MILAN — The bond between design, fashion, art and music is evolving in unexpected ways. This year, Milan Design Week 2025 will run from Monday to April 13 and the calendar is effervescing with events and projects that will help shape the future of the industry, in ways that may surprise you.
Running alongside Salone del Mobile.Milano, the design event will kick off with a celebration of light to usher in Euroluce, the biennale of light. English set designer Es Devlin will kick off festivities with an installation in the courtyard of Milan’s Pinacoteca and Robert Wilson will stage a music and light spectacular around one of Michelangelo’s final works, the Rondanini Pietà.
As hundreds of thousands of international tastemakers from around the world get ready to descend on Milan, WWD has put together an insider guide for tackling the world’s biggest design event of the year, with more to come.
Ranieri’s Francesco Meda and David Lopez Quincoces Headline Alcova
Ranieri sets Milan Design Week 2025 afire with “Under the Volcano,” a multisensory journey that dives deep into the raw potential of nature’s untameable phenomenon. Staged in the SNIA Factory — a defunct industrial landmark turned into an intriguing backdrop — the installation embraces the prowess that emerges by imbuing design and music. The rugged nature of algorithmically eroded rocks dreamed up by Italian artist Quayola and an electrifying soundscape by violinist Rodrigo D’Erasmo will come together with the striking architectural influences envisaged by Francesco Meda and David Lopez Quincoces, Ranieri’s creative directors.
“Under the Volcano” by Ranieri.
Alberto Strada
Dimorestudio Teams Up With Antique Japanese Textile-maker Hosoo and Osanna Visconti
Heritage and innovation collide in Dimorestudio’s latest collaboration. Japan’s fabled textile firm Hosoo unveils the “Hemispheres Collection” during Milan Design Week 2025, a momentous exploration of Japanese tradition and Italian savoir faire, in collaboration with Britt Moran and Emiliano Salci’s Dimorestudio. Known for their ability to resurrect the past with an edgy yet poetic aesthetic, the Dimorestudio design duo has transformed over 20,000 obi patterns from Hosoo’s historical archives into 33 breathtaking fabrics that echo modern sophistication. Hosoo was founded in 1688 in Kyoto, the epicenter of the ancient Nishijin textile tradition. Debuting with designer Osanna Visconti, who designed the Magnolia and Bamboo bronze furniture collections of which part are upholstered with Hemispheres Collection textiles in her atelier in Milan’s evocative Cinque Vie district, this collection is all about dialogue — between eras, cultures and the raw poetry of craft.
The result? An infusion of tradition, artistry and a fresh aesthetic language — one that reimagines Japanese heritage through a distinctly global lens.
The Hemispheres Collection, a new textile line by Hosoo in collaboration with Dimorestudio.
Courtesy of Hosoo
Kelly Wearstler’s Collaboration With The Rug Company
Los Angeles-based interior designer Kelly Wearstler has been busy lately. Last year, she lent her aesthetic to a roster of heritage companies like French silver and tableware maker Christofle, Genoa-based home accessories firm Giobagnara and, in 2023, she launched two collections with Belgian design brand Serax. This season, she comes to Milan with Crescendo, a collaboration with U.K.-based The Rug Company. Within the collection are six designs, each in two colorways, blending geometric precision with the fluidity of organic forms.
Expertly hand-knotted by The Rug Company’s master artisans in Nepal, the rugs are woven from a striking mix of natural materials — silk, wool, nettle and linen — layered using traditional techniques that deliver jaw-dropping texture and a sculptural quality. Bold yet refined, Crescendo celebrates the role of craft in modern design.
Kelly Wearstler
Courtesy of The Rug Company
Yves Salomon Editions Expands
After debuting his first furniture at Milan Design Week 2024 with Chapo Creations, Yves Salomon is back. This time, the French fashion designer will showcase an expanded collection of 18 pieces, a full furniture line called Yves Salomon Editions.
Playful and poetic, the collection will take center stage in the courtyard on Milan’s via Santo Spirito 7, radiating French designer Pierre Marie’s signature eclectic aesthetic through seats, cushions, blankets, stools and even a lamp.
Drawing on the deep-rooted connection between sheepskin and humankind throughout history, the collection unfolds across two enchanting themes: La Prairie and Le Firmament. La Prairie evokes a dreamy meadow filled with geometric blooms and bows, while Le Firmament explores the heavens, the celestial Western stars, illustrated with beads and swirling paisley patterns. At its heart of this new collection are two sculptural shearling seats, upholstered entirely in Spanish merino. These pieces are a nod to fantastical creations throughout time, including the experimental genius of late Italian designer Gaetano Pesce.
