Your Guide to Milan Design Week 2025 — Highlights, Chic Hangouts, and Secrets From the World’s Leading Design Festival
Milan’s reputation as the world’s foremost fashion and design capital precedes her to the point that there is no way for people to picture the city in their minds without inevitably thinking of its sweeping, sophisticated showrooms, avant-garde artistic institutions, and instantly viral runway shows (and don’t just put it down to my Italian bias). Still, if there’s an event that captures the coveted destination in all of its disruptive allure — from the inebriating aura of its balmy aperitivo hour in the Navigli district to the globally influential source of inspiration that are its heritage interiors brands, and the melting pot of innovation embodied by its international pool of rising talents — it’s the annual Milan Design Week.
Returning officially from April 6 to April 13 across multiple venues and neighborhoods in the city, Milan Design Week 2025 is expected to reunite some 500,000 visitors from all over the world in an eight-day celebration of craftsmanship, community, and creativity. Among such globe-trotting furniture and interiors enthusiasts, you will find, of course, Livingetc‘s editors determinedly strutting its streets, urban gardens, and stuccoed palazzos far and wide, looking for the latest industry sensations. For them, attending the festival is not just an opportunity to check out one of the best cultural events of the year first-hand, but also a chance to identify the biggest interior design trends destined to shape the future of the field before everyone else.
Forecasting aside, though, Milan Design Week 2025 offers the ultimate excuse for travelers to catch the city of La Madonnina at its very finest — pullulating with style-conscious crowds, dotted in immersive installations, and serving mouth-watering food and drinks at any time of the day. The secret to making the best of it all? Have a seat, as there’s more than just one or two. From the most impressive launches, shows, and collaborations coming to the Italian creative capital to the dos and don’ts of the Milan Design Week game (thanks to our uncompromising editorial team), and industry insiders’ advice on how to experience it in full, we’ve got your back.
Whether you never attended the festival before or do so religiously every year, handle this guide with care — here’s all we wish we’d known when we visited the first time around.
Our Highlights for Milan Design Week 2025
1. L’Appartamento by Artemest
Following the success of its first two editions, L’Appartamento by Artemest will let visitors inside another awe-inspiring Milanese palazzo.
(Image credit: Courtesy of Artemest)
Last year, artisanal Italian design platform Artemest — led by Creative Director Ippolita Rostagno and CEO Marco Credendino — stole the show at Milan Design Week by breathing new life into the early-19th-century marvel that is Milan’s Residenza Vignale. For Milan Design Week 2025, which coincides with its 10th anniversary, the platform iterates its dose of lavish interior design inspiration with another time-traveling showcase. Set within the spellbinding Palazzo Donizetti, the latest instalment of L’Appartamento by Artemest will serve as a microcosm of the best and next in decor thanks to the contributions of six stellar studios. From the old-Milan, spirited pinks and greens of 1508 London‘s modern glamorous entertainment room to a regally chic bedroom signed by Champalimaud Design, and an Art Deco-inspired, boldly eclectic reading room courtesy of Nebras Aljoaib Studio, the whole world is on view at via Gaetano Donizetti.
While hailing from across the globe, to create these spaces, each designer relied exclusively on Artemest’s eclectic portfolio of Italian furniture, lighting, accessories, and art. Relying on pieces from different eras and genres, they crafted ethereal dimensions that are as reflective of their sensibilities as they are of Italy’s design tradition as a whole. Complete with anything from sculptural Murano glass chandeliers, like in the case of Simone Haag Studio‘s Foyer and the Romanek Design Studio Dining Room, to 1970s oversized sofas or statement marble pieces, as in Meyer Davis‘s Grand Salon, Palazzo Donizetti is a masterclass in decor.
THE DETAILS
April 7 (11.00 AM-5.00 PM). Tuesday, April 8-Sunday, April 13 (10 AM-7 PM)
Palazzo Donizetti, Via Gaetano Donizetti 48, 20122 Milan MI, Italy
2. Isola Design Festival
Some of the unique designs and artworks presented during the 2024 edition of Isola Design Festival, one of the most forward-thinking, and uplifting, showcases of MDW.
(Image credit: Anwyn Howarth. Courtesy of Isola Design Festival)
Design is Human, the 9th edition of the Isola Design Festival, powered by the eponymous design platform, wants us to reflect on the role that design plays in our lives, stressing the importance that small-scale artisanal practices hold in relation to the safeguarding of people’s and planetary well-being. Taking place in the northeastern area of the city, this dynamic showcase will reunite national as well as international designers, artists, and manufacturers to challenge the limits of contemporary creativity and confront us with some of the most pressing questions of our times.
The beating heart of the festival, BasicVillage, will house three distinct presentations: Conscious Objects, a deeply sensory, playfully engaging group exhibition that, gathering works by nearly 40 different studios, looks at the environmental impact of furniture making by delving into the production processes at its heart and the journey of the materials implemented in it. Isola Design Gallery will spotlight collectible design from a globe-trotting roster of talents to examine its ability to ignite long(er)-lasting connection with the objects we purchase and love, with Openspace shedding light on craftsmanship innovation as a platform for all things technology, eco-tech, material research, and digital manufacturing.
