its inaugural exhibition, co-curated with design historian Amy Tai, bringing together the ceramic work of Greek designer Leda Athanasopoulou and textiles by the Chinese artist Yumo Yuan.

Read our interview with Ambra Medda

Elisa Ossino

Elisa Ossino's secret garden with Molteni & C is a much-needed oasis of peace in the middle of Milan ('What a beautiful gift to the city', we overheard someone say on our visit at the beginning of Milan Design Week). Titled 'Responsive Nature', the verdant installation takes over Garden Senato in a way that is both poetic and also a stage to showcase the company's new outdoor collections (including new pieces by Ossino herself). Through five environments, Molteni & C's furniture is set amid tropical plants, architectural ruins overgrown with foliage and water features that make you feel like you have left the city and have stepped into an otherworldly natural paradise.

Kelly Wearstler

Kelly Wearstler, queen of the maximalist interior, made her Milan Design Week debut to launch a new furniture collection designed in tandem with H&M Home. ‘We still had a lot of boundaries,' she told us. ‘Every piece had to be modular, but it pushed us to be more creative.' While all the objects in the collection feel unique, Wearstler was also keen that they work with any environment. ‘I wanted to operate under the ethos of just offering great accessible design.' Launching in 28 markets, the collection includes chairs, tables and lamps, as well as a series of tabletop items, ranging from wooden vases to drinking glasses. Anyone who has visited one of Wearstler's luxury lifestyle-forward Proper hotels will immediately recognise her distinctive aesthetic.

Read our interview with Kelly Wearstler

Marta Sala

Milanese gallerist Marta Sala founded her namesake company, Marta Sala Éditions, in 2015, with the aim of building a platform dedicated to limited-run design collections rooted in architectural rigour and material precision. Eleven years on, that vision has been entirely realised – in no small part thanks to her longstanding collaborations with some of the most exacting figures in design. At Milan Design Week 2026, she launched a new collection with Herzog & de Meuron, making its debut at the inaugural edition of Salone Raritas.

Read our interview with Marta Sala

Natalia Criado

Since founding her eponymous brand in 2018, the Milan-based, Colombia-born designer Natalia Criado has been developing a body of work that reads as both functional object and sculpture. This year at Milan Design Week, Criado worked with Laboratorio Paravicini – the Milanese ceramics brand run by Costanza Paravicini and her three daughters, Benedetta, Margherita and Bona, known for their deftly hand-illustrated ceramics. 'I had been aware of their work for some time, and what drew me in was not only the craftsmanship, but the structure behind it, a family-run studio largely composed of women,' Criado says.

Read our interview with Natalia Criado

Sophie Lou Jacobsen

For the past several months, New York glassware designer Sophie Lou Jacobsen has been spending more and more time in Milan, developing her latest collection inspired by the famed local aperitivo culture. 'In New York, we have happy hour, and in France, there is apéro, but aperitivo is a ritual really ingrained into daily life in Milan,' says the designer, who aptly titled the collection 'Disco Aperitivo', a nod to the 1980s style that still defines many of the city’s historic bars.

Read our interview with Sophie Lou Jacobsen

Lina Ghotmeh

Lebanese-born, Paris-based architect Lina Ghotmehhas built a reputation for immersive, site-responsive work, and was also behind one of the most anticipated installations of Milan Design Week, at Palazzo Litta, transforming the historic building's courtyard into different pockets of calm, culture and conversation during a frenetic week. ‘At a time when the world is bombarded from several standpoints, I wanted a place that cherishes joy and human connection. It is a setting that gently slows people down and allows them to engage with one another and with the place around them,’ she explains.

Read our interview with Lina Ghotmeh

See our guide to what’s on at Milan Design Week 2026 (until 26 April), and follow the adventures of our editors on the ground in our live Milan blog.

While we love Salone del Mobile, navigating the dim, hangar-like convention halls for hours can have you longing to touch grass, quite literally. New Zealand-based luxury appliance brand Fisher & Paykel has offered the next-best thing with ‘Nature – Ritual’, an immersive booth design that surrounds visitors with the sights, sounds and scents of a lush forest.

The 4,800 sq ft booth, presented as part of Salone del Mobile’s biannual EuroCucina kitchen showcase, is wrapped entirely in a backlit curtain printed with lush imagery of dense New Zealand trees and verdant vegetation. Visitors are greeted with a tea ceremony, where staff pour local kawakawa tea into vessels designed by ceramic artist Aaron Scythe.

As fairgoers navigate a series of four vignettes, they encounter textured, sculptural monoliths, crafted from a conifer called Tōtara and volcanic basalt, that showcase Fisher & Paykel’s innovations across kitchen and fabric care products. Surrounded by the chirps and trills of native New Zealand birds – notably the tūī, korimako bellbird and pīwakawaka – you feel transported from a trade fair to someplace calming and ancient.

It’s all meant to emphasise the rituals inherent to cooking, hosting and dressing, while also underscoring Fisher & Paykel’s commitment to the design community and the environment. The natural world, says Fisher & Paykel CEO Daniel Witten-Hannah, ‘is at the heart of everything we do. It’s how we serve the design community.’ In fact, the company has committed to cutting its appliances’ carbon emissions by 90 per cent by 2050.

To pull it all together, Fisher & Paykel tapped Dean Poole, creative director of Auckland-based studio Alt Group. The designer, who worked alongside Italian firm Calvi Brambilla and Partners, opted to ditch played-out luxury signifiers like marble and over-the-top design, in favour of an intentional palette of timber and volcanic stone, a move that ‘communicates not only the integration potential of the appliances presented, but the place in which those appliances were conceived and designed,’ he says.

Poole’s design even included a custom fragrance, created in partnership with Italian fragrance company Integra Fragances, that smells like a New Zealand beech forest, and garments by Kiwi designer Claudia Li framing a display devoted to fabric care. These elements, combined with ethereal lighting and exquisitely detailed carpentry, showcase the aesthetic potential of Fisher & Paykel’s State of the Art Collection.

Through its high-tech products, the 93-year-old company proposes something radical: that domestic tasks can transcend a to-do list. ‘“Nature – Ritual” expresses our belief that the best design is connected to place, shaped by human need and resolved with clarity,’ Witten-Hannah says. ‘It reflects our belief that products engineered for life reduce friction, engage the senses and elevate everyday routines into rituals in the home.’

‘Nature – Ritual’ is on through 26 April 2026 during Salone del Mobile at EuroCucina, Hall 4P, Stand D34

Anticipation had been high. For Milan, the opening of RH Milan, The Gallery at Corso Venezia 56 represented something that goes beyond the usual clamour surrounding standout launches during Milan Design Week. In recent years, a series of advertising campaigns has enveloped the captivating façades of one of the city’s most beautiful neo-Renaissance palazzi, built in 1880 by Giorgio Pellini, already renowned as the constructor of the celebrated Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, just steps from the Duomo.

Following a packed opening night yesterday evening, the American luxury design brand has today (22 April 2026) reopened the doors of this architectural jewel – the last building along the elegant Corso Venezia before the Bastioni, those neoclassical sentinels that once marked the city’s eastern gateway. Having opened a Paris flagship in 2025 in the refined setting of Champs-Élysées, the company has likewise chosen a spectacular architectural presence for Milan, introducing RH to Italy through a retail and hospitality experience spanning seven levels and 7,000 sq m.

The entrance – bright, imposing and airy –leads directly into the Architecture & Design Library. On either side stand busts of great thinkers of the past and modern masters. To the left, a bronze Palladio is displayed together with a first edition of his I Quattro Libri dell’Architettura, dated 1570. Ahead, the space opens onto a meticulously landscaped courtyard garden, with intimate RH Outdoor lounge areas. Commanding attention is a theatrical barrel-vaulted skylight rising from the centre of the greenery, beneath which one glimpses the restaurant ‘La Volta Restaurant & Bar’. The subterranean spaces are dedicated to it, wrapped in Crème de Moss limestone, their classical mythological inspiration underscored by bas-reliefs from Italian sculptor Fabio Viale, carefully illuminated in the night. A highlight of the space is the dining room, lit by a Barovier & Toso chandelier cascading with 645 gilded crystals.

At the mezzanine and first floor, the visit begins with a first novelty: an exclusive preview of the brand’s latest design concept, ‘RH Estates’, unveiled here before its global launch in May 2026. The rooms unfold one after another with a classical sensibility approached through a contemporary lens, in a carefully curated interplay of décor and lighting. Oversized chandeliers crown one of the new pieces, the ‘Baldacchino Dining Table’. The culmination of this level is the bedroom showcasing the ‘Paloma Collection’, expressing the brand’s new acquisition of Formations and Dennis Lee, among others.

Another exclusive preview is the statement piece ‘Hugo Canopy Bed’ by Van Thiel, distinguished by its muted neutral palette. Also on the first floor is the ‘RH Interior Design Studio’, an elegant meeting space offering professional design services, allowing visitors to explore everything the brand provides – from finishes to linens –and to design an entire home.

On the second floor, artistic installations of ‘RH Interiors’ collections – signed by internationally renowned designers – offer a contemporary perspective, and include bespoke pieces by the American craftsmanship brand Dmitriy & Co. The third and fourth floors are dedicated to ‘RH Modern’, a tribute to 20th-century modernism. Here, light takes centre stage, particularly in the collections by Alison Berger. The aesthetic becomes slightly more contemporary, for instance, in the use of bouclé for upholstered pieces, all interspersed with antiques and so-called ‘found’ objects – such as striking raw-wood benches and oversized leopards poised atop tables. During design week, this floor also hosts a collaboration with the iconic Bar Basso, famed above all for the invention of the Negroni Sbagliato.

The fourth floor, finally, takes on a more theatrical atmosphere, curiously due to its lower ceilings and black walls, which allow the furniture to stand out in a dramatic yet distinct way, as if against a meaningful canvas. Here, the brand’s ambition becomes clear: to present a comprehensive vision that encompasses every category, as well as every style and aesthetic – modern, contemporary, and traditional alike.

The journey concludes with the exclusive ‘World of RH Bar & Lounge’, a cinema-esque room that, as its name suggests, puts the RH world on display – spanning the brand’s places and spaces, as well as its capabilities.

RH Milan. The Gallery on Corso Venezia 56, rh.com

The Ikea reflection for this year’s Milan Design Week is titled ‘Food For Thought’ and unfolds through a playful sequence of spaces dedicated to the interaction between living and eating, at Spazio Maiocchi. The exhibition also features the world premiere of three products from the new ‘Ikea PS 2026’ collection, an exclusive preview of the long-running ‘PS’ series’ wider tenth edition. In addition, two new 'statement floor lamps' by Milan-based Raffaella Mangiarotti round out the highlights.

The journey begins with a culinary theme in the saluhall, the traditional Swedish market into which the courtyard has been transformed. Here, among hot dogs, porchetta, and cheeses, a stand offers a curious preview of the ‘meatball lollipop’ (seeing is believing), set to launch from May 2026 as part of a collaboration between Ikea and Chupa Chups.

Visitors then enter the main space, where the vibrant ‘Ikea PS 2026’ pieces are introduced (the full collection will be unveiled in mid-May): there’s an inflatable chair, a poetic bench, and a three-directional floor lamp.

‘Ikea PS 2026’ preview

The designers were given a precise brief (the objects had to be both practical and playful), and the first piece is a clever hybrid between a wooden bench and a rocking chair, designed by Marta Krupińska.

It is followed by ‘a multifunctional lamp’ by Alexander Pott, capable of functioning as an uplighter, spotlight and reading lamp in one. Inspired by the geometry of a cylinder, Pott cut steel at 45-degree angles to create joints that allow both head and base to rotate, offering multiple lighting options with just a few simple twists: ‘I made three prototypes from wooden broomsticks, cutting them into many different pieces,’ he explains. ‘I realised that a big part of the design is in the joinery and the angles. Together with Ikea, we recognised that if you make the joint adjustable and rotatable, you can actually go from one object to three functionalities.’

For the designer, creating an intuitive piece was essential: ‘I gave a lamp to my five-year-old son; he understood immediately that it was movable and after 20 seconds, he rotated it into another function.’ The lamp comes in three colourways: a bright yellow, a cobalt blue (‘a very DNA colour for Ikea’), and a classic warm burgundy.

Finally, inspired by Ikea’s mid-1990s air furniture, Mikael Axelsson approaches the concept through upholstery: ‘The core idea that I had was to have a metal frame and then kind of blow up a balloon within the metal frame,’ Axelsson says. Separate air chambers between seat and backrest ensure comfort while allowing for compact, portable packaging, while the bold green upholstery underscores its playful character.

Food meets design

The exhibition continues with five rooms that form the experiential core of the theme, each pairing a designer with a chef to explore how food and design shape everyday life, with inventive twists. London-based Oliver Lyttelton’s design joins forces with the Asian flavours of Tina Choi in a space inspired by a treehouse. India meets Italy through the traditional objects and textiles of interior designer Mehek Malhotra and the culinary approach of chef Maurizio Tentella. Playfulness and child-friendly design define the room by Lydia Chan, paired with the cuisine of Alessandra Lauria, where stools become lamps and walls turn into writable surfaces.

‘Room Self-Service’ celebrates the pleasure of eating in bed, conceived by Charlotte Taylor together with chef Ben Lippett. Lastly, Mexican duo Maye Ruiz and Rosio Sanchez present ‘Party at Your Place’: ‘For the living room, we wanted a tension and contrast between the private and the public. We went to a convent, because a lot of Mexican cuisine was created by nuns in convents during 16th century,’ says Ruiz, pointing to what she describes as the celestial blue of the walls, niches and ceramics. ‘We wanted to honour these women and also work on a concept of a girls' dinner.’

Throughout the week, a working kitchen hosts daily tastings resulting from the designer-chef collaborations, while the experience concludes with a visit to the ‘Billy café’, framed by the classic bookcase.

Ikea ‘Food for Thought’, Spazio Maiocchi, Via Achille Maiocchi 7, Milan

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.'

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.

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.

Tom Dixon and Vispring at The Mua Mua Hotel, Via Aosta 2, Milano 2155, 21-26 April 2026, 10am – 7pm

Milan Design Week (20-26 April 2026) rumbles on, and one showcase on everyone's lips – enthusiastically recommended in exhibition queues, at cocktail parties and over dinners – is Alcova.

The design platform has this year taken over two of the city's most compelling venues: Villa Pestarini, the modernist residence completed in 1939 by Italian architect Franco Albini, which has remained a private home ever since; and the Baggio military hospital, a historic Italian Army complex built between 1928 and 1931, used heavily during the Second World War. 'All of the locations we have occupied since 2018 are very powerful examples of architecture. They are also places that are usually not accessible, and so they have this incredible patina,' Alcova co-founder Valentina Ciuffi told Wallpaper* during a show preview at Baggio.

The pairing is deliberate and evocative: one a sleek midcentury residence, the other a weathered institutional complex with its own internal logic of streets, courtyards and outbuildings. Across both, Alcova brings together 131 exhibitors, each staged as a thoughtful intervention rather than mere decoration. 'Alcova, since the outset, has always been a platform for emerging talent. It's always been really important to us to allow designers – even those at their first Salone – to be able to show their work. It's something that's quite endangered at Milan Design Week,' adds co-founder Joseph Grima.

Villa Pestarini

Stepping inside this rationalist, blocky structure gives you, in some ways, a sense of what it might be like to live here – the kitchen, bathroom and beyond are all operational. In other ways, Alcova's interventions transform the space: the kitchen is filled with accessories and a striking hand-motif chair from Worn Studios; the bath and shower have become home to concrete forms by Elisa Uberti; and the basement has been turned over to benches made from material offcuts, including pastel-toned marbles, by Atma.

The ground floor is where the rationalist dream is most fully realised: a space of geometric proportions, flooded with light through walls of translucent glass. It is here that the week's standout intervention holds court: 'Albini in Present Tense', a collaboration between Patricia Urquiola and Haworth & Cassina, presenting Albini's furnishings reissued exclusively by the latter, including a previously unpublished 1947 armchair. In the basement, Boccamonte makes its furniture debut with a collection celebrating architect Luisa Castiglioni, herself a protégé of Albini.

Baggio military hospital

Described as 'a city within a city' by Grima, this sprawling, semi-derelict site is gradually being reclaimed by nature – and that is very much part of its charm. Its streets, courtyards, hangars, kitchens and chapels all feel slightly unruly and faintly haunting, now occupied with a programme of site-specific work.

The Chiesa (church) – accessible for the first time this year – hosts 'Devices for Connection', an immersive installation by Leo Lague and collective Versa, integrating technology, sound, light and material. In Hangar 1, Objects of Common Interest for Dooor presents 'Threshold', a spatial meditation on how minimal gesture can constitute architecture: using Dooor's dividers, designers Eleni Petaloti and Léonidas Trampoukis compose a fully white interior of subtle boundaries. Also in Hangar 1, Supaform's 'Seat in Touch' reinterprets public transit seating as a sofa system, complemented by Mutina's ‘Bloc’ bricks designed by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec.

The other areas – the Stecca, Canonica, Cucina, Lavanderia, Tempio and Casa delle Suore – host independent designers, emerging studios and institutions including Design Academy Eindhoven, the Architectural Association and UMPRUM. Away from the headline acts, it was these humbler corridors that yielded the week's most unexpected pleasures: Jabex Bartlett's pasta-shaped lamps and coffee table; Stella Arion's billowing blue plastic staging to echo her ceramics; and Sister by Studio Ashby's vivid floral interventions – cheerful and unabashed against the complex's weathered bones.

By situating its exhibitions within spaces rich in history, Alcova asks more of both maker and visitor – a formula that continues to work, edition after edition.

Alcova 2026 runs April 20-26. Baggio Military Hospital, via Giovanni Labus 10; Villa Pestarini, via Mogadiscio 2, Milan.

Follow all the latest news from Milan Design Week 2026 with our editors’ live blog.

