Does Design’s Biggest Event Reflect a World in Crisis? Dana’s Unfiltered Take on Milan 2025.

Atelier De Troupe’s Intermezzo installation in collaboration with Studioutte. Photo: Giulio Ghirardi.

Dana in front of Hannes Peers’ extraordinary conceptual marble installation for Margraf.

Milan’s 1950s icon, Torre Velasca by BBPR architectural partnership, the location for Dedar’s unveiling of Weaving Anni Albers. Photo: Ilaria Orsini.

Magician Exhibition by Eligo Studio at Triennale di Milano.

Gio Ponti’s Treno Arlecchino, unveiled at Prada Frames 2025 symposium curated by Formafantasma.

Es Devlin inside her rotating Library of Light installation in the courtyard of Pinacoteca di Brera, commissioned by Salone del Mobile as a gift to the city. Photo: Monica Spezia.

Left: Dana wearing Australian label Alpha60’s collection in collaboration with artist Kathy Temin. Above: Dana wearing Milan-based brand Sunnei.

Formafantasma’s Staging Modernity for Cassina. Photo: Omar Sartor.

How Formafantasma Liberated Modernism from Tradition With a Theatrical Masterpiece for Cassina.

Through this triumphant intervention, Formafantasma offered us a fresh lens through which to see modernism, not as some fixed ideology but as an evolving conversation with the present.

Dana vibing with the material installation curated by Nemo Architects for Habitare at Alcova.

Giopato & Coombes’ installation Scarabei, unveiled in their showroom at 5Vie.

A moment at Amber Echoes at Nilufar Depot. Photo: Alejandro Ramirez Orozco.

It’s taken me a while to get my head around my feelings and impressions of Milan Design Week 2025. This year was unusual for me, and in many ways, it was a bit of a paradox. I’ve enjoyed my time in Milan more than I have in a long time. Without the usual pressure of our MILANTRACE project, I felt like I could finally breathe. The reduced workload shifted my perspective as it meant keeping fewer tabs open in my brain, which allowed me to free up my mental load to experience the work and see the week as it was.

Confused. Transitioning. Searching for meaning. So much noise. Very little substance.

That’s how I’d sum up Milan this year. After attending, documenting, reporting on and speaking about this event in-depth for many years, I found myself questioning whether we’re experiencing a crisis of creativity in our industry right now (interestingly, Rachel Donald wrote an article on Dezeen about our collective crisis of imagination as it relates to the climate crisis ). I’ve always believed that when things are good, when we feel safe and content, that’s when we can be truly creative and generous with design—because design at its core is the ultimate act of generosity. But right now? The world is suffering, paradigms are shifting underneath our feet. I feel this showed up in Milan more than ever before.

Meanwhile, the hype was real, but so were the queues (are you serious?). While I enjoyed the privilege of invitations and press passes that let me skip endless lines, I couldn’t help wondering how the average punter felt after waiting hours to enter a show. In my mind, nothing’s worth that kind of queue—except maybe hospital triage when you’ve got no choice!

Left: Dana with Faye Toogood at Tacchini and in front of Duomo di Milano, wearing the Australian brand Lee Matthews. Photos © Yellowtrace.

The Marketing Machine Drowns Out Innovation

For years now, I’ve been calling Salone del Mobile “Salone Del Marketing,” and this year, things have been taken to the next level. The big brand PR machines have completely drowned out independent designers, and rising costs mean many couldn’t even attend. This hits hard because it’s the emerging voices that often bring the freshest perspective to our industry.

One of my biggest disappointments came at Alcova. Historically, one of my favourite destinations, this year it felt underwhelming, lacking curation and cohesion (just to be clear, my comment isn’t so much a criticism of individual works, but rather the organisers). For regular Milan attendees, this decline was palpable, though you’d never know it from the highlight reels flooding social media where everything looks peachy, not to mention that we live in a time when criticism in design isn’t a done thing. Why?