THE DETAILS
April 7-13. Monday, April 7: 2 PM-7 PM. Tuesday, April 8-Saturday, April 12: 10 AM-7 PM. Sunday April 13: 10 AM-3 PM
BasicVillage, Via dell’Aprica, 12, 20158 Milano MI, Italy
3. NILUFAR’s Repertorio
Act I of NILUFAR’s Repertorio group show brings the timelessness and allure of metal center stage, thanks to shimmering creations by the Fosbury Architecture collective.
(Image credit: Courtesy of NILUFAR)
If you have read Nina Yashar’s guide to Milan, you will know that NILUFAR founder and design dealer never renounces the opportunity to actively search for — and platform — noteworthy talents, or to savor all that her city has to offer. At Milan Design Week 2025, the gallery invites the public to embark on a theatrical journey that will outline the curator’s pioneering vision of creativity through a dynamic presentation exploring “the contrasts between craftmanship and artistry, past and future, the natural and the artificial”.
Presented in five acts, NILUFAR’s MDW programming will be heralded by a retro-futuristic, metal-centric ‘world-within-world’ installation by the Fosbury Architecture collective, showcased at the Nilufar Depot in Viale Lancetti and featuring pieces by the likes of Gino Colombini & Ernesto Guzzetti, Gio Ponti, and Nanda Vigo. Act III will see contributions from designers like Henry Baumann, Sophie Dries, and Vibeke Fonnesberg Schmidt released as part of Nilufar Edition within a space designed by Andrea Mancuso. While light, shape, color, and texture will be the protagonists of Act IV – George Nakashima, reuniting works from Anna Karlin, Isamu Noguchi, Taher Asad-Bakhtiari, and more.
THE DETAILS
April 8-13 (10 AM-7 PM)
NILUFAR, Viale Lancetti 34, 20158; Via della Spiga, 32, 20121 Milano MI, Italy
4. Google: Making the Invisible Visible
Co-created by Google’s Ivy Ross with artist Lachlan Turczan, Making the Invisible Visible is an immersive experience that shifts our understanding of perception.
(Image credit: Lachlan Turczan. Courtesy of Google)
Ever wondered what exactly is that makes something physical, tangible? During Milan Design Week 2025, Google is back with another one of its hypnotizing installations charting the continuum between art, technology, and design. The brainchild of Ivy Ross, Chief Design Officer of Consumer Devices at the US colossus, and light, water, and sound artist Lachlan Turczan, Making the Invisible Visible will rely on light’s ability to sculpt, define, and signify spaces to challenge our conception of materiality as we know it.
Throughout the exhibition, several architectural dimensions will take form from mesmerizing neon projections in an event that, inspired by Google’s latest hardware innovations, captures the shift toward a much more rarified, digital-first understanding and experience of the world around us. During the showcase, the audience will be prompted to move around and interact with its beams of light first-hand in a dialogue between the real and the artificial, the dreamt-up and the factual.
THE DETAILS
April 7 (10 AM-5 PM). April 8-13 (9.30 am-5.30 PM)
Garage 21, Via Archimede, 26, 20129 Milano MI, Italy
5. Alcova
A marble table by Italian studio GIOPAGANI, another one of the protagonists of Alcova’s Milan Design Week 2025 showcase.
(Image credit: Angelina De Marsico. Courtesy of Alcova)
Since launching in 2018, Valentina Ciuffi and Joseph Grima’s nomadic art and design platform Alcova has earned itself a reputation as one of the most exciting events not to be missed during Milan Design Week and beyond (see our reporting on the latest edition of Art Basel Miami). Projected to attract more than 90,000 visitors to its out-of-town locations, this year comprising the historic Villa Borsani and Villa Bagatti Valsecchi, alongside the industrial sites of the former SNIA factory and the Pasino Glasshouses, Alcova Milano 2025 cements the platform as one of the most innovative showcases of works by established and emerging designers alike. Active at the intersection of functional design, art, and installation, this year’s presentation reunites some 100 exhibitors from across the globe. While the imaginative set designs and striking creations Alcova has become known for make it hard to pick highlights, we have a few favorites.
Engaging with notions of material memory and transformation, Objects of Common Interest‘s sculptural installation at the Pasino Glasshouses, Soft Horizons, repurposes discarded marble fragments into amusing, floating objects that transcend time. Over at the SNIA factory, the disruptive, boundless power of Mount Vesuvius is channeled into Under the Volcano, a colossal presentation celebrating Francesco Meda and David Lopez Quincoces’ new lava stone collection for Italian house Ranieri.
A whimsical reinterpretation of his native land of Anatolia’s craftsmanship tradition, Studio Lugo’s Anachron Series will be on view at Villa Bagatti Valsecchi.