Chopsticks that split only partway rather than breaking clean in two; chopsticks in the form of twisted fusilli pasta, and chopsticks bent into a U-shape like tweezers. These are some of creations conceived by 11 designers and design studios on view at an exhibition titled ‘Chopstick 箸’, and curated by Yoko Choy, Wallpaper* China editor, during Milan Design Week 2026.

Chopsticks, which originally emerged from the distinct culinary cultures of East Asia, are now a universal eating tool – simple, efficient and easy to clean. While spoons and forks have evolved over history to include decorative designs, the form of chopsticks has remained largely unchanged for centuries, requiring only manual dexterity for effective use. ‘Chopstick 箸’, by S—3, a platform for East Asian design, invites contemporary designers to rethink this familiar tool with thoughtful intervention, while retaining its simple design.

In Japan, a country rich in forestry, wooden chopsticks coated with resin from lacquer trees (a natural substance valued for its durability and natural antibacterial properties) date back as far as the 3rd century. While spoons and forks are commonly shared within households, chopsticks are regarded as personal and often cherished items; some people even carry their own pair with them day to day. At the same time, fast-food culture and Japan’s abundant timber supply have also given rise to disposable chopsticks, or waribashi – literally 'splitting chopsticks' – designed to be broken apart before use.

The Japanese design studio We+ draws on this tension between craft tradition and industrial expendability by removing the very thing that serves both designs: ease of functionality. By coating disposable waribashi in lacquer, their pair of chopsticks can no longer be split, rendering them redundant. The design disrupts their intended purpose while symbolically merging the two cultures. As We+ co-founder Toshiya Hayashi explains, the project explores ‘Japan’s chopstick culture, where the seemingly contradictory values of expensive lacquered chopsticks and disposable chopsticks coexist’.

Another Japanese designer, Jin Kuramoto, has designed ‘pasta chopsticks’ shaped like fusilli and penne, made from wheat flour. ‘Nowadays, chopsticks, spoons and tableware made from edible materials are being developed. Edible cutlery is also being re-evaluated as a technology that addresses environmental sustainability issues, such as reducing plastic waste. With this background in mind, I wanted to explore the potential of the idea of chopsticks made from pasta in Europe, the heartland of pasta culture,’ says the designer. After use, the experience continues: the chopsticks can be cooked and eaten, returning the object from tool to food.

Meanwhile, South Korean designers Kuo Duo have created the 'Seon' chopsticks, merging the linear silhouette of the stick with the gentle contours of a spoon. The concept draws on traditional Korean table settings, where spoons and chopsticks are always paired: the spoon used for rice and soups, and the chopsticks for vegetables, meat, and fish. For reasons of hygiene and ease of cleaning, both utensils have traditionally been made of metal, giving Korean tableware a distinctive character that sets it apart from the wooden utensils commonly found elsewhere in East Asia.

Indeed, spoons only became widely used in Japan from the late 19th century onwards, thanks to the influence of Western dining culture. Seen in this light, Korean dining culture – where chopsticks and spoons have long been used in tandem – can be understood as an early and fluid fusion of Eastern and Western tableware traditions, a balance that the 'Seon' hybrid subtly reinforces.

Another South Korean design duo, Niceworkshop, have completely reimagined the form of the object, moving away from the traditional pair of sticks in favour of a single U-shaped form crafted from curved metal. The design is intended to make chopsticks accessible to anyone, improving grip and control and making it easier to pinch and lift food with precision.

Flipping this idea completely, Chinese designer Mario Tsai has delved into manufacturing process as a means of solving high demand, effectively using the ancestral practice of tool-making as his inspiration. The result is an aluminium ‘chopsticks maker’ that functions much like a large pencil sharpener – simply insert a piece of freshly cut wood, and it is shaped into a pair of chopsticks.

Through the reinterpretation of chopsticks, the exhibition explores how shared traditions can evolve into contemporary narratives that carefully carry forward the cultural heritage of East Asia into a modern design language.

‘Chopstick 箸’, Via Pietro Giannone 3, Angolo Via Bramante 7, 20154 Milano

Follow all the latest news from Milan Design Week 2026 with our editors’ live blog.

Paper. Pleated and compressed. Then waxed, carved, glued, sawn, deconstructed, peeled, moulded – until new expressions of form take shape, from chiselled stools and tree-like benches to ethereal lighting.

A deep exploration of the material possibilities of paper anchors a new research project by Issey Miyake, in collaboration with the Madrid-based architectural practice Ensamble Studio, and is spotlighted during Milan Design Week.

‘The Paper Log: Shell and Core’ is an exhibition at the Issey Miyake Milan flagship store, unravelling its ongoing material investigation into the textures, tones and structural potential of paper – vast volumes of which are created as a by-product of the studio’s signature pleating technology.

Delicate, sturdy, primitive, finely layered and raw, permeated with traces of soft rainbow-toned marbling: these qualities shape the prototypes presented in the exhibition, with Issey Miyake’s ‘Core’ creations (chairs, benches, tables) in dialogue with Ensamble Studio’s ‘Shell’ (deconstructed abstractions, moulded forms, lampshades).

The idea for the project was sparked when Satoshi Kondo, design director of Miyake Design Studio, spotted dense tree-like rolls of paper at one of their manufacturing sites. Sheets of paper are used to protectively sandwich Issey Miyake garments as they are inserted into pleating machines, before being compressed.

'When I first started working at Issey Miyake, this pleated paper is something I would touch almost every day,' Kondo tells Wallpaper*. 'It’s a very unique material – something that could only come from Issey Miyake and its creative process of garment pleating. I always wondered if there was anything more that we could do with it, to give it a new value that goes beyond recycling.'

The compressed paper ‘logs’ are the starting point. Measuring 80cm high with a 40cm diameter, the logs are made up of countless wafer-fine sheets with circular marbling in delicate shades of pinks, blues, greys, yellows.

'These paper logs are like a tree,' says Kondo. 'They contain time and memories – the presence of time passing and the memory of the pleating process. All these different colours are traces of the garments being fed into a pleating machine.'

Kondo’s first exploration was to cut the logs crosswise to create stools, which were used for seating in the Issey Miyake S/S 2025 show in Paris – paving the way for deeper experimentations.

A spectrum of forms, textures and shapes are displayed in the Milan exhibition. For the ‘Core’ installations by Miyake Design Studio and Issey Miyake, one key method explored was to soak the compressed rolls in wax in order to solidify the paper – resulting in sculptural material textures resembling chiselled rocks or time-etched marble, along with a more saturated colour palette.

There are stools with softly curved backrests, treated with glue; wax-soaked benches made from a clean vertical slice down the centre of a 'log', showing its raw inner beauty; and side tables carved from single compressed rolls.

A series of bricks was also created by sharply slicing wax-hardened rolls with a water-jet cutter: while an armchair shaped by bundled layers of unwaxed paper is imbued with a feathery sense of softness, its cloud-like form contained in a clean-lined metal frame.

'Sometimes it looks like wood, sometimes like rock or marble,' says Kondo. 'There is a random, unfinished beauty. It is always unplanned and surprising.'

Meanwhile, the ‘Shell’ element of the exhibition takes another approach. Keen to invite a completely fresh creative perspective on the possibilities of paper, Issey Miyake sent around 20 paper logs to Ensamble’s Madrid studio, with an invitation to freely experiment.

'In Madrid, they didn’t treat the log as solid,' says Kondo. 'They peeled the paper apart like tree bark. It became ephemeral, like a shell. They returned it to its original paper form.’

The studio embarked on a 'moulding exercise'. After deconstructing the rolls, fine paper sheets were draped over furniture, including a Le Corbusier chaise longue, before being hand-painted with hardening agents (resin and latex) in order to 'freeze' every crease, curve, fold in time and place.

The end result is a series of 'shells', translucent and light yet tangible – a 'second skin' embodying the outlines and traces of known objects, from iconic furniture pieces to an ethereal paper lampshade unfurled across the ceiling of the historic architecture at the Issey Miyake flagship.

Across this unfolding dialogue between ‘Shell’ and ‘Core – raw, primitive and never completed – the creations may be diverse in texture, atmosphere, shape and form. Yet there is a connective thread: not only through the infinite possibilities of paper, but also in the creative values that shape Issey Miyake.

'Underlying this project is the spirit of Issey Miyake – both the designer himself and the company,' says Kondo. ‘Core’ is like the human body; and ‘Shell’ is a piece of cloth. And the space between them is unfilled – or ma. The two co-exist and complement each other.'

He adds: 'This is just the starting point. It’s about treating all materials equally, not prioritising one over the other due to convention or given value – but having a fresh, new perspective. I hope people can appreciate the beauty of paper as a material as well as our original pleating process.'

Issey Miyake, Via Bagutta 12, 20121 Milano

When Pierangelo Gallotti and Luigi Radice founded their namesake firm in the heart of Brianza in 1955, the densely industrialised region between Milan and Como was already a hub of carpentry. Supported by abundant local timber and generations of specialised craftsmen, the district had become one of Italy's foremost centres of furniture production. As such, starting a furniture brand was not, in theory, a radical idea. What was radical was the path that they chose: to create a company based on objects wrought almost exclusively in glass.

Gallotti & Radice first operated as a small workshop, producing lighting, mirrors and decorative objects entirely by hand, before expanding its industrial capabilities to materials such as metal and upholstery. Yet its spirit of artisanal experimentation never faded.

Now in its 70th year, the brand marks the milestone with ‘Tales in Glass', an exhibition that will culminate in a group show featuring new work by a global cohort of female designers, including the LA- and Uruguay-based Estudio Persona; London's Miminat Shodeinde; Milan's Valentina Cameranesi Sgroi; Belgian-Dutch designer Ivania Carpio; Tokyo's Fumie Shibata; and the Dubai- and Montreal-based Rania Hamed.

Taking place in the historic Palazzo Meli Lupi di Soragna, the exhibition ‘tells a story in three chapters', says Silvia Gallotti, the brand's second-generation CEO and creative director. The narrative lives within an immersive installation designed by Parisian architect Sophie Dries. ‘The scenography is inspired by crystal, so we're wrapping the walls with fabric and passementerie threaded with raw pieces of reclaimed glass,' says Dries. ‘It will feel quite precious, but, at the same time, the movement is very dramatic.'

Visitors will first encounter the company's earliest creations, for which Dries and Gallotti spent months recovering archive pieces from auctions and vintage dealers. Among them is the 1971 ‘Adam' table – a transparent slab set on curved legs – widely considered the first table made entirely from glass. ‘At the time, they had invented new ways of fusing glass,' explains Dries, who will display an original edition alongside a new version she has reinterpreted in a warmer bronze-tinted finish.

The 1970s marked a turning point for the brand, as it developed a method of joining panes of glass with a simple stainless steel joint, enabling larger and more structurally complex pieces, such as the ‘T35 Trio' – a three-part coffee table set designed by Pierangelo Gallotti in 1975 – now presented in an anniversary edition in bronze-tinted tempered glass and brushed silver travertine.

For the section dedicated to the present, the brand will show selections from the 2026 catalogue, including outdoor furniture by the Milan-based duo David/Nicolas. The company will also present its latest pieces at Salone del Mobile, where Gallotti & Radice will launch new work by Studiopepe, Federica Biasi, and a collaboration between Francesco Meda and David López Quincoces.

Yet it is the latest generation of designers, presented in the exhibition's final chapter, that illustrates the artistic potential of the material. ‘We asked each designer to incorporate their own culture into the work,' says Gallotti. ‘These pieces truly tell a story – both of the designer's background and of the craftsmanship that Gallotti & Radice has cultivated over the past 70 years.'

The new commissions explore glass through a range of artisanal finishes that Gallotti & Radice has developed over the decades. Estudio Persona will present a low table with a fused amethyst glass top set on a base in hand-patinated antique bronze, with an alternative version clad in shimmering aluminium leaf. Shibata worked with tempered extra-light glass, delicately shading its surface by hand into soft gradients of chestnut, pink or yellow. Shodeinde composed a console from thick glass panels that fade gradually from deep black to transparency. Cameranesi Sgroi, meanwhile, experimented with fused glass to create a nesting trio of tables with crackled surfaces and shimmering aluminium-leaf finishes.

‘It's been extraordinary to visit the company's workshops and see how much of the process is still done by hand,' says Dries, whose installation will also feature other archive treasures, including original drawings from the 1960s and 1970s. ‘To find this depth of artisanal knowledge still alive within a family-run company is incredibly rare. It's precisely the reason their work with glass has endured for so long.'

Gallotti&Radice – Tales in Glass, Palazzo Meli Lupi di Soragna, Via Daniele Manin 13, Milan, gallottiradice.it

20-25 April 2026, 10am – 9pm;
21 and 26 April 2026, 10am – 5pm

Follow all the latest news from Milan Design Week 2026 with our editors’ live blog.

An immersive exhibition that celebrates Uzbek craft through a contemporary lens is on show at Palazzo Citterio for Milan Design Week 2026. Commissioned by Gayane Umerova, chair of the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation, ‘When Apricots Blossom' features 12 designers exploring ideas of cultural memory, ecology and loss within the rapidly changing context of the country's Karakalpakstan region.

‘The communities of Karakalpakstan have faced profound environmental change for decades,' explains its curator, Kulapat Yantrasast, founder of Why Architecture. ‘We decided to focus on the Aral Sea, with its ghostly landscape evocative of sadness, but equally to centre a narrative of human resilience and humility of everyday life through the crafted ritual of making bread.'

Across all proposals, a sense of ecological consciousness prevails. Within a traditional context experiencing rapid modernisation and environmental transformation, design is used as a tool of agency and political activism, as each designer explores the brief for a vessel to hold bread and a traditional bread stamp explored through a contemporary rather than a nostalgic lens.

Sarah van Gameren and Tim Simpson, of London-based multidisciplinary studio Glithero, explore loss as the result of past colonial malpractice in the region. In the 1960s, the Aral Sea began shrinking dramatically following the diversion of its feeder rivers for irrigation, causing it to lose more than 90 per cent of its volume, turning one of the world's largest inland lakes into a desert.

Taking this as a line of reflection on how human intervention has led to irreversible ecological disaster, the prevalent iconography of floral motifs within Uzbek tradition is used to cast light on climate change and evolving land-use practices. Looking at the regenerative practice of growing trees – an activity increasingly difficult due to hostile environments – their proposal centres on wood as the primary material: a central elm pillar features carved motifs inspired by local flora.

Counter to the apricot as a traditional symbol of the Karakalpakstan region, and the prevalent white mulberry as an ancient agricultural root of silk and cotton trades, alternative motifs are selected for their ecological significance.

Sorghum – a pigmented reed – is foregrounded, alongside elm for its ability to survive and thrive in increasingly saline conditions, the latter informing material choice for the piece. The accompanying bread stamp goes back to the source, focusing on the hand that presses into the dough, a reminder of the bodies shaping the final outcome. ‘We always want to connect people to a process that has taken place before,' says van Gameren.

Artist and designer Marcin Rusak (who guided us through his studio and process in a recent video) explores cultural memory through the medium of salt. The Aral Sea and its surrounding water bodies are characterised by a high saline content: Rusak proposes a temporal installation engaging audiences with the traces of salt left behind due to evaporation of the sea, exposing the seabed. It plays with the duality of salt being a necessary component to human life (and its central role in culinary traditions) while, at the same time, posing a threat to it due to the difficulty for life to thrive in highly saline environments.

This dichotomy is at the heart of Rusak's concept: a glass pillar containing water with a high salt content, which supports and elevates the bread at its centre. ‘I was fascinated by the preserved state of craft and tradition. Having long evaded the grasp of modernity, it is now grappling with fast-paced growth and commodification,' says Rusak. The rate of transformation, both environmental and cultural, was a point of reference for his stamp, which is designed without a mark. In leaving the bread deliberately unstamped, it highlights a sacred tradition of marking individuality under threat in a fast-changing commodity.

Didi Ng Wing Yin, an artist whose work bridges digital craft, material research and sculptural form, takes a philosophical approach to the same subject, exploring the centrality of bread. ‘In Uzbek culture, bread is symbolically likened to the sun as a source of life,' says Ng. ‘At the same time, it is a humble, everyday food item. This connection between something very grounded and something very high up is where culture exists for me, in the space in between.'

Through conversations with local craftspeople and readings of philosophical texts by French scientist Blaise Pascal, another theme emerged: the reed, through which the relationship between body and craft is explored. ‘The reed is a fragile plant that is subject to collapse. Pascal likens humans to “tough reeds” because of their ability to think and survive,' adds Ng.

His proposal displays the bread on a bed of reeds, each one representative of the human spirit, fragile individually but strong as a collective. Through conversation with artisans, the stem section of the reed was selected for its structural capacity to support the bread at the centre, while the rest of the plant acts as a gently enclosing cushion.

The bread stamp fulfils a pragmatic function, declaring the word for bread – non – in Uzbek. It is abstracted in a way that becomes symbolic, bringing a graphic quality to an otherwise functional design. ‘For me, it is a symbol of what good design should be – practical yet functional,' says Ng.

The collection of works is framed within two larger gestures. On the palazzo's façade, a colourful tapestry, crafted by British designer Bethan Laura Wood in collaboration with Uzbek artisans, transforms the entrance into a richly textured threshold.

Meanwhile, in the garden, a ‘deconstructed' yurt designed by Why Architecture is conceived as a space for gathering. Inspired by the artisanal construction and mobility of traditional yurts from the region, the pavilion speaks to the temporary nature of exhibition space, and the historic Uzbek typology of the caravanserai; offering space for cultural exchange of ideas as well as moments for quiet reflection.

‘When Apricots Blossom' will be on show from 20-26 April at Palazzo Citterio, Via Brera 12-14, Milan, acdf.uz, palazzocitterio.org

Follow all the latest news from Milan Design Week 2026 with our editors’ live blog.

