A culmination of creativity and a celebration of design, here are a few highlights of this year’s Milan Design Week
Every year, Milan Design Week transforms the city into a global hub of design that showcases creativity in different fields. This year is no different. We look at the exploration and manifestation of design through a closer look at five showcases.
Hermès
Hermès’ presentation of their home collection at Milan Design Week shows the Maison’s exceptional know-how in artisanal techniques and material use, applied to evoke emotion. Familiar objects, furniture and fabrics engage the senses in novel ways that surprise and delight.
Oversized glass vases with deep colour gradations. Leather baskets reminiscent of the tartan pattern traditionally found on horse blankets. Cashmere throws and blankets sporting graphic or geometric patterns.
A standout example is the small table designed by Tomás Alonso. Termed as the manifesto of a tightrope walker, it is a clever play on materials, a combination of paradoxes. The lacquered glass paints a rectilinear base, where the colours come together. The Tabletop sees a a round box made of Japanese cedar, the band of which curves by applying ancient Japanese technique.
The Casaque vase and glasses are cold cut by the glassmaker to create a striped or checkerboard pattern in subtly graduated colours that become darker or lighter, depending on the viewing angle. The cutting is carried out over large areas according to strict orthogonality, and needs to be extremely precise to yield such results.
Loewe
Loewe’s 2025 Salone del Mobile collection puts the teapot in the spotlight. 25 internationally renowned artists, designers and architects, each take a unique approach in the interpretation of this vessel, drawing inspiration from tea culture across the globe. Playing with glaze, finish, texture and treatment of material, as well as scale and proportion, the works transform the teapot’s distinctive features and sculptural form.
An exaggerated lid and fluted detailing define UK artist Rose Wylie’s teapot inspired by British Royal Albert china tea sets. Korean artist Jane Yang-D’Haene’s teapot takes on an elongated form with frayed ribbons of clay wrapped around it. Hailing from Japan, Akio Niisato uses shallow perforations that let light pass through the surface of her creation, while Takayuki Sakiyama creates a teapot that appears to swirl upward from a continuous piece of clay.
In collaboration with Spanish artisans, Loewe also presents a collection of teapots made from Galician clay in a raw finish, or silver or gold glazes inspired by the handcrafted ceramic tiles of CASA LOEWE store facades. In line with the theme of tea, are coasters made from woven leather, tea cosies, and leather botanical charms featuring chamomile, strawberries, bergamot flowers and tea bags. A special edition Earl Grey tea candle created for the event, comes in a lustreware terracotta vessel brush-painted with iridescent pigment that contains real gold.
Tin-plated tea caddies created in collaboration with Kaikado, Japanese producers of tinplate ‘chazutsu’ established in Kyoto in 1875, come in three sizes. The lids are embellished with rabbits, flowers and mice in brass and leather, with the largest 400g caddy in a woven leather case.
Loro Piana
Loro Piana and Dimoremilano debut to an immersive experience inside Loro Piana’s Cortile della Seta courtyard, in the Maison’s Milan headquarters. The cinematic installation “La Prima Notte di Quiete” recreates a house inspired by an apartment of the 1970s and 1980s, furnished with exceptional furniture designed by Dimorestudio for Loro Piana Interiors.
Style and elegance is manifested in the intimate settings of each room, featuring new and classic pieces from Dimoremilano upholstered with Loro Piana Interiors fabrics, items from the Loro Piana The Art of Good Living Collection, antique pieces and artworks from Tornabuoni Art, Cardi Gallery, and Galleria Gracis e Secci Gallery.
Light and shadows interplay with earthy tones and natural materials such as cashmere, wool and cashmere, velvet, sisal and wool carpeting. Standout furniture pieces include the Quarona poufs and coffee tables, where curved wooden bands embrace padded seats covered in Cashmere Ladakh and wool and alpaca Incas, or support the shelves that hold books, magazines, decorative or dining objects. There is also the Varallo round bed with a fabric-covered box spring and padded rollers that form the headboard, upholstered in Mohair velvet, and the velvet Trivero armchairs and chairs with lacquered wood legs, satin brass jewel details, and padded and quilted backs.
Dimoremilano creations like the Snooker couch and armchair, the Corner modular sofa, armchair and pouf, and timeless designs like the Tavolo 089, the Dega, the Sciura, and the Patty armchairs are interpreted in Loro Piana Interiors’ sumptuous fabrics.
Tod’s
Tod’s celebrates Italian design and craftsmanship through the stories of the country’s artisans including master glassblowers, brass and bronze artisans, and masters of pesto. “Italian Hands – Artisanal Stories from Italy” shows how this rich heritage acts as a bridge across generations, and why keeping the Made in Italy legacy alive is integral to the future.
In the same vein, Tod’s puts the spotlight on the Gommino loafers, an expression of Italian quality craftsmanship and an iconic representation of the Italian lifestyle, where attention to detail and a passion for beauty are indispensable values.
DesignSingapore
In a future-forward three-part showcase, DesignSingapore presents the design-driven solutions by 14 of Singapore’s most forward-looking designers who are pushing design boundaries to target urgent global challenges. These creative, sustainable designs include the versatile Wishbone bag that seamlessly adapts to its users by Claudia Poh of Werable, the Knots Stool by Wei Xiang that transforms old blankets or curtains into functional furniture with simple knots, and the reimagination of the steel solar cooker by Olivia Lee.
The Singapore showcase at Milan Design Week highlights a purpose-driven approach that empowers the next generation of designers to think creatively about challenges and cultural shifts as the country approaches 60 years of independence.
Images courtesy of respective brands featured, artwork by Curatedition. All rights reserved.
Related links:
Loewe Foundation Craft Prize: Honouring Craft Today, for Tomorrow
Bvlgari Serpenti Factory: Eternal Metamorphosis