My disappointment extended to several fashion-related shows, too. While fashion battles with pop-culture relevance, design has traditionally been more under-the-radar and in-the-know. With luxury fashion in absolute shambles, they’ve come for design and want a piece of the action.

The Mixed Bag of Collaborations

Gucci made a pretty lame attempt at bamboo homage that felt like a lukewarm effort (full disclosure—I didn’t attend, so this is based on press coverage). But here’s the thing: curation aside, their exhibition structure wasn’t even constructed from bamboo. Why?

The same “Why” came up when I visited Saint Laurent’s show on Via Savona. They unveiled four Charlotte Perriand furniture pieces created between 1943 and 1967, now reproduced as full-scale editions for the first time. Some pieces I liked, while others, initially designed for the Japanese ambassador’s residence in Paris, felt completely out of scale and out of touch. They did nothing for Perriand’s legacy or the YSL brand here and now. It proved why we need to be careful about our obsession with dipping into the archives—some things are better left in the past.

Dimorestudio for Loro Piana was arguably the week’s most hyped collab, and yes, it was kind of cool to look at. But here’s an unpopular opinion—with only four minutes to experience the ‘performance’ followed by two minutes to snap photos before lights out (literally) and herding people like cattle to get the next group in, what exactly did this ‘luxury experience’ achieve? Loads of organic social media coverage for Loro Piana, the ultimate stealth-wealth brand? Like, really? Also, the show felt 100% Dimore and 0% Loro Piana. Can this even be called a collaboration?

Salone Del Mobile: The Unexpected Hero

Surprisingly, my visit to the fairgrounds at Rho was one of the week’s highlights. It was honest—I knew what to expect, and I could actually see products from brands. Salone has been making lots of changes since the pandemic, and is trying to make an effort to evolve the fair. While many established names didn’t take part and focused on their city installations and showrooms, I noticed several smaller and mid-sized brands returning successfully after previous city ventures.

This year made me reflect on how shallow so many of us have been, complaining about the fair and going there—it’s too far, it’s so massive, too corporate, too much, etc. Salone is quite literally the reason we get to have our fancy palazzo hopping in town; without Salone del Mobile, Milan Design Week would’ve never happened in the first place. Sometimes the truth isn’t pretty, but it’s necessary.

The Standouts

Amid the sensory overload, Formafantasma’s “Staging Modernity” at Teatro Lirico Giorgio Gaber was the show that floored me. This immersive theatrical performance offered a fresh perspective on modernist ideology while celebrating 60 years of Cassina’s production of Le Corbusier, Jeanneret, and Perriand pieces. I wrote a whole article on this if you’re keen. This was one experience that reminded me why I love Design Week.

Several other shows are also worthy of a mention. Dedar unveiled Weaving Anni Albers, a collection of five textiles in collaboration with the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation, presented at Torre Velasca, Milan’s landmark of modernist architecture.

Celebrating Nilufar Depot’s 10th birthday, Silver Lining transformed Nina Yashar’s Depot into a fantastical environment with a striking installation conceived by Fosbury Architecture. In a clear nod to the 70s, the display examined the multifaceted world of metal—“a monochromatic pool of leisure and pleasure”—playing host to vintage pieces, contemporary works and brand-new objects commissioned for the show.

Visteria Foundation’s Romantic Brutalism celebrated Polish art, craft, and design with a beautiful show curated by Federica Sala and a dreamy exhibition design by Zuza Paradowska or Paradowski Studio. Eastern bloc represent!

Atelier de Troupe’s The Intermezzo exhibition, in collaboration with Milan-based Studioutte, delved into the interplay between presence and absence through a cinematic narrative. Furniture, lighting, and rugs produced by cc-tapis converged to create a tightly curated, evocative ambience.