In contrast to the excessive noise that so often defines Milan Design Week, silence shapes Rubelli’s project, which presents an immersive installation in its showroom of the Venetian family-run company of luxury fabrics in Via Fatebenefratelli, created in collaboration with artist and activist Ai Weiwei.

‘Our first encounter dates back to an edition of the Venice Biennale,’ says Rubelli CEO Nicolò Favaretto Rubelli. ‘But it was only last October, when we began thinking about this year’s Design Week, that we reconnected. It was no random choice: he is a figure who has endured immense hardship – I have his most recent autobiography, published not long ago. Exile, humiliation, activism, imprisonment: above all, his mission is to communicate his message.’ Art and design have always been part of Rubelli’s DNA, the CEO adds, citing past collaborations with Paola Navone, Luke Edward Hall and Peter Marino, among others.

The title of Ai Weiwei and Rubelli’s exhibition, ‘About Silk’, is no coincidence: it marks the first time the artist has worked with this material. ‘Silk, one of humanity’s oldest materials, transcends the realm of imagination and lies beyond the scope of ordinary craftsmanship,’ says Ai Weiwei.

‘It is fascinating to me. I am a collector of ancient silks, some of which are over 3,000 years old. Each dynasty’s silk reflects different styles, but they all come from the delicate work of silkworms, making silk as a material both delicate and precious. When creating this artwork, my primary challenge was using silk as a medium to express long-standing themes such as human rights, freedom of speech, and the censorship system. Throughout this process, there were many discussions with Rubelli’.

The first room of the exhibit resembles a fully enclosed box, shielded from street light, where visitors are immersed in an intricate silk lampas. The composition radiates outwards from a central point like a burst of fireworks, with the regularity of a classical, almost Baroque drawing. On closer inspection, a dense weave of symbols emerges, tracing the artist’s history and struggles: surveillance cameras, handcuffs and chains, llamas (for Weiwei, a symbol of freedom and resistance to internet censorship in China), and the Twitter bird – from a time when it still represented digital freedom of expression. The reference is clearly Ai Weiwei’s original design, ‘The Animal that Looks like a Llama but is Actually an Alpaca’.

The warp of the fabric consists of 9,600 silk threads, equally divided between deep red and golden yellow. ‘The inspiration comes from a vase I bought 15-20 years ago in Beijing,’ Rubelli explains, describing a surface created through the interplay of intertwined threads, producing an iridescent effect reminiscent of Chinese ceramics, where colour is never uniform but vibrates with tonal variation. Metallic wefts enhance brilliance and shading, while the combination of five wefts and three shades of gold creates unexpected depth.

At the centre of the room stands a sculptural sofa upholstered in the same elaborate silk lampas. Its geometric backrest reveals subtle variations in depth, creating converging lines that distort perception. ‘Ai Weiwei had dreamed of making a sofa,’ says Rubelli. ‘When we met, he took a block and sketched it out. At first, I did not understand his idea of one part narrowing while another widens. The result is intriguing – more an art object than a sofa.’

The installation continues in a second room dedicated to ‘Finger’, one of the artist’s most recognisable motifs, inviting viewers to ‘raise our middle finger’ against sites of power and censorship. It also serves as a backdrop for two display cases designed by Formafantasma, containing textile documents from the Rubelli Historical Archive and the Rubelli Foundation, highlighting the millenary textile dialogue between Weiwei’s China and Rubelli’s Venice.

On the lower floor, the artist speaks through a black-and-white visual narrative, his voice calm and reflective. The documentary film, created for the occasion by Argentine director Felipe Sanguinetti and filmed between Downing College, Cambridge, and the Rubelli weaving mill in Como, captures the exchanges, sketches and experiments behind the project.

‘In the course of so-called social progress, we have increasingly lost our connection to nature and the inspiration it provides, much of which has been supplanted by new technologies,’ Ai Weiwei explains. ‘Similarly, a lot of modern technology has distanced itself from political, social, and historical discourse. In an era dominated by AI and algorithms, we see a growing narrative of technological control that continuously erases or obscures human nature and craftsmanship. This shift diminishes tactile experiences and emotions on a large scale, which I believe poses a threat to human nature and to historical memory. That is why, in my collaboration with Rubelli, I sought to develop a new approach using silk, a medium that could embody both functionality and complexity.’

Rubelli agrees: ‘We are a Venetian family company working with silk and precious textiles. I’m very glad that, through our work, we can help spread Ai Weiwei’s reflections and message.’

Follow all the latest news from Milan Design Week 2026 with our editors’ live blog.

Venture into Bottega Veneta’s Via Sant’Andrea store during Milan Design Week 2026 and you’ll find a twisting mass of green and black leather cords suspended from the ceiling. Arranged across the store’s windows and swooping around its first-floor water feature like vines above a lake, some are woven into basket-like forms that conceal softly glowing LEDs.

Called ‘Lightful’, the sculptural, site-specific installation is the work of Korean artist Kwangho Lee, marking his third collaboration with the brand under creative director Louise Trotter.

Lee, whose work draws on traditional weaving, basketry and 'chilbo' (a traditional Korean enamelling craft meaning 'seven jewels'), is known for his experimental material palette, having worked with aluminium, marble, copper, enamel, steel, bundled rice and even garden hoses.

With Bottega Veneta, what began as an invitation to create lamps for the brand’s S/S 2026 runway led to the inclusion of his work in its ‘Weaving the World: The Language of Intrecciato’ exhibition in Seoul (June 2025). Now, through this installation in Milan, the collaboration shifts into a spatial context, continuing Lee’s ongoing exploration of materiality, weaving and illumination.

Created in close collaboration with artisans at the house’s Montebello Vicentino atelier, Lee’s signature forms become light sculptures hand-woven from Bottega Veneta fettucce leather in bespoke green, selected by Trotter. 'When I got this material in my studio in Seoul, I was really surprised because it’s very detailed and well made,' Lee told Wallpaper*. 'It’s very soft, so it’s better for making specific shapes.'

The pieces sit somewhere between control and improvisation, extending the brand’s traditional woven language into a more irregular, experimental form. Made in situ, Lee created the composition in reaction to the space. ‘When I came here two days ago and started working in the space, I started very freely, communicating with this new space,’ he explains. ‘It’s quite intuitive, just like playing.’

Displayed alongside the lamps are Lee’s ‘Ghost in the Shell’ chairs, made by wrapping a frame in knotted sponge pipes and nylon rope. Coated in multiple layers of polyurethane, the chairs take on a chrome-like finish that belies their soft, improvised construction.

For Lee, the project serves as both inspiration and reassurance that he is on the right path. ‘When I saw the artisans working, I received great inspiration from them,’ he recalls. ‘I realised that the way they work is actually pretty similar to my way, so I got conviction in what I was doing.’

Follow all the latest news from Milan Design Week 2026 with our editors’ live blog

After a decade of absence, Baccarat makes its grand return to Milan Design Week, debuting a starry collaboration with Bethan Laura Wood, who took the crystal brand's classic ‘Zénith' chandelier as her starting point. Conceived in the mid-19th century, this ingenious composition of crystal elements and diamond bevel-cut tassels continues to be one of Baccarat's signature pieces.

Wood's take on the ‘Zénith' sees her deconstruct and reassemble it into a vertical modular system, based on a series of star-shaped metal supports suspended on steel wires that ‘hover like spaceships'. The metal elements become the frame for a playground of crystal forms and colours, based on both traditional codes and new shapes. ‘The goal was to create a system that allowed different-sized chandeliers to be made,' says Wood. ‘I wanted to play with the rules of how a traditional chandelier is built, keeping the language of baroque but interpreting it in a way that's more minimal and abstract.'

Incorporating elements sourced from the Baccarat archives alongside Wood's own research, the result feels like a visual explosion. The arms of the chandelier, which traditionally face outwards to support the light sources, form part of a horizontal structure and connect to two turquoise crystal elements (a pinched diamond-shaped lozenge and a more elongated one), which hold the light bulbs. The frame is covered in an array of prisms, octagonal shapes and flowers, in both clear crystal and a dreamy palette of olivine, parma violet, turquoise and amber, while, at the top, a round mirrored panel replaces a traditional rose, to emphasise the chandelier's explosive effect. ‘I wanted a big mirrored plate because it helps you get this feeling of a vortex,' says Wood. ‘When you're looking up at the chandelier, it reflects in itself to make this kind of endless cascade.'

The chandelier will be available to order as a single ring (‘quite minimal for Baccarat', concedes the designer) or as a multiple-ring composition for a dynamic, cascading effect (there's no actual limit to the number of rings you can order). Other designs include two wall sconces, both of which include the mirrored backing and the pinched diamond lozenge, as well as some of the floral elements. ‘The mirrored backplate gives a feeling of lightness,' she says. ‘The sconces are pushing this baroque aesthetic, but they're also modern and space-age, and look a bit like bugs: a few different references to let your fantasy go wild. I like that they work well as single pieces, but can also be combined to create a more dramatic composition.'

Completing the collection is a series of candleholders, featuring crystal flowers and petals in elegant colour combinations, with pink powder-coated steel bases. ‘I wanted to keep in certain details that were signifiers of Baccarat, but not be completely bound to the fact that everything had to be within traditional coding,' she says. ‘I think Baccarat has a long history of really letting designers and creatives push their language.'

The designs will form part of ‘Crystal Crypt', a sci-fi-inspired experience devised by artist and curator Emmanuelle Luciani, who viewed Baccarat as ‘a temporal bubble, a vessel-cathedral of unique craftsmanship'. On show during Milan Design Week, the experience – which Luciani describes as ‘a total artwork, blending movement, film, scenography and sound' – is inspired by the church of Saint-Rémy, in the town of Baccarat, and the work of American science fiction writer Philip K Dick (the installation is named after one of his short stories). Creating a space that exists somewhere between past and future bears testimony to how Baccarat continues to skilfully use creative collaborations to reinvent historical craft through a contemporary lens.

‘Crystal Crypt' is on show from 21-25 April 2026 at Via Marco Formentini 10, Milan, baccarat.com

Follow all the latest news from Milan Design Week 2026 with our editors’ live blog

Easily recognisable thanks to its detailed simplicity and strong Japanese influences, Federica Biasi’s work ranges from beautifully crafted wooden coffee tables to kimono-inspired ceramics. So when the young Milan-based designer was commissioned by De Padova to create a new armchair for its 70th anniversary, she seized the opportunity to weave her contemporary sensibility into the long and storied legacy of the Italian company.

‘The collaboration with De Padova comes from an encounter between different worlds, from people meeting and sharing visions,’ she writes. ‘The project reflects a dialogue between cultures, in line with the vision of its founder Maddalena De Padova, and marks the beginning of a meaningful collaboration.’

While Maddalena De Padova mostly looked to Scandinavia for inspiration, Biasi continues to draw on subtle Asian influences for this project. A reinterpretation of Japan’s archetypal floor chairs, ‘Edda’ is a perfectly balanced piece that both extends and redefines the language of the historic brand.

Unlike its traditional predecessors, it does have a pair of very short legs at the front; they are part of a simple black frame with two round bars that slope down backwards. Supporting a white upholstered section slanting in the other direction, it creates a design full of movement and dynamism.

The ‘Edda’ armchair ‘is a design that appears essential, yet holds a depth made of stories, details, and rituals’, says Biasi. ‘The stitching that defines its volumes, the soft padding, and the solid wood supporting structure come together in carefully balanced proportions conceived for contemporary interiors, where comfort and minimalism meet.’

Available with removable fabric, leather or velvet, the ‘Edda’ armchair is on display during Milan Design Week 2026 at the De Padova showroom on Via Cecelia, 7; and the Boffi De Padova showroom on Via Solferino, 11.

Keep up with all the latest news from Milan Design Week 2026 with our live blog.

The collaboration between Hannes Peer and Minotti has brought the Italian architect’s work to new horizons, elevating and distilling his sculptural and architectural approach into a refined, ultra-engineered series of designs that bear signs of both the creative gesture and the accuracy of the production.

Seen through the lens of Minotti’s sense of clarity, Peer’s designs have been among the most striking examples of translating an artistic sensibility into a functional, elegant furniture object.

Their latest collaboration, unveiled at Salone del Mobile 2026, features the ‘Blaine’ table, an object that speaks to both parties’ sensibilities while adding a new direction to their respective practice. Featuring a sculptural, cast aluminium base, the table nods to the work of Henry Moore and the modernist approach to casting that was recurrent in Florence Knoll and Ray and Charles Eames’ work.

‘It has always been a dream of mine to design a piece that works in that direction, that on one side is very organic, but also rather restrained in form,’ Peer tells Wallpaper* ahead of the launch. The architect's collaboration with Minotti has resulted in pieces such as the ‘Emmi’ chair or the ‘Nico’ table, both bearing signs of a sculptural, free-handed thinking while working perfectly within the company’s portfolio.

With ‘Blaine’, Minotti’s painstaking approach to refining its projects took a new direction for Peer, who started with what he describes as ‘wild forms’, which were then ‘reduced, edited, talked about’ with the company’s team over several months, ‘without ever losing sight of the original idea. It’s amazing to work with the Minotti team, sometimes there are up to 30 people in the room, five engineers, the whole family shows up, I see it as a sign of love and respect for us designers,’ he says.

The pieces’ final perfection, he explains is the result of ‘many hours, many conversations, many people working together. It’s more similar to a bottega than a big company, there is something so beautiful about that environment.’

The two trestle-like legs forming the base feature a gentle curve and an opening that looks carved, rather than moulded, exuding a sense of artistic elegance that looks much closer to a piece of art. ‘To create a cast object is a huge responsibility,’ says Peer. ‘I was always intimidated by it because the matrix that you use to cast, it's forever. You cannot [mess] it up. You have to be very sure that that is the one.’

As the son of an artist, this language comes naturally to Peer: ‘I think I've known Henry Moore before I've learned to count,’ he recalls. ‘I am very proud of my roots, and I think that is something that I always bring to a project.’

The table’s base will be available in polished or painted cast aluminium, with a top in either marquetterie wood or marble. It is not an object that is visually quiet: its presence holds a room’s attention, like an artwork. ‘I think that we're all storytellers. It's very, very important that each and every design comes not just as a single furniture piece, but rather with an idea of a home or an environment, that approach is super important, and that's where we connected so much with Minotti, who share this vision completely.’

Lightness, minimalist rigour and precise silhouettes have been founding principles of Vincent Van Duysen’s work. Now the Belgian architect makes his debut into the B&B Italia collection with a new chaise longue that encapsulates his design ethos while offering a modern interpretation of comfort.

‘This collection explores how structure can shape comfort, and how comfort in turn gives meaning to structure,’ explains Van Duysen. The design is based on an elongated structure holding a rattan woven surface, which stretches into a loop to create a gentle reclining form. The material’s tactile warmth is at the core of the design, and it was chosen for its breathability and organic lightness.

The structure is conceived to remain discreet, as the seat’s sensuous curve is the star of the show. ‘Every piece begins with a gesture of structure, but it ultimately exists for the body and the way we choose to live with it,’ continues Van Duysen. ‘Sometimes a small detail can completely transform an object. A simple chamfer or a continuous line can redefine the way we perceive a familiar form. The project is about balance, between structure and softness, precision and comfort, architecture and the body.’

Find out more at bebitalia.com and vincentvanduysen.com

Follow the Wallpaper* editors’ updates from Milan Design Week 2026 with our live blog

Milan Design Week 2026 is in full swing (follow our live blog to keep up). With the preeminent industry event now marked by an increasing number of exhibits, it’s often necessary for visitors to take a break at some point in the day, even if just for a few minutes. With all the kilometres walked, quick conversations had, emails checked, and Instagram posts perused, a reset is essential to keeping one’s spirits high. And while a coffee and pastry stop, or an aperitivo towards the end of the afternoon can do the trick, it’s not always the healthiest option.

An alternative this year is heritage Swiss furniture brand USM’s ‘Renaissance of the Real’ installation, produced in partnership with international architecture firm Snøhetta and imagined with Swiss-born, New York-based experience designer Annabelle Schneider. Presented in the courtyard of the storied Fondazione Luigi Rovati, the project is both sculpture and space.

Constructed using the USM Haller modular furniture system as a full-scale exoskeleton, the pavilion-like structure bubbles over as membrane fabric – parachute-grade polyurethane – inflates outward from within the metal tube and connector ball structure, creating a soft environment inside.

‘Guests are invited to slow down, [turn off their phones], take a break, go in, take shoes off, lay down and see what the breathing space does to them,’ Schneider says. ‘I think we’re living in an over-stimulated world where we’ve lost connection to ourselves; to what it means to be human. I think art and design have the power to bring us back to the physical and slow us down for a moment.’

Snøhetta was instrumental in determining the sequencing of the interior Adding a level of perceptible drama, the spaces get progressively smaller. The at-times sharp contrast in proportion helps hold the attention, keeping visitors in the moment. The hope is that phone usage is reduced.

As part of Schneider’s well-refined neuroaesthetic approach – the psychology of how visual and sensorial encounters influence our wellbeing and mood – the experience activated all of the senses. As guests arrive, they're given a hot towel. As they move through the installation, scent and sound are carefully calibrated as guiding forces. The use of a pale pink tone throughout was not arbitrary but also carefully deployed to help change perception. She has mounted similar installations at events such as New York Design Week and with similar intent: to help overwhelmed visitors take a much needed pause and re-engage with their immediate surroundings.

The intimate yet perhaps shared experience ends back outside, within the center of the courtyard; the ultimate environment for quiet contemplation. ‘We can’t just be fluid, passive in life,’ Schneider says. ‘We need a bit of guidance and framework as well. We need a balance of both.’