Yves Salomon Editions
Queyras Laora
Tara Bernerd’s Disrupting Architecture Collaboration With Frette and Silhouette for Medea 1905
With a dash of Deco and a touch of Modernism, British designer Tara Bernerd is gearing up to make a splash at Milan Design Week with not one but two collaborations. Her contemporary posh vision will come to life through a landmark collaboration with storied linens firm Frette and luxury furniture firm Medea 1905. Drawing inspiration from a rich collision of architectural eras, the capsule collection with Frette features luxurious cashmere and wool throws and cushions that feel as versatile as they are timeless. “I wanted to create versatile pieces that could transform a space — whether a New York apartment, a Cotswold cottage, or a beach house in Bali,” said Bernerd, who is known for her interiors projects within luxury hotels like the Four Seasons Fort Lauderdale and the Hari, Hong Kong.
Tara Bernerd collaboration with Frette.
Kate Martin
Born out of a friendship between Bernerd and Frette chief executive officer Filippo Arnaboldi, the project is a testament to their shared belief in design’s ability to shape mood and ambiance. “You can change the entire feel of a room with a throw or a set of cushions,” enthused Bernerd. The collection “Silhouette” for Medea 1905 grew from her relationship with family-owned Brianza cabinetmakers Luigi and Andrea Tagliabue. Together, they’ve crafted a capsule collection defined by noble materials like walnut and oak, antique brass accents, fluted glass and surfaces of onyx and marble. Both collections will debut at Frette’s Via Manzoni showroom during Milan Design Week and will be showcased at the Fiera Milano during Salone del Mobile 2025.
Tara Bernerd x Media 1905
Courtesy of Tara Bernerd
Faye Toogood for Noritake
To mark its 120th anniversary last year, Japanese tableware brand Noritake introduced Noritake Design Collection, a collaborative initiative led by its chief creative director Yuichiro Hori, consisting of a series of projects with a global roster of contemporary designers, starting with Yabu Pushelberg. At Milan Design Week, the Japanese house will push the envelope even further. At the Alcova showcase in the town of Varedo, the company will unveil its latest collection with British designer Faye Toogood, who made waves last year with her Squash collection for Poltrona Frau.
Adding her distinct folk-meets-modernist touch, Toogood will unveil Rose, a limited-edition series inspired by archival designs, while also curating the exhibition space to bring Noritake’s traditional craftsmanship into dialogue with modern vision.
Faye Toogood
Courtesy of Toogood
Luca Nichetto and JoAnn Tan for Sweden’s Bolon
JoAnn Tan, the installation artist known for her awe-inspiring animal scenes has teamed up with famed Sweden-Venice-based multidisciplinary designer Luca Nichetto. Titled “Exodus” and set against the backdrop of Tan’s new Milan atelier on Viale Lombardia 56, the two are set to unveil a striking display of anthropomorphic creatures for Swedish flooring brand Bolon.
Bolon specializes in climate-neutral flooring and rugs and is headquartered in Ulricehamn, Sweden. Under the leadership of sisters Annica and Marie Eklund, the third-generation family business has transformed from a traditional weaving mill into an international design brand that now boasts clients like Armani, Google, Four Seasons Hotels and Chanel.
Sisters Marie and Annica Eklund, the third-generation leaders behind the family-owned brand, say the coming together of creative minds “combine bold innovation and craftsmanship to explore the possibilities of Bolon’s material, transforming it into something unexpectedly extraordinary.”
A display by Luca Nichetto and JoAnn Tan for Sweden’s Bolon.
Pierre Frey Debuts Its Furniture Collection in Milan
After showcasing its first furniture collection during Paris Design Week in January, historic French home textiles maker Pierre Frey is ready to show Milan that it’s serious about growing this latest facet of its business. During Milan Design Week, it will launch Marta with American-born designer and sculptor Gregory Beson, who launched his studio practice in 2018 in New York City.
The furniture collection, which explores the interaction between wood and upholstery, is a varied mix that consists of poufs, chairs and benches, and will be unveiled at the Pierre Frey showroom on Via Fatebene Fratelli 3.
Pierre Frey’s collaboration with American-born designer and sculptor Gregory Beson.
Courtesy of Pierre Frey
Davide Dolcini Tribute to Bruno Munari x Amini
Italian artist and graphic designer Bruno Munari is having a moment right now. In 1925, at the age of 18, he came to Milan to work with his uncle and became a proponent of the Futurist movement led by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti. Exactly 100 years later, designer and wood specialist David Dolcini and Somaglia, Italy-based Amini Carpets will unveil a tribute to his life. Named “A Journey Into Fantasy”, the exhibit explores the work of the contemporary aesthete. For Dolcini, whose studio collaborates with companies like Luceplan, Porada, Bric’s and Panasonic, Munari’s legacy has been a guide throughout his own career. “I have learned from his books, his projects, and his ability to combine rigor with freedom. For this reason, my approach to the exhibition setup follows his method, characterized by lightness and a touch of irony,” he said.
Two rug collections will be staged inside the Amini showroom on Via Borgogna 7, and will illustrate Munari’s playful spirit: Viaggio nella Fantasia (Journey Into Fantasy) and Macchine Inutili (Useless Machines).