Through matter, sound and space, Volcanic stone brand Ranieri staged a multi-sensory installation which sat at the intersection of art, design and technology, exploring the primal power of the volcano. The ultra-cool installation at Alcova’s new Ex SNIA location mixed the eroded rocks by artist Quayola with the soundscape by Rodrigo d’Erasmo and installation by Francesco Meda and David Lopez Quincoces.

Hannes Peer collaborated with leading Italian marble supplier Margraf on Crash, taking a conceptual approach that challenged the solid nature of marble and how we relate to it. Hannes drew inspiration from artists like Michelangelo, Luciano Fabro, and Isamu Noguchi, who viewed fracture as an opportunity for reinvention and revelation.

Two-Fold Silence by 6:AM took place in the abandoned shower space in the basement of Milan’s public swimming pool Piscina Cozzi. A series of Murano glass lamps, sconces, chandeliers, prototypes and other glass objects sat among the shower stalls in a dramatic display.

The Path Forward

So, where do we go from here? While no individual can change the course of the Titanic like Milan Design Week, I do hope we can all actively make an effort not to buy into the hype. In design, hype is death! It may work in fashion, but in our field, different rules apply for long-term success.

Let’s also not forget that almost everything’s already been done. The world doesn’t need more of anything. We’re drowning in stuff, in content, not to mention the looming climate emergency and resource scarcity. The market is saturated. So, how do brands stand out? By doing more than product.

Too many brands are doing good design. Now we expect quality, origin story, a point of view. Perhaps it’s time to go back to the days of organic discovery that fuels desirability. When something’s great, people talk. Scarcity creates desire. Being more discreet and strategic with marketing, focusing on word-of-mouth or partnering with aligned collaborators—this is key.

I predict Milan’s future will feature exclusive shows not accessible to everyone. Brands will pull back, focus on who rather than how many, and avoid the hype we’ve all become allergic to. I, for one, will be seeking out work and shows requiring awareness and engagement to be appreciated.

My hope is that we can collectively focus on design with substance, not shows engineered for virality, where your smartphone becomes free media. Yuck! Let’s tune into people and work with a philosophy that values thought over noise. Brands and designers that don’t just create products but articulate a worldview.

Milano, you will always be my big love. You’ve shaped my career and given me the ultimate design education. But it’s time we all had a hard look at what matters, what adds value, and what truly deserves our attention.

Mama Yellowtrace xx

p.s. I’ll leave you below with some… ok, a lot of the things we saw during the week that caught my eye. Enjoy!

Milan Design Week 2025 Archives

Dive into more news and features from Milan Design Week & Salone del Mobile 2025.

Visteria Foundation’s Romantic Brutalism exhibition celebrated Polish creativity and craft with 23 designers on display, showcasing works informed by brutalism, romanticism, decadence, folk and art deco. Curated by Federica Sala. Exhibition design by Zuza Paradowska of Paradowski Studio. Photos: Ludovic Balay.

Visteria Foundation’s Romantic Brutalism. Photos: Ludovic Balay.

Visteria Foundation’s Romantic Brutalism. Photos: Ludovic Balay.

Casa REdDUO, set in a 1930s apartment in Porta Venezia, showcasing a 360-degree curatorial project and the future home-studio of Fabiola Di Virgilio and Andrea Rosso. Photo: Giulio Girardi.

Casa REdDUO. Photos: Giulio Girardi.

Hermès Home Collections installation at La Palota and Pivot D’Hermes Side Table. Photo © Maxime Tetard.

The Emotional Objects: Hermès Unveils 2025 Home Collection in Milan.

One of the most striking aspects of the latest collection is how Hermès approaches object creation with such philosophical depth.

Je Marchais Pieds Nus Dans L’Étang tables by Vincenzo De Cotiis, inspired by Claude Monet’s late water lily landscapes. The show was a prelude to De Cotiis’ solo exhibition at Carpenters Workshop Gallery in New York this November. Photo © Yellowtrace.