Fondazione Luigi Rovati, Corso Venezia 52, 20121 Milan, Tuesday 21 April – Sunday 26 April 2026, 10am-7pm daily

Lebanese-born, Paris-based architect Lina Ghotmeh has built a reputation for immersive, site-responsive work, most recently with her winning AlUla Contemporary Art Museum, conceived for the Saudi desert landscape, and Hermès’ Workshops, the leather production facility opening in Louviers, Normandy, France, exhibited at the Venice Architecture Biennale, exploring craft and time. Now she has created one of the most anticipated installations of Milan Design Week at Palazzo Litta, transforming the historic building's courtyard into different pockets of calm, culture and conversation during a frenetic week.

Milan Design Week 2026: Lina Ghotmeh at Palazzo Litta

The location holds centuries of stories, having hosted parties for European royalty and Napoleon himself. Ghotmeh builds on this heritage, drawing on the courtyard's historic role as a space of welcome and reception. This week new conversations and stories will be told in an installation that’s actively encouraging participation. ‘At a time when the world is bombarded from several standpoints, I wanted a place that cherishes joy and human connection. It is a setting that gently slows people down and allows them to engage with one another and with the place around them,’ she explains.

The first thing that draws you in is the vibrant hue, which contrasts sharply with the baroque architecture of the 17th-century palazzo. ‘I have chosen these colours for their emotional and perceptual qualities,' Ghotmeh explains. ‘Culturally, pinks may echo love, compassion, femininity, as well as playfulness and youth. Colour is also a way to guide perception and shape how people move through space,’ Ghotmeh says. ‘The palette is meant to create an atmosphere that feels soft, gentle, immersive, and slightly unexpected within the historical context of the courtyard.’

Measuring 17m per side and composed of 18 modules, ‘Metamorphosis in Motion’ follows the existing geometry and lines of the palazzo’s courtyard. The installation is built from MDF planks and finished with Milesi’s colour coatings in varying shades of pink and using textured surfaces. The modular set-up has been deliberately chosen to help create this pink maze, with different sections designed to accommodate multiple occupants simultaneously and comfortably.

Pathways guide you around the sections and informal soft seating by Avalon Italia is set alongside a dedicated talk space. There’s a meditative zone, and an immersive sound area, all combined with an olfactory experience curated by Scent Company. Notes of cypress, olibanum, and cedar diffuse around the space, evoking memories of Lebanon – Ghotmeh's homeland.

Community is at the heart of this work with zones dedicated to movement and rest, too. Together they create a rhythm that encourages visitors to linger rather than simply pass through. A food tasting area features products from Italian companies Tre Marie and Vitavigor, a pop-up bookshop by Frab's Magazine invites people to sit a while. ‘Rather than imposing a rigid structure, the sections create rhythm, symmetry, and visual views towards the façades. It was important for us that the space is experienced and lived, rather than just seen.’ In a week that’s full of spectacle, Ghotmeh invites visitors to participate in the show.

Mosca Partners present ‘Metamorphosis in Motion’, 21 - 26 April, Palazzo Litta, 24 Corso Magenta, Milan

Follow Wallpaper* editors’ live updates from Milan in our Design Week blog

In February 2026, for his debut runway show as creative director of Gucci, Georgian designer Demna created a monumental, marble-clad runway set evocative of a museum, populated with recreations of ancient sculpture (each had been 3D-scanned from original Roman and Hellenistic statuary, before being remodelled in plaster by Tuscan artisans). At the time, he said it was a recognition of Gucci’s looming status in Italian culture: a behemoth of style and craft, ‘a house that has lived many lives, a brand that has defined and redefined what luxury means’, he said in a letter on Instagram prior to the show.

‘Last year, I immersed myself in understanding the Gucciness of Gucci,’ he continued. ‘I went to the Uffizi museum to see Botticelli’s Primavera, the painting that inspired Gucci Flora. On my way, I encountered Botticelli’s other work, The Birth of Venus. I had known it from books, but never seen it in real life. Standing in front of it, I felt overwhelmed. The beauty in it was unconditional; it was absolute. When I returned and stepped into Piazza della Signoria, the first thing I saw was Palazzo Vecchio. In that instant, I understood the place Gucci holds within Italian culture. It has become clear to me what my mission here really is. Above the product, Gucci is culture, it is a way of thinking and a way of being.’

Revealed today (20 April), a new installation at Fuorisalone 2026 continues Demna’s veneration of Gucci as part of Italy’s cultural iconography with a series of 12 tapestries displayed in the Chiostri di San Simpliciano in Milan’s Brera neighbourhood. They begin with founder Guccio Gucci’s time at the Savoy Hotel in London in the late 1800s, where, while working as a bellboy, he realised the growing need for trunks and cases among the burgeoning travelling classes. He would return to his home city of Florence and found the eponymous house in 1921, opening a leather goods store and workshop on Via della Vigna Nuova, the foundation for what would become a global fashion empire.

Further scenes depict other moments in the Gucci story, from the creation of the ‘Bamboo 1947’ and ‘Jackie 1961’ bags (the latter takes its name from Jackie Kennedy Onassis, who popularised the handbag, which was originally called the ‘Fifties Constance’) to the subsequent tenures of Tom Ford, Frida Giannini and Sabato De Sarno, the creative directors who preceded Demna. Reminiscent of Renaissance tapestry, the various scenes are interrupted with idiosyncratic moments of modernity, like a leather gaming chair that sits in the background of a tableau featuring Demna perfecting a red coat from his debut S/S 2026 collection (the designer himself features in a baseball cap and leather biker jacket).

‘Gucci’s history in the 105 years since it was founded is filled with ups and downs. It has such a colourful past with lot of stories to tell,’ Demna tells Wallpaper*. ‘This being my first Fuorisalone, I wanted to tell the entire story of the house from the beginning, so we made these tapestries that take inspiration from the style of Botticelli to tell Gucci’s story. You see all the different eras of Gucci represented in these scenes, either literally or symbolically. The good times, the bad times, the drama; and the scenes are super elaborate, there are lots of symbolic details that tie back to Gucci’s codes.’

Also in the cloisters, which were first constructed in the 15th century and are an example of early Renaissance architecture, is a garden inspired by Gucci’s Flora motif. Perhaps the house’s best-known print, the Flora design was created by illustrator Vittorio Accornero for Grace Kelly, Princess Grace of Monaco, after she visited the house’s flagship store in Milan in 1966 (the motif would adorn a silk scarf, which became a part of Kelly’s uniform). It features 43 different flowers and botanicals, inspired by Botticelli’s 1482 masterpiece Primavera (Allegory of Spring). For Fuorisalone, the Flora is reimagined as a field of seasonal wildflowers, including several of those that feature in the original design (corresponding with the installation, a series of limited-edition bags will also feature the Flora motif).

Elsewhere, in a typically Demna-esque flourish, is a series of Gucci-branded vending machines dispensing cans of soda inspired by ‘La Famiglia’, a series of Gucci archetypes he established in his first collection for the house (Demna, who was previously at Balenciaga, is known for an irreverent, often ironic, approach to fashion and luxury). ‘Different facets of Gucci’s personas’, he called the various figures at the time, which spanned ‘La Bomba’ (a glamazon in a tiger-striped ‘fur coat’), ‘La Principessa’ (clad in a sugary pink gown with ostrich-feather cuffs), alongside ‘La VIP’, ‘Nerd’, ‘Gallerista’ and ‘L’Influencer’.

In the vending machines, these archetypes are reimagined as a series of branded drinks, each created by Gucci Giardino, a café and cocktail bar owned by the house in Florence. Distributed randomly to guests at the installation, they include ‘Fashion Icon’, ‘Drama Queen’, ‘Super Incazzata’, and ‘Mega Pesantone’. After the exhibition concludes, the Gucci store on Via Montenapoleone will hand out floral bouquets taken from the Flora installation, ‘continuing the narrative through the reuse of its material elements’.

‘Gucci Memoria’ is open to the public from 21 to 26 April 2026 at the Chiostri di San Simpliciano, Piazza Paolo VI, 6, Milan. Registration is available on Gucci.com.

‘I like thinking of light as a volume, almost as if it were liquid being poured into different containers – rooms or fixtures within rooms,’ says Omer Arbel, founder and creative director of Canadian lighting brand Bocci. It’s a description that makes perfect sense upon visiting ‘Light as Medium’, the latest installation at the brand’s apartment showroom in Milan, which opened yesterday for the city’s annual design week (see our live blog for all the latest news from our editors on the ground).

For the occasion, the residential space has been transformed into a sequence of immersive encounters, where sheet and hand-blown glass forms glow in the darkness like planets in a night sky, cascade from the ceiling or are arranged en masse to spellbinding effect. ‘My role is to offer some sort of poetic interference – thickening the atmosphere, as it were, so it catches the light in a particular way. It has a mysterious impact on people’s emotions, light does.’

Here, that thinking unfolds as a kind of spatial laboratory, where light is used to probe perception and emotion. The showcase is the second collaboration between Arbel and curator David Alhadeff, founder of American design gallery The Future Perfect. This more abstract, immersive format marks a clear departure from last year’s more conventional display – where pieces were presented within a series of furnished interiors alongside works by Orior and Christopher Farr – into something more architectural. ‘At its core, Bocci is about research and design,’ says Alhadeff. ‘Omer Arbel is one of the truly important designers working today, consistently pushing the limits of what’s possible.’

For Alhadeff, the shift away from conventional display allows that experimental spirit to be felt more directly. ‘I’ve become increasingly focused on how design is experienced, how it can shift perception and challenge expectations,’ he continues. ‘Working at the scale of space, rather than object, opens that up in a much more compelling way.’

‘Light as Medium’ presents entirely new work developed from Arbel’s material studies and realised through Bocci’s studio framework, alongside existing series that have been reimagined. In the bathroom, every Bocci catalogue piece to date is brought together and finished with a silver coating. The mirrored surfaces collapse these varied forms into a single reflective column, tracing the evolution of the Bocci catalogue.

‘It’s like looking through a microscope at water from a tidal pool and discovering that it’s full of life, an entire ecosystem of creatures interacting,’ says Arbel. ‘I feel the same sort of surprise and wonder when I look at it. Besides being a diary of all the different things we’ve ever made, each one with its own story, the piece somehow transcends them all and has an entirely unexpected presence of its own accord.’

In the hallway, an installation titled ‘147 Wave’ comprises 200 illuminated sheets of glass, each loosely folded and varied in tone and form. The pieces gather into a continuous wave that pushes out from the wall and lifts towards the ceiling, turning the corridor into a luminous passage. ‘Early on, I was interested in using this presentation to explore scale and create something more architectural with Bocci,’ explains Alhadeff. ‘Omer proposed curving the pieces into the opposing wall, and by introducing a mirror, it transforms into this expansive archway you move through. It’s simple, but incredibly elegant, and it captures exactly what I hoped we could achieve this year: not just presenting an object, but expanding people’s sense of what Bocci can do.’

For Alhadeff and Arbel, both established voices in their own right, the collaboration has developed into a productive exchange. ‘I see my role, in part, as a challenger,’ says Alhadeff. ‘I ask questions, test ideas, and often push against assumptions. That dynamic could easily create friction, but instead it’s been embraced by Omer and the broader Bocci team. It’s made the process more rigorous and, ultimately, more collaborative, allowing the work, and our relationship, to evolve in a meaningful way.’

bocci.com

Welcome to Milan Design Week 2026

Milan, we're back! From 20-26 April our team is taking on the biggest design event of the year

This year, Salone del Mobile will embrace collectible design with Salone Raritas, an initiative that will open the fair to limited-edition design and high-end creative manufacturing, and a new contract focus led by OMA.

Meanwhile, back in the city our kiosk is up and running (20-24 April) to present the new Wallpaper* Travel Guides, and we will be traveling across the city to discover design launches, new openings, installations and exhibitions that take over historical palazzos, courtyards and private apartments, including an array of new locations that have never been seen at Milan Design Week before.

Don't forget to fuel up: for the occasion, we put together a map of the best coffee in Milan according to the industry's leading creatives.

To make it easier for you to navigate, we've pinned a few of our highlights for what to see at Milan Design Week 2026 on this map below.

Meet the editors

Touch down in Milan!

The team has landed in Milan and the finishing touches are being put on our Wallpaper* kiosk which will sell the relaunched Wallpaper* Travel Guides from Monday-Friday, 10-7pm.

We also have a fun treasure hunt running throughout the week. Starting Monday, if you collect four free asterisk pin badges from different locations around Milan, you can show them at the kiosk to receive a free guide. The locations are:

Pasticceria Cucchi
10 Corso Como
Oslo Made In Heaven
Frab's Magazines

The Wallpaper* kiosk is at Via Tivoli, corner Via Rivoli

A morning at the Travel Guides kiosk

The design crowd gathered for the opening of our Travel Guides kiosk this morning. Here's Design Director, Rosa Bertoli, and long-time contributor Nick Vinson ready to make the first sale.

Writer Charlotte Gunn

The Wallpaper* Kiosk is at Via Tivoli, corner Via Rivoli

An exclusive Alcova preview with the founders

Milan design week is back, and to kick off the week Wallpaper* visited one of the hottest tickets in town, @alcova.milano. A platform for emerging designers, Alcova has since 2018 set up shop in unlikely yet architecturally significant locations in Milan. This year, the exhibition returns to one of it's former locations, Baggio military hospital – a large, former military hospital and complex that has since been largely reclaimed by nature. The military hospital is joined by a second site this year – Villa Pestarini, the rationalist masterpiece by Franco Albini..

Speaking to co-founders Valentina Ciuffi and Joseph Grima, Wallpaper* got an exclusive preview at the location and the projects on show, which all investigate the future possibilities of design – an endeavour largely about ‘making beautiful things but with a good spirit’.

Inside Nike Air_Lab at Dropcity

At Dropcity, Nike has taken over five disused railway tunnels to create Air_Lab: an exploration of air as a design material.

Throughout the space, visitors can explore the Nike Air archives, attend workshops that spotlight air-driven design processes and see how Nike is innovating with new garments for extreme conditions. Read more about Air_Lab

Writer: Charlotte Gunn

Nike Air_Lab, Via Sammartini 72, 20125, Milan

Can you spot our Fiats around the city?

To mark the return of the beloved Wallpaper* Travel Guides, we've partnered with Fiat to dress four Topolino cars up to match the books. If you see them around Milan this week, take a picture and tag us on Instagram @wallpapermag

Writer Charlotte Gunn

Alcova takes over two of Milan’s most extraordinary venues

Design platform Alcova stages its annual showcase across two remarkable sites in Milan. First, Villa Pestarini – the only private residence designed by Franco Albini – is an essential pilgrimage for fans of Italian modernism. Alcova animates it with a series of interventions, including Patricia Urquiola’s installation for Haworth and Cassina and a debut furniture collection by Boccamonte celebrating architect Luisa Castiglioni.

At the Baggio Military Hospital, large-scale, site-specific works fill hangars, courtyards and a newly accessible church. The latter hosts an immersive installation by Leo Lague and Versa exploring design and spirituality, and is one to seek out.

The venues do a lot of the heavy lifting – especially the Baggio Military Hospital, whose vast, abandoned scale and slightly haunted atmosphere make it well worth the detour. What Alcova does so well, though, is the other half – staging thoughtful, rather than merely decorative, engagement. Read more about the new locations in Milan

Writer Anna Solomon

Villa Pestarini, Via Mogadiscio 2/4, 20146 Milan
Baggio Military Hospital, Via Giovanni Labus 10, 20147 Milan

Discover the launch of Kelly Wearstler's H&M Home collection

At Palazzo Acerbi for the launch of Kelly Wearstler H&M Home, with a multisensory set design by Studio Boum.

Palazzo Acerbi hasn't been seen before (one of the reasons Kelly Wearstler chose it for the launch), the details are insane throughout- make sure you look up AND down!

Writer Rosa Bertoli

Corso di Porta Romana, 3, 20122 Milano MI, Italy

Yinka Ilori injects joy into Veuve Clicquot’s world

For Milan Design Week, Veuve Clicquot has transposed its vibrant yellow branding into a limited-edition drinks accessories collection, developed with Yinka Ilori. The British-Nigerian designer draws on his heritage to create a world of optimistic motifs – hands cradling the sun, celestial forms, natural symbols. The calabash-inspired Sun Totems are the standout, grounding the collection in something more meaningful than surface-level exuberance (the fruit is traditionally used as a drinking vessel in West Africa), while upcycled materials and 3D knitting techniques give the collection a contemporary edge. Ilori was a smart choice: his instinct for colour maps naturally onto a brand whose identity is built around a joyful shade of yellow.

Writer Anna Solomon

Mediateca Santa Teresa, Via della Moscova 28, 20121 Milan

Come for the brews, stay for the views

Atop the majestic Torre Velasca, find some calm amidst the mayhem of Milan Design Week in Cromo's secret tea house. The structure is inspired by the Vietnamese Rong House which were traditionally built as ceremonial structures. A collaboration with Milan-based designer Bogdan Martoiu, the teahouse is designed from reflective utilitarian materials which mirror its surroundings. Don't leave without a cup of matcha on the roof, taking in views of the city.

Writer Charlotte Gunn

Cromo Tea House, Piazza Velasca, 3/5, 20122 Milan

Discover Kvadrat's tribute to Frans Dijkmeijer

Frans Dijkmeijer- Silent Pioneer by Kvadrat at Triennale is a touching tribute to the late textile designer featuring prototypes and personal collections.

The exhibition also features contemporary artworks that respond to Dijkmeijer’s work and personal passions, including this aural video installation by Francesco Tosini, titled 'to see a world in a grain of sand and heaven in a wild flower'. Read more about the wonderful world of Frans Dijkmeijer here

Writer Rosa Bertoli

Viale Emilio Alemagna, 6, 20121 Milano MI, Italy

Loro Piana's ode to plaid

Loro Piana presents 'STUDIES CHAPTER I: ON THE PLAID' located on Via Moscova 33. Check out our visual gallery above to see the ode to plaid within interiors.

