Milan design week 2025: the unabridged highlights

Nina Yashar’s industrial exhibition space on Viale Lancetti marks its 10th anniversary this year with an installation, co-curated with Fosbury Architecture, that focuses on how designers have worked metal to create magic. There are examples from the 1970 (Gio Ponti, Gabriella Crespi and more) alongside contemporary pieces by the likes of Supaform, Destroyers/Builders and Michael Schoner. Atr the same venue you will also find Joe Armitage’s new lighting collection – exclusively teased in our last issue. Viale Vincenzo Lancetti 34, nilufar.com

With a name meaning ‘bright and luminous’ in Greek, these lamps will be presented for the first time at Rossana Orlandi Gallery during Milan design week. Each piece consists of two disc-shaped layers: the first made of lucite (a transparent plastic) and the second created by casting epoxy resin (Draga & Aurel’s signature material) in a variety of colours and shades. Via Matteo Bandello 14, rossanaorlandi.com

Revisiting ‘The Boxed Collection’, a project first conceived in 2009, when designers were invited to create a product that would fit in a standard-sized shipping crate, was a great excuse for SCP founder Sheridan Coakley (pictured far left) to work with a broad selection of contributors for this year’s presentation at Milan. ‘It’s a nice way to mark our 40th anniversary and get people involved,’ Coakley says. Alongside work by Matthew Hilton, who made trestles, there are tables by Jasper Morrison, a wall-mounted coat hook by Barber Osgerby and trivets by Nathalie du Pasquier. New talent is present, too: Andu Masebo (third from left), Alexandra Gerber and Oscar Coakley will each present a side table. Donna Wilson (far right) has recreated her hand-knitted pouffe from the original project. ‘I like that Jasper, who designed for us 40 years ago, is showing alongside a 25-year-old who wasn’t even born then,’ he continues. Also exhibited at the permanent space of the Memphis group co-founder George Sowden will be SCP’s new upholstered pieces, including
reworked ‘Group’ pieces (pictured) by Philippe Malouin (second from left). Corso fi Porta Nuova 44, scp.co.uk

Dutch designer Richard Hutten is known for an idiosyncratic approach and his new collection, which will be shown at the Indian brand’s Milan showroom, takes the heritage of rug making and adds a zany twist. Expect traditional patterns subverted by colourful confetti (a nod to the colourful Holi festival) and bananas. Via Marco Minghetti 20121, jaipurrugs.com

Tech advancements can seem threatening to the design community, but rug brand CC-Tapis is leaning into the opportunities it can create when used hand-in-hand with artisan techniques and inventive human minds. This exhibition at its Milan showroom displays new pieces by 11 designers, including British star Bethan Laura Wood, who have all embraced the high-tech. Piazza Santo Stefano 10, cc-tapis.com

Situated in Milan’s Casa Degli Artisti building, this show, now in its third year, presents work by emerging talents and independent brands all selected by an international jury. There’s plenty to delight, but we would suggest making a beeline to the ground floor where you can spot Brit star Rio Koboyashi and Flavia Brändle’s shoji screen-inspired ‘Furikake’ lantern and French designer Raphael Kadid’s ‘Philae’ bookcase (pictured), which is made from hand-anodised aluminium. Via Tommaso da Cazzaniga, design.swiss

Traditionally, the designs of Moroccan rugs tell a family’s history. It is fitting then that Studio KO has chosen the year of its 25th anniversary to create this collection with Moroccan rug brand Beni. Its designs tell the studio’s story through everyday objects – an old computer spreadsheet, a weathered journal entry, a redacted document – which are realised using artisan techniques, including ‘Rabat’, Beni’s modern update to the 500-year-old intricate and finely finished R’bati weave. Via Cesare Correnti 14, benirugs.com

With the ubiquity of the LED, the humble bulb is in danger of becoming an antiquity. If any brand can give it a moment at this year’s Euroluce, though, it’s Ingo Maurer, whose ‘Bulb’ lamp (released in 1966) is an icon. This new design, which sees an oversized bulb clad in ear protectors, seemingly protecting it from the ruckus of the modern world, is a witty piece with an unexpected twist: the light-source is actually in the headset, not the bulb itself! Hall 4, Stand C02, ingo-maurer.com

‘I wanted to explore how light emanates through porcelain and how I could interpret this in a way that evoked another material, such as paper,’ says renowned British designer Lee Broom, who wanted to push the boundaries of techniques he saw used at Lladró’s factory in Valencia. ‘I was captivated by the translucency of porcelain which reminded me of paper lanterns illuminated by candlelight, so I decided to create shapes and forms incorporating these qualities in a modernist way.’ The collection features three silhouettes that can be combined to create unique configurations, plus a portable lamp. Hall 6, Stand D55, lladro.com

We have long been fans of Edoardo Pandolfo and Francesco Palù’s modern approach to Murano glassmaking, but incredibly this year will be their debut Milan show, with the duo filling the historic former public baths of the Piscina Cozzi with their new lighting collection and site-specific installations that are promise to create a full sensory experience. Via Tunisia 35, 6am.glass

Plants can adjust to their environments and so can this new modular collection by Cristina Celestino, her first for the brand. It has grown from the designer’s wish to create elements of garden furniture that can be arranged to suit any outdoor space. The tables come with terracotta or teak tops, while the benches can be upholstered in ‘Ice’ or ‘Darma Sage Green’ fabrics. Salone del Mobile, Hall 24, Stand C37, ethimo.com

Bohinc is launching three collections for this year’s Milan design week, including upholstered pieces with French house Maison Phelippeau and alpaca-wool experts Inata (pictured); ‘Betsy’ a series of products for Istanbul artisanal-leather brand Uniqka (both to be presented at Alcova); and marble pieces for Serafini, which will be displayed at the Italian brand’s gallery in Milan. What links all three is her desire to get back to nature and craft. ‘These collections are about slowing down, observing what’s going on in the world and trying to make some sense of it,’ says Bohinc. bohincstudio.com

Faye Toogood’s inaugural collection for this brand last year (the groundbreaking ‘Cosmic’) was a hit that won international plaudits, including an EDIDA award, so it is no surprise that she is back with a range that leaves the solar system and focuses instead on the breakfast table. Presented at Tacchini’s first solo showroom in Milan, opening for the first time during Milan design week, pieces like the ‘Butter’ modular sofa show Toogood’s penchant for soft forms and tongue-in-cheek references. Largo Treves 5, tacchini.it

Georg Jensen’s creative director Paula Gerbase doesn’t want people to think of silverware as ‘untouchable’. ‘Humour and eccentricity was central to much of the brand’s work,’ she explains, and that’s why she’s made the left-field decision to launch its new range of serveware at a pop-up ice cream café. Expect gelato developed in collaboration with Copenhagen-based, Italian-born chef Chiara Barla and coffee beans from the Danish capital’s famous Prologroastery. Via Achille Maiocchi 3, georgjensen.com