Event
Milan Unveiled: Top Takeaways from Italy's Design Capital
Head of Business Development & Marketing Giulia Laugero's Insights from this Year's Milan Design Week
1. Design as a Platform for Global Dialogue
Throughout Milan, several large scale exhibitions spoke to global trends, challenges, and opportunities. While visually impressive, these installations reinforced design's role as a conduit of ideas on a global scale. One such example includes British artist Es Devlin's Library of Light, a circular 'sculpture' 18 meters in diameter, composed of luminous shelves containing over 2000 volumes, occupies the Cortile d'Onore.
2. Fashion and Design Converge
In the past few years, fashion houses have embraced design with growing enthusiasm and investment, presenting immersive installations that blurred the lines between the two disciplines. Highlights included Gucci's reinterpretation of bamboo, Saint Laurent's revival of Charlotte Perriand's furniture, Hermès presentation that made "objects, furniture and fabrics come alive, "and Loewe's artist-designed teapots. These exhibitions highlighted the growing influence of fashion in shaping interior aesthetics, and fashion brand's interests in expanding their practices within the world of interiors.
3. Color Theory
At this year's Milan Design Week, we saw the continued prominence of burgundy, deep reds and vibrant greens. Rich reds and burgundies were featured throughout several brand's activations, signaling a return to this classic, alluring, bold and mysterious color. Green hues, from lush emeralds to biophilic tones, were prevalent throughout Milan. These shades evoked a sense of tranquility and harmony, with designers incorporating them into furniture, décor, branding and activations to bring a bold perspective to their designs.
4. Immersive and Sensory Experiences
This year, we saw a rise in multisensory environments that engaged visitors through the activation of multiple senses. This idea is notable and marks a shift from a visually-driven idea of design, to an idea that is more attuned to experience, memory, engagement, and active participation.
5. Revival of Mid-Century Modern Icons
Milan Design Week 2025 saw a resurgence of mid-century modern designs. One of the most exciting examples was Saint Laurent's presentation of four Charlotte Perriand furniture designs, conceived between 1943 and 1967, that never went beyond the sketch or prototype stage.