Writer Olly Mason

Via della Moscova 33, 20121 Milano, Italy

Step inside Dimoregallery's new location

Dimoregallery opens its new location on Via San Vittore al Teatro, just steps from Piazza degli Affari, in the historic and cultural heart of Milan. Over two floors within a building that formerly housed a bank, and still retains its original vault, is now reinterpreted as a device for depth and atmosphere.

Writer Olly Mason

Via San Vittore al Teatro

Aesop illuminates with first ever table lamp

Aesop marks its first-ever foray into artificial lighting with the launch of Aposē, a beautifully handcrafted, limited edition table lamp. The piece is presented in an informative and highly atmospheric bespoke installation in Brera, designed by Australian architect and founder of March Studio, Rodney Eggleston. Set in the Santa Maria del Carmine church cloister, the space is made using circular construction methods and building site components. A series of videos tells the story of the product’s making. At the end of the video sequence, experienced in immersive, moody lighting, Aposē is seen alongside two further potential future iterations of the design - a ceiling and a floor light. Aesop’s, Marianne Lardilleux, told me: ‘The ‘Factory of Light’ installation is designed as a manifesto: a tribute to the creative process as much as the result. We wanted to expose the alchemy of artisanal savoir-faire, proving that the beauty of a piece like Aposē lies in the journey of its making. Its making is showcased both tangibly—through projections showing the artisans at work—and poetically, through the architecture, with interplay of light, textures, and scents.’

Writer Ellie Stathaki

Santa Maria del Carmine, Piazza del Carmine, 2, 20121 Milano MI,

Edward Barber & Jay Osgerby at Triennale Milano

‘Our work emerges gradually through studies of folded structures, movement, space, distortion, time and scale,’ reads a quote from Edward Barber & Jay Osgerby at the entrance of their exhibition ‘alphabet’ at Triennale Milano. The display of prototypes shows the breadth of the studio’s output and the precision with which they conceive all of their designs through time.

Writer Rosa Bertoli

Triennale Milano, Viale Emilio Alemagna, 6, 20121 Milano MI, Italy

Bang & Olufsen take audio outdoors

As part of a long-term collaboration with Italian natural stone house Antolini, Bang & Olufsen make their first foray into outdoor speakers. Due for release in autumn, the fully customisable speakers are in the final stages of being all-weather tested, ensuring they stay true to the brand's cradle to cradle ethos.

Writer Charlotte Gunn

Piazza Fontana &, Via S. Clemente, 20122 Milano MI, Italy

A killa’ villa

I just touched down from my New York to Milan red eye but HAD to make a beeline for Alcova’s presentation at Villa Pestarini, jet lag be damned! The building was designed in the rationalist style by Franco Albini in 1939, and has never been open to the public until now. The house is a gorgeous exercise in light, transparency and geometry, and the works presented inside pay homage to those principals. Patricia Urquiola’s collab with Haworth and Cassina is an obvious showstopper, but —as a house museum obsessive— I became obsessed with the vintage appliances, putty pink accents and wavy glass cabinets that hint at what it was like to inhabit a masterpiece.

Writer Anna Fixsen

Via Mogadiscio, 2/4, 20146 Milano MI, Italy

Inside a yurt space inspired by Uzbekistan’s Aral Sea

Craft rich and evocative, architect Kulapat Yantrasast’s show 'When Apricots Blossom' took inspiration from Uzbekistan’s Aral Sea. The region’s cultural legacy and its stories are told through a series of bread stamps he curated. The items are crafted by international designers in collaboration with local creatives. A specially constructed yurt space is the culmination of the exhibit and provides space for activities.

Writer Ellie Stathaki

Palazzo Citterio, Via Brera, 12. Milan, Italy

Build your own Eames House with this new kit

The Eameses’ legendary case study house is now a prefab architectural system that you can buy. The exhibition at Triennale Milano features a selection of parts, archival imagery and texts, as well as a few configurations and colour options to inspire you. ‘The actual plan is personal within the structural system’, Ray Eames wrote in a 1949 handwritten note. Read more about the new Eames House kit here.

Writer Rosa Bertoli

Viale Emilio Alemagna, 6, 20121 Milano MI, Italy

CC-Tapis gives Fornasetti’s symbolism textile form

CC-Tapis translates the symbolic universe of Fornasetti into handcrafted rugs, a pairing that immediately makes sense – the Italian brand's trompe-l'oeil sensibility translates naturally to the woven format. Each piece merges illusion, irony and storytelling in refined textures; Himalayan wool, merino and silk are selected to enhance optical nuance. One of the most quietly convincing collaborations of the week.

Writer Anna Solomon

Piazza Santo Stefano 10, 20122 Milan

‘La Casa Magica’ is Nilufar’s twisted vision of home

‘La Casa Magica’, presented at Nilufar’s Via della Spiga gallery, is curated by Alcova co-founder Valentina Ciuffi with creative direction by her studio, Studio Vedèt, and set design by Space Caviar. In a separate part of the complex which houses the gallery, ‘Le Pied-à-Terre Cosmopolite’ unfolds: the space is immediately recognisable as domestic, yet becomes fantastical: a bed frame twists in chrome, a mirror fractures – as though splattered – across the wall. Familiar objects become strange, producing an atmosphere that does indeed have a touch of magic about it.

Writer Anna Solomon

Ciuffi is one of Milan’s busiest curators this week, with projects across Alcova, Delvis Unlimited and Nilufar Gallery, where ‘La Casa Magica’ can be found. The showcase brings together an international roster of designers to explore the home as a symbolic and ritual space. Moving beyond function, it considers domestic interiors as sites of belief, storytelling and protection, where objects act as contemporary talismans rooted in cultural archetypes. A particular highlight is the spellbinding Murano glass ‘Boswellia’ lamp by Christian Pellizzari.

Writer Ali Morris

Via della Spiga 32, 20121 Milan

Interni Venosta inhabits a postwar Borsani apartment

One of the best things about Milan Design Week is the unprecedented access to some of the city’s most incredible spaces. Interni Venosta has opened an apartment designed by Osvaldo Borsani between 1947 and 1948, never before seen by the public.

A sculptural room divider and bas-relief fireplace anchor the space, and Interni Venosta responds with brass and steel vases, lacquered wood and burl, and champagne-toned seating.

What's impressive is how the collection avoids blending in too submissively or asserting itself too loudly: where Borsani worked in warmth and craft, Interni Venosta introduces just enough cool contrast.

Writer Anna Solomon

Via Bigli 21, 20121 Milan

Head to the Wallpaper* Kiosk

Don't forget to stop by the Wallpaper* kiosk at Via Rivoli, corner Via Tivoli to pick up one of our relaunched travel guides to Milan, London, New York and Paris. Buy all four guides and get a free bag.

The Wallpaper* Kiosk is at Via Tivoli, corner Via Rivoli

A near-spiritual experience at Palazzo Isimbardi

Walking into 16th century Palazzo Isimbardi for Rimadesio’s ‘Becoming’ installation is a near-spiritual experience. For the company's 70th anniversary, Swiss audio-visual artist collective, Encore studio, has created an oversized light box that represents the sound and light of memories.

Using 100 layers of standard office grade electro chromic films, the artists took lighting installations out of their usual dark boxes and placed them under the blue Milanese sky.

Writer Rosa Bertoli

Palazzo Isimbardi, Corso Monforte 35

Step into the design world of Lella and Massimo Vignelli

Lella and Massimo Vignelli, inseparable in life and work, were among the leading figures of twentieth-century design and graphic communication. Active from the 1950s onward, they worked for more than half a century, developing a rigorous and immediately recognisable visual language applied across graphic design, product design, furniture, and communication.

Writer Olly Mason

Triennale Milano, Viale Emilio Alemagna, 6, 20121 Milano MI, Italy

A family of furniture

Unifor and Herzog and de Meuron worked on a family of office furniture - looking elegant and clad in cork leather. Set in the Herzog and de Meuron designed Fondazione Feltrinelli building where the Unifor showroom is. There's even a ping pong table.

Writer Ellie Stathaki

Viale Pasubio, 5, 20154 Milano MI, Italy

Theatrics meets furniture

Last night Salone del Mobile invited us to Teatro La Scala: we had dinner on stage, among sets and lighting equipment, and the atmosphere was magical. In her welcome speech, Salone del Mobile President Maria Porro (who had a theatre background before moving to furniture) invited us to look up, to the rigging loft: ‘it’s a fantastic work of architecture, design, craftsmanship and respect for tradition.

Writer Rosa Bertoli

V. Filodrammatici, 2, 20121 Milano MI, Italy

A waterfall in Milan

Swiss architecture and design studio atelier oï created a waterfall for Geberit, to demonstrate how water flow can connect design and function. The installation represents the bathroom company's approach to water from a technical and innovation perspective, to create precise function behind an aesthetically convincing form. For the installation, 300 stainless-steel springs are stretched across the space, from which water droplets glide on defined paths, creating tension between precision and freedom.

Rosa Bertoli

Opificio 31, Via Tortona 31, 20144 Milan, Italy

Polish Modernism 16 floors up

Back at Torre Velasca, the Visteria Foundation and curators Federica Sala and Anna Maga stage 'Polish Modernism: a struggle for beauty', an overview of the ways modernism has developed throughout Polish Design history and connecting old and contemporary works to demonstrate the continuous inspiration of the movement for the country’s creatives.

Rosa Bertoli

Torre Velasca, Piazza Velasca, 3/5, 20122 Milano MI, Italy

Energy raising with Belmond x LaDoubleJ

We took a welcome break atop the ‘star quarters’ of LaDoubleJ, where the terrace is transformed into a Tuscan garden to celebrate the brand’s upcoming collaboration with hoteliers Belmond. Villa San Michele, a Belmond Hotel, Florence, is set to reopen next week following a refurbishment and has partnered with the Italian label on a first-of-its-kind project, creating custom-designed LaDoubleJ spaces alongside a curated programme of ‘energy-raising’ wellness experiences, from breathwork and yoga to sound healing.

During the sunset event, guests sipped lavender and butterfly pea tea Tom Collins while a healer moved through the space performing smudging — a ritual that involves burning sage or palo santo to cleanse the space and those within it.

Writer Ali Morris

Via Vigevano 18, Milan 20144

Toogood goes to town with tone and texture at Tacchhini

At Tacchini, British designer Faye Toogood plundered the brand’s material archives to create a series of nine spaces, each defined by a distinct tonal palette – from deep, restorative greens to calming stone. In true Toogood fashion, the installation also goes to town with texture – an installation that has to be touched, as much as it is seen, inviting visitors to engage with the surfaces, finishes and tactility.

Writer Ali Morris

Largo Treves 5, 20121 Milan

Aperitivo and Finnish flowers with Marimekko

In a canny design week move, Finnish brand Marimekko has taken over the garden courtyard and restaurant at the Hosteria Grand Hotel, renaming it for the week ‘Osteria Fiori di Marimekko’. Here guests can enjoy a welcome aperitivo served in the brand’s ceramics by staff dressed in its newest floral designs, ‘Kukasta Kukkaan’ by Erja Hirvi. This is brand immersion at its finest.

Writer Ali Morris

Via Ascanio Sforza 75, 20141 Milan

Range Rover transports us to the River Tay in Scotland

Range Rover is back in Milan this year with an equally ambitious installation, setting out the staggering level of detail behind the brand’s bespoke offering. Here, the marque has partnered with spatial designer Robert Storey of Storey Studio — whose previous collaborators include Loro Piana and Hermès — to create a multi-sensory, sequenced experience.

It begins with a film directed by Paris-based Argentinian filmmaker Felipe Sanguinetti, and continues with illustrations by four artists, translated into intricate embroidery by the brand’s in-house team. The experience culminates in the reveal of the ‘Pearl of Tay’, a one-of-a-kind Range Rover Bespoke commission inspired by the freshwater pearl of Scotland’s River Tay.

Conceived as a landscape, the space is flanked by mirrored vitrines housing 14 objects curated by Wallpaper*’s own Hugo Macdonald of Bard.

Writer Ali Morris

Galleria Meravigli, Via Meravigli 5, 20123 Milan

Off to the races

The 64th edition of the Salone del Mobile furniture fair just kicked off at Fiera Milano Rho on the outskirts of the city. Apart from the huge offering of international exhibitors, this year has tons in store, including the biannual kitchen exhibition, Eurocucina, and for the first time, a collectible design showcase, Salone Raritas. I’m just about to dive in — please send a spritz in case of emergency!

Writer Anna Fixsen

Fiera Milano Rho

New designs inspired by nature at Palazzo Molteni

Palazzo Molteni features all of the company’s new designs by Christophe Delcourt, Gam Fratesi, Cristian Mohaded , Vincent van Duysen, Studio Klass and Naoto Fukasawa. This year’s collection is defined by textured materials and colours referencing nature.

The top floor hosts the Molteni Gallery, dedicated to temporary art exhibition. This week, the space features an exhibition of sculptures by Michele De Lucchi. Titled ‘The Architect’s Relief’, the exhibition is dedicated to sculptures made of wood sewn with metal wire and they are made by the architect as a way to escape from the scale and constrictions of the structural work. The sculptures are accompanied by drawings and sketches.

Writer Rosa Bertoli

Via Alessandro Manzoni, 9, 20121 Milano MI, Italy

Inside a secret garden

At Garden Senato, Molteni worked with Elisa Ossino to create a hidden garden in the heart of the city. Titled ‘Responsive Nature’, the installation comprises six gardens that frame the companies outdoor design collections, interacting with foliage, flowers, water and architecture.

Writer Rosa Bertoli

Via Senato, 14, 20121 Milano MI, Italy

‘Gucci Memoria’ sees Demna reimagine the house’s 105-year history as a series of tapestries

Gucci creative director Demna marks his first Milan Design Week with a playful presentation at Chiostri di San Simpliciano, seeing the Georgian designer reimagine the Italian house’s 105-year history through a series of Renaissance-inspired tapestries (he even makes a cameo in the final tableau, clad in a leather jacket and baseball cap). Also in the 15th-century cloisters are a series of Gucci-branded vending machines – drinks dispensed have names like ‘Fashion Icon’ and ‘Drama Queen’ – while a bucolic garden of wildflowers recalls the house’s signature Flora motif.

‘Gucci’s history in the 105 years since it was founded is filled with ups and downs. It has such a colourful past with lot of stories to tell,’ Demna tells Wallpaper*. ‘This being my first Fuorisalone, I wanted to tell the entire story of the house from the beginning, so we made these tapestries that take inspiration from the style of Botticelli to tell Gucci’s story. You see all the different eras of Gucci represented in these scenes, either literally or symbolically. The good times, the bad times, the drama; and the scenes are super elaborate, there are lots of symbolic details that tie back to Gucci’s codes.’

Writer Jack Moss

Gucci Memoria’ is open to the public from 21 to 26 April 2026 at the Chiostri di San Simpliciano, Piazza Paolo VI, 6, Milan. Registration is available on Gucci.com

At Rossana Orlandi, 70 makers rethink the door

RoCollectible, Galleria Rossana Orlandi’s annual showcase, takes the door – threshold, boundary, passage, barrier, however you see it – as its conceptual starting point. Over 70 designers, artists and architects respond, curated by Rossana Orlandi and her daughter, Nicoletta Brugnoni.

It’s a richer premise than it first appears, and the breadth of contributors prevents repetition. Highlights include Roberto Sironi’s ‘Future Memories’, produced with Japanese carpentry workshop Sansui, using reclaimed timber from traditional kominka houses. Other interpretations, such as Atelier L’Inconnu’s sculptural rattan works, are more oblique – but Orlandi’s strength is allowing work to breathe without over-explanation.

Writer Anna Solomon

Via Matteo Bandello 14, 20123 Milan

A rugged adventure in ceramic with Hannes Peer

‘Terrain’, designed by architect Hannes Peer in conversation with Officine Saffi Lab, presents as a large-scale ceramic high relief. Aggregated tiles of varying shapes and glazes – soft blues, reds, and sand – form a meticulous yet uneven surface, with the reverse revealing a more fragmented, exposed composition. A must if you find yourself in Zona Sarpi.

Writer: Gabriel Annouka

Fondazione Officine Saffi, Via Giovanni Battista Niccolini 35a, Milan

Design meets technology at Istituto Marangoni Milano Design

At Istituto Marangoni Milano Design, ‘Design Awakens’ explores objects that perceive, spaces that respond, and systems that adapt to human presence. Across the Via Cerva hub, installations in collaboration with brands such as Alessi, Poltrona Frau, Cappellini and Jaipur Rugs result in a vision of design that shifts from static objects to evolving relationships between people, technology, and space.

Writer: Rosie Cave

Via Cerva 24, 20122 Milano

The Wallpaper* Milan Treasure Hunt

Across four of our favourite Milan locations – all referenced in our new Travel Guides – we have placed unique Wallpaper* pin badges. Move from one stop to the next, collect each badge, and complete the set.

Once you have them all, return to the Wallpaper* Kiosk, at Via Tivoli, corner Via Rivoli, to receive a free copy of one of our brand new travel guides.

The locations:
(1) Frab's bookshop (@frabs_magazines)- Via Giuseppe Sirtori, 11, 20129 Milano MI, Italy
(2) Cucchi x Marni (@pasticceria.cucchi) - Corso Genova, 1, Milan, Italy 20123
(3)10 Corso Como (@10corsocomo) - 20154 Milano MI, Italy
(4) Oslo Made in Heaven (@oslo_madeinheaven) - Via Filippo Corridoni, 1, 20122 Milano MI, Italy
(5) Wallpaper* Kiosk - Via Rivoli, corner Via Tivoli

Alcova's synergy between architecture and design

There is synergy between architecture and design at Alcova. Objects of Common Interest’s installation offers a fun spatial moment (the design studio founders Eleni Petaloti and Leonidas Trampoukis have strong architecture roots). ARP founder and Wallpaper* Architects' Directory alumna Argyro Pouliovali creates a family of tables using Thassos marble to striking effect. The Architectural Association school from London presents a never seen before show of objects in its exhibition, 'Coalescence'.