Left to right: The newly unveiled Palazzo Molteni, designed by the brand’s creative director by Vincent van Duysen; Tokujin Yoshioka’s melting chairs made of ice at Grand Seiko; Dana at Interni Venosta’s Blackout installation at Phillips Milan. Photos © Yellowtrace.

Interni Venosta’s Blackout installation at Phillips Milan. Photos: Andrea Ferrari Studio.

Interni Venosta’s Blackout installation at Phillips Milan. Photos: Andrea Ferrari Studio.

A corner of Amber Echoes at Nilufar Depot, featuring works by Christian Pellizzari, Shlomo Harush, Willy Rizzo, Zanine Caldas, Karl Springer and Maria Pergay. Photo: Alejandro Ramirez Orozco.

Silver Lining at Nilufar Depot celebrates the depot’s 10th anniversary. Co-curated by Nina Yashar with Fosbury Architecture, the installation pays homage to metal, juxtaposing 1970s design classics with contemporary pieces by Audrey Large, Supaform, studioutte, Flavie Audi, Destroyers / Builders, Wendy Andreu & Bram Vanderbeke, Odd Matter, Irene Goldberg and Michael Schoner. Photo: Alejandro Ramirez Orozco.

Silver Lining at Nilufar Depot. Photos: Alejandro Ramirez Orozco.

Draga & Aurel’s Pensieri Riflessi (Reflected Thoughts) at Rossana Orlandi. Photo: Riccardo Gasperoni.

Anni Albers holding her weaving ‘Under Way’ in New Haven, Connecticut, 1965. Photo: John T. Hill. Image Courtesy Josef and Anni Albers Foundation.

Installation view of Weaving Anni Albers at Toro Valesca.

Dedar’s Weaving Anni Albers ‘Under Way’, 1963. Photo: Ilaria Orsini. Art Direction: Stefanie Barth and Carina Frey. Styling: Conti Marchettistudio.

Intermezzo installation by Atelier De Troupe with Studioutte. Photo: Giulio Ghirardi.

New furniture collection by Atelier De Troupe.

Atollo installation by Studioutte.

Crash by Hannes Peer for Margraf. Photos: Danilo Pasquali.

Crash by Hannes Peer for Margraf. Photos: Danilo Pasquali.

Left: At Ranieri installation at Alcova. Middle: Like a kid in the candy store on ALPI stand at Salone del Mobile. Right: In front of Patricia Urquiola’s new rug for cc-tapis. Photos © Yellowtrace.

Ranieri’s ‘Under The Volcano’ installation at Alcova. Photo: Alberto Strada.

Habitare Materials at Alcova, curated by Päivi Helander and Nemo Architects. Photo: Paavo Lehtonen.

Habitare Materials at Alcova, curated by Päivi Helander and Nemo Architects. Photos: Paavo Lehtonen..

Béton Brut x Salvino Marsura at Alcova. Photo: Genevieve Lutkin.

An installation of Tutto Bene furniture in dialogue with Salvino Marsura’s sculptures rediscovered by Béton Brut. Photo: Genevieve Lutkin.

Hem 10 Years at Capsule Plaza.

Left: Humanrace x USM Modular Furniture at Capsule Plaza. Right: NO GA at Capsule Plaza. Photo: Erik Lefvander.

Rive Roshan’s Chiaroscuro: A Light in the Darkness Installation at 5Vie. The installation invited visitors to contemplate the question “Where do we turn for strength and connection in challenging moments?”.

Sun Catcher, site-specific solar installation by Rive Roshan & SOL R&D in the fountain at Alcova’s Villa Bagatti Valsecchi.

Sun Catcher, site-specific solar installation by Rive Roshan & SOL R&D in the fountain at Alcova’s Villa Bagatti Valsecchi.

Changing nature of Sun Catcher by Rive Roshan & SOL R&D.