Writer Ellie Stathaki

Lavanderia Space L3, Centro Ospedaliero Militare, Milan

studioutte & De Troupe's installation is a nod to a private club

Camera Fissa is a project by studioutte and De Troupe, presented at the studioutte headquarters in Milan. For this exhibition, studioutte used the codes of a private club to create
full decor within a textile environment developed with Dedar. The title, 'Camera Fissa', references the cinematic term for a fixed camera: a pace experienced from a single, centred viewpoint, framed by curtains. Defined by a controlled decorative monumentality, the interior appears still yet dynamic, while architecture, light, and surfaces shift through inhabitation.

Writer Olly Mason

Via Volturno, 45, 20124 Milano MI, Italy

Five studios, five cities, one palazzo

Artemest returns to Palazzo Donizetti for the fourth edition of L’Appartamento, this year themed around Italian grandeur. Five international studios – Sasha Adler Design, March and White Design, Rockwell Group, Charlap Hyman & Herrero and Urijowan Interiors – each reinterpret a cultural capital: Venice, Florence, Rome, Naples and Palermo.
The framework brings clarity to a showcase that could otherwise feel unwieldy, while the diverse studios produce genuinely distinct atmospheres.

Writer Anna Solomon

Palazzo Donizetti, Via Gaetano Donizetti 48, 20122 Milan

High Baroque meets high street at Kelly Wearstler x H&M

After our design director attended the press preview yesterday, I couldn’t resist also popping in to see Kelly Wearstler’s furniture collaboration with H&M Home, which launches across 28 markets this week, presented within Palazzo Acerbi, a 17th-century Baroque palace long closed to the public. Chairs, tables, lamps and tabletop pieces sit beneath soaring frescoed ceilings – a juxtaposition that is both incongruous and inspired.

The modular constraint imposed on each piece is interesting, given Wearstler’s typically exuberant style, though anyone familiar with her Proper hotels will recognise her distinctive touch. H&M knows how to scale; Wearstler knows how to make a room feel alive, and here, the two click.

Writer Anna Solomon

Palazzo Acerbi, Corso di Porta Romana 3, Milan

6:AM fills a swimming pool with glass, sound and repetition

6:AM presents ‘Over and Over and Over and Over’ at Piscina Romano, a 1929 public swimming pool and one of Milan’s most striking venues. Repetition is the guiding principle: lamps form luminous sequences, glass modules build walls and singular objects scale into architectural systems.

New works include ‘Batch’ – blown glass cubes first created for Bottega Veneta’s S/S 2026 runway – alongside limited editions developed with Hannes Peer. A standout is Invernomuto’s sound installation ‘Triton’, which transforms data from a living ecosystem of amphibians in northern Italy into a sonic composition.

Writer Anna Solomon

Piscina Romano, Via Giuseppe Zanoia 2, 20131 Milan

60 books, 60 perspectives’: Jil Sander opens a ‘Reference Library’

For his first Milan Design Week at the house, Jil Sander creative director Simone Bellotti drafted Studioutte to create a ‘Reference Library’ in the brand’s Milanese headquarters. In the low-lit, hushed space – a recording of a voice shushing recalled tetchy librarians – 60 books sat on specially lit plinths, with guests handed white gloves on entry to peruse the various volumes. Each of the books had been selected by notable figures selected by Jil Sander and Apartamento (the magazine collaborated on the installation), from musician Lykke Li to Sofia Coppola, as well as figures from the world of design. ‘I chose for this library – improvised and temporary, as a gift to the city of Milan for just a few days,’ says Bellotti.

Writer Jack Moss

Reference Library runs until April 24, 2026 at Via Luca Beltrami 5, Milan

Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance’s lamps for Dior are inspired by haute couture silhouettes

Set amid an intricate scene constructed from woven bamboo comprising flowers, wheat, insects and bees, Dior chose Milan Design Week to present a new collection of lamps created by the French interior designer Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance. Spanning various sizes, the table lamps – some of which are portable – are constructed from either hand-blown Murano glass or Madame bamboo (the latter made by craftspeople in Kyoto, Japan) and are designed to evoke the house’s cannage quilting or haute couture silhouettes. Namely, the contours of the Corolle skirt, part of Christian Dior’s 1947 nipped-waist Bar suit, the contours of which would revolutionise mid-century fashion.

Writer Jack Moss

Palazzo Landriani, Via Borgonuovo, 25, 20121 Milan

Inside the new permanent Milan gallery The Line

New permanent Milan gallery The Line launches its activities with a show during design week. The exhibition brings together seven international architects and designers such as Marcio Kogan, AAU Anastas, Kengo Kuma and Bernard Khoury. The theme is 'survival' and the pieces on display, made in natural stone by Casone and atmospherically illuminated by PSLab, each have the same starting point - an identical block of African black stone.

Writer Ellie Stathaki

Via San Giovanni alla Paglia 6, Milan

Checkmate

An oversized chessboard brings Harry Nuriev's bold take to Milan. The immersive installation, titled 'Transformism', was created with perfumer Clive Christian (Nurriev's Crosby Studios also designed the brand's London flagship). The piece, which draws on the Clive Christian perfume bottle, is set on a terrace at Museo Bagatti Valsecchi.

Writer Ellie Stathaki

On the terrace at Museo Bagatti Valsecchi, Via Gesù, 5, 20121 Milano MI, Italy

Rugs on the rooftop

On the rooftop of Convey, Ege Carpets presents its new collection ‘Common Ground’. Curated by creative director Gabriella Khalil, these new designs showcase Khalil’s bold style, with four new earth-toned designs (titled Ribbon, Imprint, Swell and Maze). Writer: Rosie Cave

Via San Senatore 10, 20122 Milan

Convey by Simple Flair returns for 2026

Following its debut last year, group show Convey took over a historic building at Via San Senatore 10 in Milan. Designed by Ottavio Cabiati and Luigi Brambilla in 1958, the six-floor space played host to a mix of international designers and brands curated by Milan-based creative studio Simple Flair.

Big enough to feel like a destination, but not so sprawling to overwhelm, we particularly enjoyed ‘Something Blue’ by London brand Completed Works, Joshi/Greene’s rail system and Chiara Lionello’s ceramic and aluminium vases.

Writer Ali Morris

Via San Senatore 10 Milan, Italy

Where Swiss design comes with coffee

Promoted by Pro Helvetia, Shared Matter brings together projects by emerging Swiss designers, spanning realised works and ongoing research. Thoughtful curation, striking type, and complimentary coffee at Spaziovento.

Writer: Gabriel Annouka

SPAZIOVENTO Via Pinamonte da Vimercate 4, 20121 Milano

A shop of luxury ‘essentials’

Magniberg and NM3 stage a residential installation that doubles as a shop of exclusive essentials – its title, ‘What Money Can Buy’ is the clearest statement of intent. It's a match made in heaven. Writer: Rosa Bertoli

Kvadrat Residential showroom, corso Monforte 15 (through the courtyard)

A landscape inspired by '2001: A Space Odyssey'

At Flos, Konstantin Grcic imagined a landscape inspired by 2001: A Space Odyssey to be inhabited by his Nocturne collection . The lamp is shown among furniture printed on glass, like ghost shadows of familiar designs, and on an illuminated floor that gives an artificial glow to the setting. ‘The space feels more imagined than real,' reads a note introducing the exhibition. ‘Like the lamps themselves, it exists somewhere between presence and illusion-simple, quiet, and open to interpretation.’

Writer Rosa Bertoli

Corso Monforte 15

Erwan Bouroullec’s 'Maap' for Flos

Erwan Bouroullec’s 'Maap' for Flos is presented as a wall of light in the company’s showroom. See the creative home where Erwan Bouroullec's designs come to life, below.

Writer Rosa Bertoli

Corso Monforte

Discover emerging Catalan designers

Dos Mil Quatre-Cents Setanta Grams. Una Mostra di Design Catalano presents 12 pieces by emerging Catalan designers at Ventana, each set to 2470 grams. A single, calculated weight, drawn from averaged measurements of IKEA furniture and lighting, sets the terms across ceramics, textiles, metal and glass within a compact display.

Writer Gabriel Annouka

VENTANA, Via Plinio 37

Discover Aldo Cibic's ceramic landscapes

'Aldo Cibic: Small Ritual Landscapes' at Antonia Jannone Disegni di Architettura presents ceramic landscapes conceived as architectural fragments, formed through slab construction. Alongside the 11 sculptures, original drawings tracing each work are also on view.

Writer Gabriel Annouka

Antonia Jannone Disegni di Architettura, Corso Garibaldi 125, 20121 Milano

Bottling sunshine with Yinka Ilori

This morning, I popped by a panel discussion hosted by Wallpaper* and Veuve Clicquot set within Yinka Ilori's cheery installation, Chasing the Sun. The chat, hosted by Wallpaper*'s Milan editor Laura May Todd, delved into creativity and how design, by centering storytelling and optimism, can be a force of good in the world. Ilori's mission? To 'touch people through joy.' Cheers to that!

Be sure to pop by the space, which includes an outdoor Veuve Clicquot cafe and gift store filled with Ilori-designed merch, while you still can!

Read more about the Yinka Ilori' x Veuve Clicquot collaboration here

Writer Anna Fixsen

Mediateca Santa Teresa, Via della Moscova 28, 20121 Milan

Nieuwe Instituut explores sustainability and community through design

Rotterdam's museum for architecture and design, Nieuwe Instituut, is in Milan again this year, presenting CIVICITY at Villa Mirabello. The exhibition (new director Yesomi Umolu's first) zooms into the sustainability, social and spatial challenges of global fairs and takes the form of a dynamic creative residency for the duration of the festival. Designers Demo-practice and Ned Kaar are the two main, new participants this year – the output includes the notion of pizza as a key cultural element that brings together local and migrant communities.

Writer Ellie Stathaki

Via Villa Mirabello, 6, 20125 Milan

Salone del Mobile’s first Contract Forum

One of Salone del Mobile’s big announcements this year was its dedicated Contract Forum day, which aims to kick-start a discussion and offer a taste of what Salone Contract 2027 will offer in a year’s time. During a day of panels and lectures at the main fairground’s Drafting Futures Arena, lead architects Rem Koohlaas and David Gianotten of OMA guided a conversation around what contract means, who is it for, and what we can expect from the first-ever Salone focus on contract furniture and spaces.

Writer Ellie Stathaki

Drafting Futures Arena (Pavilion 14) at the Fiera Milano, Rho fairgrounds

Antoine Billore presents an apartment of curiosities

A heady scent emanating from a leafy courtyard in Milan’s Loreto neighbourhood this week is the only indication of the treasures that lie within. Step inside to find a ground-floor apartment furnished by ‘off-beat’ antiques dealer Antoine Billore – one of this year’s under-the-radar highlights. Conceived by Billore as a cabinet of curiosities, the home is filled with antiques he has sourced, shown alongside his own small furniture collection featuring wooden marquetry.

‘L’appartement’ taps into a growing appetite for more attainable, imperfect interiors in an industry often dominated by high polish, while capturing the feel of nosing around someone’s private home – which, if we’re honest, is every design enthusiast’s guilty pleasure. The scent, meanwhile, comes courtesy of L’Artisan Parfumeur, which partnered with Billore on the show to celebrate its 50th anniversary.

Writer Ali Morris

Via Giovanni Lulli 2, Milan 20131

Nina Yashar imagines a collector’s apartment at Via della Spiga

Nilufar’s ‘Le Pied-à-Terre Cosmopolite’, curated by Nina Yashar, transforms part of the Milanese gallery into a 70 sqm apartment imagined as the home of a worldly collector. Devoid of windows, atmosphere is built through carefully placed lighting and rich colour. As Yashar puts it, it is ‘a compact space yet intensely lived in, where every object tells a story and design becomes a natural part of everyday life.’

Writer Ali Morris

Nilufar Gallery, Via della Spiga, 32, 20121 Milan

Pierre Frey’s ‘Allegory of the Loom’ lands in Milan

Conceived as a scenographic showcase by art director and designer Johanna de Clisson, Maison Pierre Frey’s ‘Allegory of the Loom’ is an immersive installation celebrating the house’s textile expertise. Housed within a structure designed to resemble a newly landed spaceship, lengths of patterned fabric unfurl across platforms and seating, revealing the material, process and craftsmanship behind the collection. Beyond the installation, pieces are arranged within the showroom’s wood-panelled interior, picking up the colours of the ceiling mural above.

Writer Ali Morris

Via Fatebenefratelli, 3, 20121 Milan

Laila Gohar’s delightful vegetable carousel

If there's one thing that broke our Insta feeds this Milan Design Week, it was the whimsical veggie carousel Laila Gohar created for Scandinavian lifestyle brand Arket. Even though it was ubiquitous on my socials, the experience of taking a spin on a gigantic radish proved to be the highlight of my week. It was sheer joy to watch design creatures, parents and bambini alike queue up to give the carousel a whirl — all with huge grins on their faces. Read more about Laila Gohar's carousel for Arket here

Anna Fixsen

Giardino delle Arti, Via Aldo Palazzeschi, 00137 Rome, Italy

A peek inside Piero Fornasetti’s former residence

A private tour of Casa Fornasetti was a welcome surprise at a dînatoire hosted by PR agency Alpha Kilo and investor Daniel English. The former home and studio of the legendary designer remains in family ownership, housing his archive, atelier and the offices of his foundation. Long familiar to the international design community for its annual Salone gathering – a fixture of the week’s closing celebrations. Overflowing with art, objects, books, colour and pattern at every turn, it is a maximalist’s dream.

Visits by appointment only.

Writer Ali Morris

Salone del Mobile highlights: Knoll

At the fair, Knoll presented a mix of its historical icons by the likes of Mies van der Rohe and Eero Saarinen, alongside contemporary pieces by Willo Perron and Dozie Kanu, demonstrating the strength of its portfolio that successfully merges design tradition, innovation, and modernity.

Writer Rosa Bertoli

Fiera Milano Rho, Strada Statale del Sempione, 28 20017 Rho (Milan)

Salone del Mobile highlights: Gufram, Memphis and Meritalia

Gufram, Memphis and Meritalia’s shared booth is a brilliant effort to showcase how you can live with radical design in a domestic environment, with iconic reissues including Masanori Umeda’s Ring for Memphis and new works by Faye Toogood, Philippe Malouin and Objects of Common Interest for Meritalia.

Writer Rosa Bertoli

Fiera Milano Rho, Strada Statale del Sempione, 28 20017 Rho (Milan)

Salone del Mobile highlights: Minotti

At Minotti, Orion by Giampiero Tagliaferri is a modular constellation of seating based on an aluminium frame, while his Doheny shelving system is based on a central track (inspired by Doheny Drive in LA).

Writer Rosa Bertoli

Fiera Milano Rho, Strada Statale del Sempione, 28 20017 Rho (Milan)

Salone del Mobile highlights: Minotti

Elsewhere at the Minotti stand, the company displays a showcase of the breadth of its expertise with upholstered furniture, with a diverse offering including pieces by GamFratesi, Nendo, Hannes Peer and Marcio Kogan.

Writer Rosa Bertoli

Fiera Milano Rho, Strada Statale del Sempione, 28 20017 Rho (Milan)

Salone del Mobile highlights: B&B Italia

B&B Italia’s stand by Formafantasma instantly suggests the company’s new vision, defined by clarity and dedicated to elevating the pure furniture designs by Vincent Van Duysen, Ronan Bouroullec and Michael Anastassiades.

Writer Rosa Bertoli

Fiera Milano Rho, Strada Statale del Sempione, 28 20017 Rho (Milan)

Salone del Mobile highlights: B&B Italia

Richard Sapper’s Nena, a 1984 folding design, is brought back in a delicious velvet palette. Originally designed for B&B Italia, it is equipped with a hook and imagined to be hung in a wardrobe for storage.

Writer Rosa Bertoli

Fiera Milano Rho, Strada Statale del Sempione, 28 20017 Rho (Milan)

Salone del Mobile highlights: Tacchini

Entering Tacchini’s booth, one has the impression of stepping into a 1980s-inspired house – Faye Toogood’s Butter seating system appears in different material interpretations, a mix of extreme comfort and versatile design.

Writer Rosa Bertoli

Fiera Milano Rho, Strada Statale del Sempione, 28 20017 Rho (Milan)

Celebrating 40 years of Technogym’s Unica

Forty years ago, Nerio Alessandri’s Unica transformed gym equipment into a one-stop-shop piece of design. The Technogym showroom installation celebrates this milestone by looking back at the personalities – from sport to pop culture – who have been Unica users throughout its history, starting with Sylvester Stallone.

Writer Rosa Bertoli

Technogym Milano, Via Durini 1, 20122 Milan,

Giobagnara Art Editions and Gary Hume collaborate

Among the week’s most inspiring collaborations is this series of limited edition pieces by Giobagnara Art Editions and Gary Hume: cast aluminium and leather marquetry referencing the British artist’s work on trays, boxes, room dividers, and a drinks cabinet. The collaboration was orchestrated by the always brilliant Wallpaper* Quality Maniac at Large, Nick Vinson.

Writer Rosa Bertoli

Via della Spiga 33, Milan

Chopsticks are at the heart of this showcase

At S-3 Site, ‘Chopsticks’ explores the object as a vessel of memory and tradition, with 16 East Asian creatives reinterpreting it through their own cultural lens.

Writer Gabriel Annouka

Via Pietro Giannone 3, Milano

New works by LS gomma

The doorman almost didn't let us into the building but we are very happy we managed to persuade him and were able to see these new works by LS gomma, a design studio working in mesh wire ‘painted’ with rubber.

Writer Rosa Bertoli

Address: by invitation only

Casa NM3 explores domestic opportunities with their designs

Casa NM3 is an opportunity for the Milanese studio to showcase the domestic opportunities of their products. Based on simple modular models, their metal sheets become display units, tables, seating and beds, and the new works include a marble-topped table and a lamp created in collaboration with 6:AM.

Writer Rosa Bertoli

Via Carlo Farini 93

A reimagined Frankfurt kitchen

This tiny, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it underground space hosts Antwerp studio Soft Baroque’s interpretation of the Frankfurt kitchen. Titled ‘Ghost Kitchen’, the installation is ‘an attempt to inject energy, deserialise and fantasise about the standard chipboard material’ that is often used in standard kitchens nowadays,

Writer Rosa Bertoli

Via Leone Pancaldo 12

Singapore designers showcase problem-solving prowess

DesignSingapore Council returns to Milan this year with a new exhibition titled ‘Prototype Island’. Curated by Hunn Wai, co-founder of Lanzavecchia + Wai and assistant curator Eian Siew, the exhibition explores Singapore as a living prototype nation, showcasing 15 evolving, optimising and future-proofing designs from Singapore-based designers. Writer: Rosie Cave

10 Corso Como becomes a crossroads for contemporary visions

An iconic destination for Fuorisalone, the concept store 10 Corso Como becomes a crossroads for contemporary visions, with collective showcases across fashion, design, and jewellery.
Moncler takes over the Gallery to present its new summer collection, while the Project Room hosts 'Fluid Re-Collection' by Linde Freya Tangelder in collaboration with Cassina. In the Pop-Up, Visionnaire presents a capsule design NM3, and the Mezzanine features an installation by Imperfettolab. In the store, KINRADEN unveils its new 'Stilos' collection alongside a selection of high jewellery with an architectural design.

See our image gallery above featuring Moncler’s ‘Have A Puffy Summer’ giant inflated octopus on top of the building, Visionnaire’s collaboration capsule with Milanese studio NM3, including a daybed, table, lounge chair and stools, and the 'Fluid Re-Collection' by Linde Freya Tangelder in collaboration with Cassina.

Writer Olly Mason

Corso Como, 10, 20154 Milano MI, Italy

Flaer’s nature-inspired worlds debut in Milan

For its Milan Design Week debut, Flaer staged its furniture across three immersive rooms where its new collections inhabit natural scenarios enriched by the light of the desert and the sea.

Writer Rosa Bertoli

Via Fatebenefratelli 5, Milan

Cassina’s curiosity cabinet

Cassina under the creative direction of Patricia Urquiola is always a cabinet of larger-than-life curiosities. Among the company's new launches is the new Ardys sofa by Urquiola, an embodiment of the designer's ongoing research into the way classic upholstered furniture can be innovated through new materials and techniques, and 1980s chairs by Gaetano Pesce that make it into the catalogue for the first time (they had strictly been a collector's item until now). Elsewhere in the showroom, Ronan Bouroullec's Treflo table features a four metre long glass top, the longest possible for the material ('for a piece of glass, it is an honour to get to this dimension,' Urquiola poetically explained). It was also great to see new lighting designs by Mario Tsai among the company's offering.

Cassina's ongoing celebrations of I Maestri, the masters of mid century design, is taking a new turn as the company prepares to celebrate its first century next year. Upholstered in bright yellow velvet, iconic designs by Le Corbusier and Afra and Tobia Scarpa are presented in a theatre-like setting on the showroom's top floor. 'I don't want to be nostalgic, or use the word "timeless": I believe in a transformative approach to design that transcend time,' Urquiola told us.

Writer Rosa Bertoli

Via Durini 16, Milan

Dedar presents Versi Liberi

The uniqueness of textile customisation encounters the immediacy of a ready-made product.

Versi Liberi emphatically reinvents the traditional textile genre of the placed motif, popular from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries: its refinement and expressive force are combined to bring it into the world of contemporary interior design. Thanks to elaborate embroidery and printing techniques, which confer a marked three-dimensionality, Versi Liberi fabrics give interiors a strong identity.
The placed fabrics are accompanied by the large-scale panels for curtain use.

Through this new format, Versi Liberi broadens its visual scope and revisits the idea of flounce fabrics, bringing it decisively into the contemporary context. Each of these large panels combines two fabrics from the collection to create a wide expanse of colour. A special faux embroidery technique provides the joining stitch between them, producing a subtle gradation.

Versi Liberi is expressed through a visual and tactile language that spans time: the past is reconciled with the present, revealing the full transformative power of textile within space. Embroidery, freed from any form of affectation, becomes an essential mark.

Writer Olly Mason

Versi Liberi, Via Lazzaretto 15, Milan

Margraf x Hannes Peer

La Casa Di Marmo, the immersive installation presented by Margraf on the occasion of Milan Design Week, created in collaboration with Hannes Peer. The project explores the dialogue between material and design, placing Santafiora stone, Margraf’s new exclusive material, at the centre of a narrative that redefines the relationship between natural stone and architecture. The space transforms a private underground garage into an immersive and serene space.

Writer Olly Mason

Spazio Cernaia, Via Cernaia 1, Milan

Rubelli presents ‘Ai Weiwei – About Silk’

Exploring the boundaries of art and textiles, the Venetian textile company Rubelli presents an immersive installation at its Milan showroom featuring two original designs by Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei. 'The Animal that Looks like a Llama but is Actually an Alpaca' and 'Finger' feature bold motifs such as surveillance cameras, chains, and the Twitter bird that trace the artist's history and struggles. For the first time, Ai Weiwei entrusts his message to silk – a material that connects his homeland to Rubelli's craft and expertise in Italy. The installation, under the creative direction of Formafantasma, will also showcase a collection of historical artifacts and an original documentary film about the project created by Argentine director Felipe Sanguinetti.

Writer Olly Mason

Via Fatebenefratelli 9, Milan

Taxi for Wallpaper*!

Have you seen these cars? A fleet of Fiat Topolinos has been whizzing about Milan, each car custom-dressed in a livery to match one of our four new Wallpaper* Travel guides – to Milan, Paris, New York and London – which we launched in the city this week. Small truly has been beautiful, especially when it came to getting up close to the city’s landmarks for a bit of four-wheeled sightseeing. If you’ve spotted this cute quartet around Milan this week, post your pictures and tag us on Instagram @wallpapermag

Its Muller Van Severen's birthday! Blow out the candle(holders)

Muller Van Severen celebrate its fifteenth anniversary with an exhibition of giant candle-holders made of aluminium, and alluding to some of the shapes that are recurring in the pair's work. The exhibition, in collaboration with Apartamento, Tim Van Laere Gallery, and BD Barcelona (who have also created small version of the candle-holders, available to buy on-site), also marks the debut of the studio's monograph, titled A Lot of Work chronicling the designer's visual universe.

Writer Rosa Bertoli

Ordet ​, Via Filippino Lippi 4, 20131 Milan

'The Private Lives of Objects' at Flexform

At Flexform, an exhibition titled 'The Private Lives of Objects' featured new furniture including new chairs by Patrick Norguet and a table by Sebastian Herkner. The pieces were shown against a backdrop of larger-than-life illustrations bringing a playful approach to the space, featuring popular games reproduced in pastel colours, from Checkers to Jenga.

Writer Rosa Bertoli

Via della Moscova, Milan

Reimagining heritage at Barovier & Toso

The Barovier & Toso showroom in Milan offered a masterclass in innovating a historical glass brand. Under Luca Nichetto's art direction (which among other things features a newly launched brand identity by Studio Blanco), the Venetian glass company presented new and exciting work by the likes of Claesson Koivisto Rune, Studio Lani, Keiji Ashizawa and García Cumini.

Writer Rosa Bertoli

Via Durini, 5, 20122 Milan

Even dogs love Edra's new releases

Milan is a city of great dogs, but our favourite last week was Blu, Edra co-founder and vice-president Monica Mazzei's Australian shepherd. He made for a fun accompaniment to the Tuscan company's new collections, which included extruded polycarbonate lamps by Jacopo Foggini welcoming us into the courtyard (pictured), and a sofa by Francesco Binfaré defined by movement.

Writer Rosa Bertoli

Via Durini, 24, 20122 Milano MI, Italy

Dragons of Walton Street fiery new collection

Marking the launch of Dragons of Walton Street's first collection under the new creative director, Carlo Colombo, a presentation hosted in collaboration with Vitale Barberis Canonico, introduces a new chapter for the brand and showcases the brand's latest design collection: 'The Dragon’s House' . This includes the 'Twinkle Vanity Unit', 'Dragon Sofa', 'Little One Chair', miniature directors chairs, and a textured dragon stool.

Writer Olly Mason

Spazio Vitale Barberis Canonico, on Via Solferino 23A

Slow down and reflect in Italy's oldest bookshop

Milan Design Week this year was a paradise for book lovers. Among the literary pop-ups across the city was Davines' literary salon at legendary Libreria Bocca, Italy's oldest bookshop dating back to 1775. Twice daily during the week, the pop-up offered readings and sessions dedicated to poetry, literature and conversations based on caring for nature and humanity through culture. As the brand framed it, it was 'an opportunity to slow down, reflect and feel part of the harmony and wonder that the natural world offers us.'

Writer Rosa Bertoli

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

For German designer Konstantin Grcic, the technical and poetic sides of lighting design are inextricably intertwined. So when working to recreate the glow of the moon for Nocturne, his latest creation for Flos, he knew exactly how to approach it. ‘The reference to the moon is not a stylistic idea, it’s more about a certain type of light: present but not harsh, both directional and ambient at the same time,’ he explains.

The principles guiding the design were clear to Grcic, and included ‘focused light, diffuse light, and the additional glow of the glass body itself.’ The result is a lighting object featuring an extruded aluminium stem and blown borosilicate glass shade (a cone or a dome) casting both a high-performance focused light and creating an ethereal atmosphere. Although Grcic stresses that the idea of Nocturne didn’t start as a system, it quickly developed into a family of designs that includes a floor lamp defined by a vertical track supporting one or more diffusers, as well as suspension wall-mounted versions.

The new family of lighting designs follows Grcic’s 2019 Noctambule collection, and it’s the latest in a series of pieces created for the designer during his 27-year collaboration with the Italian lighting company.

‘I started working with Flos in 1999 with the Mayday lamp, which is still in production today: It’s a very straightforward object, built around a standard bulb,’ observes Grcic. ‘Since then, the collaboration has evolved quite a lot, mainly because of the shift to LED technology. With Mayday, the light source was given. With more recent projects like OK or Noctambule, we design the light source itself first – the engine – and then develop the lamp around it. So over time, the work has become more integrated and more technical, but the aim is still the same: to make useful, well-resolved lighting.’

The design strategist and curator Ambra Medda is widely regarded as a foundational figure in the collectible design scene. She co-founded Design Miami in 2005 and served as its director for six years, helping to lead the fair in its formative period. Since then, she has collaborated with some of the most influential names in the industry — including the London Design Museum and Christie's — co-founded the online marketplace L’ArcoBaleno, and curated or advised on projects across the globe.

This year’s Milan Design Week marks a turning point for the industry veteran. Following a move to Milan from her longtime base in London, she is opening a new creative space for her curatorial studio AMO, which will host its inaugural exhibition during the week. Co-curated with design historian Amy Tai, the show brings together the ceramic work of Greek designer Leda Athanasopoulou and textiles by the Chinese artist Yumo Yuan. Ahead of the show, Wallpaper* caught up with Medda to discuss the evolving industry, her latest ventures and Milan’s renewed allure.

Ambra Medda on Milan

Wallpaper*: You lived in Milan as a child, yet have spent the past several decades in cities such as London, New York and Miami. How does it feel to be living and working here again?

Ambra Medda: In truth, I feel a bit nostalgic for the old, sleepy Milan. But it also feels very right to be living and working here again, at a moment when the city is buzzing with new people and ideas, both homegrown and from abroad. I love being part of a city that is changing and evolving at such speed, as I experienced in Miami back in 2005 and later, to a lesser degree, in Berlin. It’s a privilege to participate in and contribute to the cultural landscape of a city.

W*: When you co-founded Design Miami in 2005, it was among the first major events dedicated to collectible design. Now, in 2026, even the Salone del Mobile is debuting a dedicated section, Salone Raritas. What does that say about the position of collectible design today?

AM: I’d say it has earned its rightful place!

W*: You’re opening the new headquarters for your curatorial studio, AMO, during Milan Design Week. What can visitors expect to encounter?

AM: It’s our sunny corner of Milan, a bit off the beaten path. Visitors can expect a mash-up of fine art, folk art, craft and design. We hope people leave feeling refreshed, inspired and optimistic.

W*: The exhibition, titled ‘Sail Away’, features the work of the Greek designer Leda Athanasopoulou and the Chinese artist Yumo Yuan. Why did you choose to bring these two practices together?

AM: ‘Sail Away’ is co-curated with Amy Tai. Amy’s family is Chinese, and we’ve long wanted to shine a light on contemporary Chinese voices in design and craft. I was born in Greece and feel that young talent from that region is also underrepresented on a global stage. That was the seed of the idea.

W*: How did you first come across their work?

AM: Leda and Amy first met years ago while living in New York, and we have long admired her practice. We discovered Yumo through Rufus Seagrim, a friend who studied with him at Central Saint Martins.

W*: You’ve said that the AMO space will become an ‘environment for cultural exchange and experimentation’. What are your plans for the space after design week ends?

AM: We will host residencies, workshops and other activations that reflect our point of view on what it means to live well in these times — from dumpling parties to reiki. Beyond our ongoing dedication to celebrating craft and design talent, we want to be a place of exchange and human connection.

W*: What are you most looking forward to seeing during Milan Design Week this year?

AM: We initiated two new creative collaborations this year: ‘Forever Fornasetti. New Encounters’ with Tutto Bene and Fjura, as well as the ‘Homage to the Square’ tile collection by Mutina for The Josef & Anni Albers Foundation. It will be immensely rewarding to see those come to life. Otherwise, I’m also looking forward to the Uzbekistan craft presentation at Palazzo Citterio, the Barber Osgerby show at the Triennale, and Casa Milana’s collaboration with Beni Rugs.

AMO Presents: Sail Away
Via Nullo, 6, 20129, Milan

Monday 20-Friday 24 April, 10:00 am-6:00 pm

Nike’s return to Milan Design Week arrives with an unusual proposition: to centre an exhibition on something you can’t see. Taking over five disused railway tunnels in Dropcity, the brand has created Nike Air_Lab – an exploration of air as a design material.

Each of the tunnels draws on Nike's 50-year experience in designing with air but also considers its wider usage in design and manufacturing. 'Air is this magical ingredient,' Nike Chief Design Officer, Martin Lotti tells Wallpaper* two days before the Lab's grand opening. 'And what I love is that it's invisible – so how do you make the invisible visible?'

From a showcase of inventor Frank Rudy’s original experiments, a filing cabinet full of Air Max grails and everything in between. The latest athlete innovations are joined by nearly 100 never-before-seen, future-forward prototypes. Cutting-edge machinery and a curated selection of reading materials are on offer, with talks, listening sessions and hands-on workshops held daily.

Visitors are taken on a journey through the multiple spaces, shifting in tone and tempo. From a stark white NASA-like workshop featuring heavy machinery through the Air archives and into the Air Library: a chill-out space which turns a gigantic air bubble into furniture, the Lab is a sensory and interactive experience, as opposed to a standard exhibition.

'There's probably one too many exhibitions already,' says Lotti of the format. 'The spirit is definitely more of a lab.'

Crucially, the Air Lab is intended to continue beyond Milan Design Week. 'We will invite the creative community to come and work here and use the machinery,' Lotti explains. 'This is not like a circus that comes in town and then leaves – which I think is often what happens during Design Week,' he notes. 'We handpicked all of the machinery specifically and it will stay at Dropcity to be used by students and professionals in the future. So it's something that has a lasting contribution.'

That emphasis on longevity is matched by a willingness to show process over polish. 'I'm not showing just finished projects, but a view behind the curtain,' Lotti says. An expansive table of protoypes from early shoes to the latest in cooling technology is laid out on a specimen table for visitors to examine.

For Lotti, the project also marks a broader return to Salone. 'Nike is a design company at its core,' he says, positioning the brand within a wider creative context. 'And Milan is like the Oscars for design. It felt crazy to me that we haven't been here for all this time.'

First returning to the city for the Winter Olympics in January, to unveil the Therma-FIT Air Milano Jacket, it felt authentic for Nike to come back 'with a different lens and opening up the aperture to a different audience.'

The future is already beginning to take shape in how Nike is rethinking and expanding its use of air. For decades, it has been contained within the sole of a shoe; now it is moving across the body. The result is a new generation of Nike garments that use air to adapt to extreme conditions: pieces that inflate, deflate and adapt as the body moves.

Where the Therma-FIT allows athletes to regulate warmth without adding or removing layers, using air itself as the insulating medium.

Another – Radical AirFlow – takes the opposite approach, channelling air to cool the body in extreme conditions. 'It’s capturing the air differently,' Lotti explains, 'We've created a long sleeve garment, with holes built like little cyclones. It's like having an air conditioner with you.' This activewear is put to the test in the lab, with athletes running in place in front of a heater while a heat sensor monitors their temperature. The unique technology – a simple idea, based on geometry – has already helped the all-conditions racing department athlete, Calen Olson, achieve first place in the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run. He described the experience of wearing Radical AirFlow as 'stepping into a fridge'.

The timing is not incidental. With the 2028 Summer Olympics on the horizon – expected to be among the hottest on record – these experiments are preparatory. 'Just think about the problems the athletes will face.' In that context, air is harnessed as a tool being reworked in response to climate, performance and the limits of the human body.

Seen this way, NikeAir_Lab is about reframing how innovation is understood. 'It's a peek behind the curtain – exploring an ingredient, showing the process, and showing failures,' Lotti says. 'As an innovation company, you go four steps forward and three step backwards. So the lab is a very honest assessment of what the design process looks like.'

Nike Air_Lab is at Dropcity. Via Sammartini 72 20125, Milano.