The Reading Room and Studio by Nebras Aljoaib at L’Appartamento by Artemest. Photo: Tomaso Lisca and Luca Argenton.

The Foyer by Simone Haag at L’Appartamento by Artemest. Photo: Tomaso Lisca and Luca Argenton.

The Foyer by Simone Haag at L’Appartamento by Artemest. Photos: Tomaso Lisca and Luca Argenton.

La Prima Notte di Quiete by Loro Piana and Dimoremilano.

La Prima Notte di Quiete by Loro Piana and Dimoremilano.

Marimekko’s collection by Laila Gohar was unveiled in a giant bed installation. Photo: Sean Davidson.

Beni Rugs x Studio KO rug launch, with an installation by Colin King. Photo: Romain Laprade.

A-N-D Lighting with Boon Editions. Photo: Studio Brinth.

Michael Anastassiades at Fondazione Danese. Photo: Nicolo Panzeri.

6:AM Glass, Installation View. Photo: Melania Dalle Grave.

6:AM Glass, Installation Views. Photos: Melania Dalle Grave.

Droulers Collezione was unveiled at Nathalie Droulers’ insane apartment at Via Santa Marta. Photos: Monica Spezia.

Droulers Collezione unveiled at Nathalie Droulers’ insane apartment at Via Santa Marta. Photos: Monica Spezia.

Dimore alumni Giuseppe Porcelli staged an installation in his home/ studio. Photo: Silvia Rivoltella.

New pieces from Giuseppe Porcelli. Photos: Silvia Rivoltella.

Left: Herzog & de Meuron’s new collection for Marta Sala Editions. Above: Slow Roads by Lrnce. Photo: Alejandro Ramirez Orozco.

Strata presented by three Belgian designers: Tim Vranken, Middernacht & Alexander, and Linde Freya Tangelder of Destroyers/Builders. Photo: Alejandro Ramirez Orozco.

Bolzan presented Woven Dreams, the newest headboard collection by four designers. Shown here Courtoisie by Sam Baron.

Left: Fiocco by Martino Gamper. Middle: Backdrop by Julie Richoz. Right: Rosary by India Mahdavi for Bolzan.

Cosmo Collection by Haddou Dufourcq for Maison Pouenat. Photo: Mathilde Hiley.

Ryuichi Kozeki at Alcova.

Supaform at Alcova.

Chair by Tino Seubert Studio.

Garance Vallee x Monde Singulier. Photo: Ludovic Balay.

Left & right: Tables presented by Rooms Studio. Middle: Re-Assembled Floor Lamp by Rooms Studio. Photo: Lile Revishvili.

Tacchini Stand at Salone del Mobile. Photo: De Pasquale+Maffini.

Alpi stand at Salone del Mobile by Piero Lissoni. Photo: Thomas Pagani.

Left: Blocco by Piero Lissoni for Alpi. Aboce: New colour for Alpi Sottsass.

Meritalia stand at Salone del Mobile.

Meritalia re-issued Morbio table and Lierna chair by Achille & Pier Giacomo Castiglioni.

‘Mano’ Seat by Cinzia Ruggeri from Gufram.

Bolder by Kwangho Lee for Lambert & Fils.

Ross Gardam’s Solace Relic Edition of 10 Table Lamps.

Ross Gardam’s Luminescent Duality in Brera. See more here.

Articolo Studios’ Cubo Double Wall Sconce. See more here. Photo: Chris Budgeon.

Viabizzuno’s new Aura pendants by Snøhetta. Photo: Fabio Gambina.

Viabizzuno’s Oltre pendant with Onyx, designed by Dorte Mandrup. Photo: Fabio Gambina.

Trace of Water by Honoka with Aqua Clara at Palazzo Litta was dedicated to water bottle upcycling.

So Colored by We+ and Algal Bio utilises algae powder as a key colouring material.

Maison Margiela x Gentle Monster Pop-up at 10 Corso Como.

[Image credits as noted.]