Founded in 2020 by architects Francesco Zorzi and Nicolò Ornaghi and photographer Delfino Sisto Legnani, the Milan-based brand NM3 is a project grounded in radical essentialism.

Working exclusively with a single material, steel, the trio produce objects as severely pared back as flat, rolled sheets of metal will allow. A shelving system, for instance, is reduced to little more than a grid of reflective metal planes. It is therefore somewhat surprising to learn of the breadth of references behind their first collection with Visionnaire, the luxury Italian furniture brand founded by the Cavalli family in 2004 and known for its opulent, materially driven maximalism.

‘NM3 is based on extreme minimalism,' says Zorzi. ‘But in this case, we worked in an entirely different direction. Formally, we were looking at very different worlds, such as aeronautical design, late Renaissance sculpture, and the modernist architecture of John Lautner.'

Given those shared points of reference, it makes sense that the collaboration was steeped in a mutual appetite for art and culture. Visionnaire art director Eleonore Cavalli first encountered NM3's founders at Artissima, the Turin-based autumn art fair that runs concurrently with the electronic music festival C2C, staged within the halls of the former Fiat plant. ‘We share an enormous passion for electronic music and contemporary art,' says Cavalli, who was drawn to NM3 for the purity of their forms. ‘Their pieces remind me of 1960s American minimalism, artists like Donald Judd and Dan Flavin.'

For NM3, interpreting Visionnaire's visual language – known for its lavish use of precious materials, often paired with boldly expressive, almost theatrical forms – proved a welcome challenge. ‘Their material palette is much broader and far more complex,' Zorzi admits. ‘But it was refreshing to finally work with new materials and new aesthetic codes.'

The outcome walks a careful line between the two worlds, as Visionnaire's sensual richness is filtered through NM3's restraint. Comprising nine pieces that combine glass, stone, wood and metal, the capsule collection includes a coffee table formed from solid blocks of Moltrasio stone, upon which an asymmetrical slab of cotissi glass has been gingerly placed. ‘Cotissi are leftover scraps from glass production. When furnaces are cleaned, these residues remain as thick drops or blocks of glass,' explains Zorzi. ‘Here, they were fused into a slab with a broken, irregular profile.'

A bed, meanwhile, sits on a base of textured Villanova stone blocks, supporting a Macassar ebony platform in a rich chocolate brown. ‘We often joke that it belongs to an evil character in a James Bond film,' says Zorzi, noting that it could just as easily sit on the set of Nocturnal Animals, the Tom Ford-directed film partly staged within a brutalist-style home.

Made from an extremely lightweight aluminium structure, the chaise longue, ‘Blob', has an undulating profile that appears at once organic and algorithmically generated. ‘We began with a two-dimensional sheet and, through design and drawing, it evolved into a three-dimensional shell,' says Zorzi. ‘The process is identical to our usual approach, but the formal expression is different. It's alien, almost spaceship-like.'

The collaboration also gave NM3 access to a level of craft expertise they had not previously encountered. ‘We've never worked with anyone capable of this degree of detail and precision, while also being able to fully understand our design, and translate it into production so effectively,' says Zorzi, who refined the collection over the course of a year alongside Visionnaire's technical and production teams. ‘The dialogue was stimulating and genuinely beautiful.'

Visionnaire's network of craftspeople, formed of independent and highly specialised ateliers across Italy, has been actively nurtured since the 1950s, when Carlo, Pompeo and Vittorio Cavalli founded IPE, the brand's predecessor, in Bologna. This strategy has enabled Visionnaire to expand far beyond upholstered furniture, encompassing bathroom systems, storage and kitchens in a wide spectrum of materials and styles.

The collection will launch at 10 Corso Como for Milan Design Week, while Visionnaire will also present at Salone del Mobile and its Piazza Cavour showroom, where it will unveil a collection with Marc Ange, alongside a curated section titled ‘Wunderkammer'. The latter will take the form of a listening room and will host a reissue of 1970s archival pieces by Vittorio Varo. The momentum follows a major investment in 2024, which marked a turning point for the then-20-year-old brand. It enabled Visionnaire to overhaul its Milan flagship, plan new global outposts and expand its production capabilities. ‘I hope Visionnaire will always remain disruptive,' says Cavalli. ‘Our design language should never stand still.'

nm3.xyz, visionnaire-home.com

Former Wallpaper* Guest Editor, chef and artist Laila Gohar is celebrating her first ready-to-wear collection, in collaboration with Arket, with a public installation during Milan Design Week, on view for a limited time.

Opening on Monday 20 April and running for just four days, the installation will take the form of a reimagined fairground carousel, its figures and characters replaced by larger-than-life fruits and vegetables – a gesture immediately evocative of Gohar’s signature amalgamation of the familiar and the surreal.

A first look at Laila Gohar and Arket’s Milan Design Week merry-go-round

‘A carousel is about joy!’ Gohar tells Wallpaper*, in an exclusive first look at the work. ‘It’s so symbolic of childhood and of play. I think as adults, we don’t play enough. I wish there were more spaces dedicated to adult play. I also love the whimsical nature of our carousel and all the vegetables. It’s been a dream of mine to make a carousel for a long time, and here we are.’ The ride in question, on view at Milan’s Giardino delle Arti, has been adapted from an antique model believed to date from the late 1700s, and is one of only a few examples of its kind to survive today. Gohar continues: ‘One day I hope to design an entire amusement park!’

Spanning 27 pieces, this new collaboration with Arket marks the artist’s first full collection of ready-to-wear (launching April 21, 2026), and is defined by a characteristic fusion of practicality and whimsy. On why the brand felt like the right fit for this important debut, Gohar tells us, ‘Arket feels considered and distilled down to what it needs to be. That’s the same instinct I bring to everything I make, whether it’s food or objects or clothing. And there’s something democratic about it too, the idea that these pieces could reach people who might not otherwise encounter my work, and that’s not a compromise, it’s the point.’

Egyptian artist Gohar is best known for her sculptural food design, presenting humble ingredients with playful theatricality, often created in collaboration with luxury brands including Prada, Simone Rocha, Hermès and Commes des Garçons. She has released homeware with Danish brand HAY, as well as with Gohar World, the artisanal lifestyle boutique she co-founded with her sister Nadia in 2020. While oversized fruits and vegetables are the theme for the Salone del Mobile installation, Gohar’s previous work includes classical sculptures made from polished butter, strings of oyster shells draped amongst Cala lilies, and a life-size armchair made of bread.

‘I’ve always been drawn to the idea of beauty as something accessible in the everyday, often shaped by surprise and excitement, which made this collaboration feel very natural,’ says Gohar.

Gohar guest edited the October 2024 issue of Wallpaper*, focusing on what makes a hospitality experience magical, and offering her own memories and inviting friends and fellow creatives to share their memorable restaurant moments. ‘Your nicest porcelain should be used whenever you can – every day is an occasion,’ she said at the time.

Laila Gohar Market launches April 21, 2026 at Arket stores and Arket’s website.

The installation is on show from April 20-24, 2026, 12–8PM at Milan’s Giardino delle Arti in, and is open to the public. It will feature an Arket café and a ticket draw to win prizes at Arket Milan.

Most champagne houses wear their identity in shades of ivory and gold – the visual grammar of luxury. Veuve Clicquot is the conspicuous exception. Its now-iconic yellow branding dates to the 19th century, when the house introduced a vivid label to distinguish its drier champagne.

For Milan Design Week 2026, Veuve Clicquot has taken that sunny legacy and translated it into a limited-edition collection of drinks accessories, among them a champagne bucket and cooler. Entitled ‘Chasing the Sun’, the collection was developed in collaboration with British-Nigerian designer Yinka Ilori MBE. When you're building a collection around colour and vibrancy, the self-styled ‘architect of joy’ was perhaps an obvious choice.

Ilori's interpretation is light, bright and uplifting. Drawing on his Nigerian heritage, he has fashioned a visual world of joyous motifs across the accessories: hands cradling the sun, reimagined celestial forms and symbols rooted in nature and human connection. The standout pieces – the 'Sun Totems' and 'Sun Holder' – are inspired by the calabash fruit, which has traditionally served across West Africa as a portable drinking vessel.

The collection also includes a reimagined version of the Clicquot Arrow gift box – shaped as a road sign displaying the distance between a chosen destination and the maison's cellars in Reims – alongside smaller accessories such as a bottle stopper and grape-material charms. Upcycled materials and 3D knitting technology are used throughout.

Yinka Ilori on his joyful collection of drinking accessories

Wallpaper*: How did you balance your signature aesthetic with Veuve Clicquot’s visual heritage?

Yinka Ilori: It was about finding the right framework. I saw myself as the frame, reframing their heritage through my own lens.

There was already a natural invitation through the brand’s signature colour. That colour, depending on the light, perspective and what surrounds it, offers a range of tones – sometimes more orange, sometimes more yellow. Just like the sun, it has natural variations.

Since colour is what gives my work depth and perspective, this became the common thread – the natural equaliser between my visual language and their heritage identity.

W*: How do you translate emotions of happiness and optimism into tangible objects?

When it comes to joy and optimism, I’m really interested in how we get there and where we pick people up, because everyone is chasing that feeling.

For me, optimism comes from the idea that happiness is something we create ourselves. It exists within each of us. So the process begins with looking inward, listening closely and then translating that into physical form. The shapes and objects come out of that process of reflection, giving form to something that is usually invisible.

W*: What was your design process for this collection?

YI: The process was very much about immersion: both in my own context and in Veuve Clicquot’s world. Visiting the vineyard, I was interested in the role that the sun plays – on a practical level, it helps the grapes grow, but more importantly, on a conceptual level, you can feel its presence in the warmth and care that goes into the making.

That connected strongly to my own heritage. In Nigeria, the calabash is a natural form that is used in many ways. The sun helps it grow, but it reaches its full potential when people gather around it and use it.

The shapes in the collection are inspired by the calabash, which was very present in my upbringing. The hand motifs represent community and craftsmanship, the circle represents the power of the sun, and the sun itself is reflected in Veuve Clicquot’s signature colour. The colours are also inspired by natural elements – the different hues the sun creates depending on the time of day, the materials it touches and the environment.

W*: How did you approach selecting materials and processes?

YI: My journey as an artist and designer started with upcycling. What interests me is the idea that objects already carry a history, a life that has been lived. It’s about recognising that and reframing them. That’s why upcycled materials felt natural for this project. They already hold stories, and when brought together, they create new ones.

3D knitting is a newer element for me, but I’ve always had a strong interest in textiles, especially because of their importance in Nigerian culture, whether it’s aso-oke, tie-dye or Dutch wax prints. What I find interesting about 3D knitting is that it gives textiles a sculptural quality. It allows them to take up space rather than remain flat. In that sense, it becomes another medium for storytelling.

W*: What can visitors expect from the installation at Milan Design Week, where these pieces will be debuted?

YI: I wanted to create a space where people can feel warmth, calm and inspiration. It reflects the same sentiment as the products themselves. Milan Design Week is very energetic and exciting, but also quite intense. I wanted to offer a moment where people can slow down, come together in warmth and peace.

W*: What do you hope people feel when they use or experience these pieces?

YI: I hope to take people on a journey, show them my own journey, but also Veuve Clicquot’s. Ultimately, I want people to look within themselves and find their own ‘sun’, both individually and within their community.

‘Chasing the Sun’ makes its debut at Milan Design Week, running 21-26 April 2026, at Mediateca Santa Teresa, Via della Moscova 28, Milan.

In the domestic sphere, rubber is a material that still falls firmly into the ‘unconventional’ category. Historically overlooked, it’s more often associated with utilitarian or industrial uses, sometimes with fetishistic connotations. However, in recent years, a number of designers have begun to explore its potential as a practical and unexpectedly refined material for interior objects (Rich Aybar LS Gomma and Study O Portable among them). One of the most compelling examples comes from Atelier Fomenta, a trio of designers from Montréal, Canada, who treat rubber almost like fabric – cutting, folding and rivetting it into tactile shelving, tables and lighting.

Founded in 2022 by Julia Arvelo, Florence Barnabé and Muriel Bentolila, the studio’s practice is driven by a curiosity for industrial, readily available materials, including rubber, steel and aluminium. The name Fomenta, derived from Latin, reflects a sense of motion – 'to keep the fire alive' or 'to stir change' – a theme that runs through their work.

We first encountered the studio's rubber lamps and furniture earlier this year at ‘Pot-au-feu’, a group exhibition presented by the Quebec collective Ensemble at DesignTO Festival. Tables with ‘rubber tablecloths’, folded shelving units and totemic cylindrical lamps stood out for their inventive construction and sense of humour.

Each piece is made by the designers in their Montréal studio, where they have developed their own methods for working with natural and synthetic rubber from scratch – drawing on pattern-making and leatherwork, and using little more than cutters and hand tools. Sheets are folded, assembled and fixed with metal rivets, allowing the material’s inherent elasticity and strength to define the structure. Colours are integral to the rubber itself, limited to those available industrially – a constraint that subtly shapes the collection’s visual language.

The studio will make its European debut with two presentations during Milan Design Week 2026. We caught up with them to find out more.

Milan Design Week 2026: Atelier Fomenta on rubber, process and perception

Wallpaper*: How did you begin working with rubber as a material?

Atelier Fomenta: Almost as an accident. One of our models had black tape on it, which made it look like plastic. Then the question of material emerged, what if we use rubber? In front of our last studio, there was a leather store. It was so easy to just go in and ask for a scrap to play around with it. They had sheets of leather-topped rubber and that’s when we started flirting with the idea of building furniture with this bold yet soft material.

W*: What does rubber allow you to do that other materials don’t?

AF: Rubber conforms to gesture and movement very easily – at least, from the rubber sheets that we use. It’s kind of the perfect mix between elasticity and rigidity. With simple constraints like folding and pinching, rubber can become surprisingly solid and hold weight. Through the objects we create, we emphasise the inherent quality of reflectivity and roundness of rubber.

W*: How did you approach translating the material into something more domestic, and are you interested in shifting how it’s perceived in this context?

AF: We tend to approach our objects as propositions that challenge conventions – not being made of traditional materials like metal or wood, yet still functioning as everyday objects. The connotations assigned to the objects are really just associations between material and context, but for us, it simply gives us more layers of meaning to work. Where and how they are placed has a big impact on how they are perceived. What we enjoy about working with rubber is that ambiguity – the way it pushes against the correctness of things.

W*: What will you be showing in Milan, and how are the two presentations different?

AF: We will present the ‘Rubber Collection’ in Milan across two different settings. With [New York-based artist-led platform] Playinghouse, we will present the 'Rubber Tables' and 'Rubber Lamps' [at Palma in the Certosa District, Via Varesina 185]; while at ‘Convey by Simple Flair’ [a group exhibition in a six-storey building by Ottavio Cabiati and Luigi Brambilla], we will feature a mini 'Rubber Library' alongside a 'Rubber Table'.

Showing in different places gives us a refreshed look at the objects that we live with on a daily basis by allowing them to exist in two different milieux and converse uniquely with each environmental context.

W*: How would you describe the design scene in Montréal today? Is it a good place to be a designer? Why?

AF: Montréal still offers relatively affordable studio spaces where fabrication remains accessible. As a small island, it allows us to produce most of our work in close proximity, making day-to-day operations fluid.

Also, Montréal has a vibrant design scene, where many exhibitions and events take place, made with this DIY energy and a collective spirit. Ensemble (a local design collective) is a good example of designers joining forces and producing wild exhibitions from the grassroots. At the end of the day, being part of this group fosters community, culture and support for each other.

Fomenta's objects are on view from 20-26 April 2026 during Milan Design Week at:

Convey by Simple Flair, Via San Senatore 10, Milano

Palma by Playinghouse, Certosa District, Via Varesina 185, Milano

It’s a difficult task pinning down Sophie Lou Jacobsen. It’s not unusual for the glassware designer – known for her playfully sculptural tableware and lighting that often references art deco geometry and organic forms – to be found somewhere, suspended mid-Atlantic, flitting between her dual bases of Paris and New York. But recently, she’s added a third city to the mix: Milan. For the past several months, she’s been embedded in the northern Italian metropolis, developing her latest collection inspired by the famed local aperitivo culture.

'In New York, we have happy hour, and in France, there is apéro, but aperitivo is a ritual really ingrained into daily life in Milan,' says the designer, who aptly titled the collection 'Disco Aperitivo', a nod to the 1980s style that still defines many of the city’s historic bars. 'I loved all the details that come with it: the little plates for snacks, the different shapes of glasses for different cocktails.'

Launched at Milan Design Week 2026, the collection, naturally, includes accessories that would have populated the interiors of bars in the 1980s: a cigarette holder whose contents fan out dramatically when its lid is lifted, for instance, as well as an ashtray, made of a solid block of optical glass with a concave void in its centre. 'It’s the classic shape you would find from that time period. But made with optical glass and embedded with Swarovski crystals, which creates these fun reflections when you look through it,' she says.

There are drinking glasses in a range of vintage silhouettes that would please any old-school bartender, each similarly adorned with crystal embellishments. The collection also encompasses patterned glass plates, handwoven silk placemats and copper-enamelled trays. 'I’ve been working with a fabricator in Venice that has been reviving the lost art of copper enamelling,' she says, describing the nearly forgotten technique. 'It’s this process of putting glass powder on top of copper and firing it to create a brightly coloured enamel. It was really popular in the 1960s and 70s – Ettore Sottsass and Gio Ponti often used it – but it was almost lost until this manufacturer recently revived it. You can make these very bold patterns with colours that are really rich.'

Jacobsen plans to present the project at a private home in Milan’s NoLo neighbourhood, which will be transformed into a week-long, intimate private soiree. 'It has a huge terrace that wraps around the entire apartment that overlooks the city,' she describes of the space. 'We’re going to transform it into an 1980s after-hours lounge; somewhere people can stop, have a drink and pause for a moment during the frenzy of the Salone.'

Cheers to that.