(Image credit: Courtesy of Studio Lugo, Stefania Zanetti, Matteo Bellomo, and Aurora Hinz)
Villa Bagatti Valsecchi will host a handful of the most anticipated projects: from American collective ANANASANANAS‘ sustainability-focused food activation, developed in collaboration with local studio Parasite 2.0, and Shakti Design Residency‘s reinvention of New Delhi and Jaipur’s intricate artisanal artistry, which saw exclusive collaborations between Luca Gruber and Vikram Goyal, and Helena Bajaj Larsen and Jaipur Rugs, among others, to Hidden Trails protagonist Studio Lugo‘s interactive new furniture series Anachron — a playfully enchanting rendition of his Anatolian heritage which proves that past, present, and future can indeed collide. Maison&Object’s Designer of the Year 2025, Faye Toogood, will present a new collection of ceramics for Japanese house Noritake Design Collection at Villa Borsani, while VOCLA, Alcova’s new social extension, will bring its celebration of design late into the night with a bespoke bar lounge by Henge, an exclusive dining pop-up by Yapa, music, and interdisciplinary contributions by over 30 creatives at the Ex-Macello.
THE DETAILS
April 7-13 (11 AM-7 PM). Entrance with ticket only unless accredited
VOCLA, April 6-12 (closed on Monday, April 7, 6 PM-2 AM). Seats at YAPA pop-up restaurant are available by reservation only, while the bar is free to access throughout the night
Villa Bagatti Valsecchi, Via Vittorio Emanuele II, 48, 20814 Varedo MB, Italy. Villa Borsani, Via Umberto I, 148, 20814 Varedo MB, Italy. Former SNIA factory, 20814 Varedo, Province of Monza and Brianza, Italy. Pasino Glasshouses, Via Vittorio Emanuele II, 54, 20814 Varedo MB, Italy. Ex-Macello, Viale Molise, 62, 20137 Milano MI, Italy
6. Bocci and The Future Perfect
“The 141 is crafted by pouring two ladlefuls of hot glass freehand over a curved rod. The rod is then lifted, and the puddles wing out into an unpredictable shape in a gesture that is both simple and cinematic.” — Bocci
(Image credit: Courtesy of Bocci)
On the occasion of its 20th anniversary, Bocci, the Vancouver glasswork disruptor, is marking the milestone with the unveiling of a brand-new pendant series. Created with one seamless gesture, powered by LED, and resembling two large golden flower petals, the 141 embodies the house’s flair for authentic craft and poetic exploration of the decorative possibilities that reside in lighting.
For Milan Design Week 2025, Bocci is also inaugurating a special exhibition curated by The Future Perfect‘s David Alhadeff, The Numbers Between The Numbers. Here, new and old works by artist Omer Arbel, the creative powerhouse behind the brand’s new drop, will appear in an intimate setting alongside further contributions from Irish furniture brand Orior, Upstate New York studio Calico Wallpaper, London-based house Shore, and British rug pioneer Christopher Farr. The event, which launches with a by-invitation-only aperitivo at Bocci Milan on April 6 (6-9 PM), will remain open for the entire duration of Salone del Mobile and Milan Design Week 2025.
THE DETAILS
April 4-13
Bocci Milan, Via Giuseppe Rovani, 20, 20123 Milano MI, Italy
7. IKEA’s 30th Milan Design Week Anniversary
At Milan Design Week, IKEA will continue its decades-long conversation on the democratization of design, 30 years on since its first official appearance at the event.
(Image credit: Courtesy of IKEA)
30 years since debuting at Milan Design Week with its easy-to-assemble homewares and accessories, Ingvar Kamprad’s Swedish furniture brand IKEA isn’t done talking about the need for a more democratic design world.
The conversation around the shift toward more affordable yet high-quality and sustainable decor will serve as the pillar of the house’s latest participation in the buzzy Milanese festival, which coincides with the release of its new STOCKHOLM collection. Revealed with an exhibition at Tenoha, the series strives to prove how “quality design can turn collections into collectibles”, invoking a stronger relationship between buyers and the goods they purchase by leaning onto the emotional resonance of spirited, covetable furniture pieces.
Do Something. Change Everything, a special section of the show, will have visitors ponder the universal impact of their planet-conscious actions, panel talks, artist interventions, and after-hours parties will animate the event, while with The Glitch Camp, a special collaboration between IKEA and Milanese design school IED, the house will provide pampering sleeping kits to international students flocking to the city for the week.
THE DETAILS
April 7-13
Tenoha, Via Vigevano, 18, 20144 Milano MI, Italy
8. Zanellato/Bortotto’s Brera Design Apartment, Orizzonti
Zanellato/Bortotto’s reinvention of a Brera apartment unfolds as “a dialogue between artistic inspirations, memories of places, and cinematographic views.”
(Image credit: Valentina Sommariva. Design: Zanellato/Bortotto)
Many of the most inspiring showcases of Milan Design Week have some of the city’s most iconic palazzos, residences, and apartments as their backdrop, and Giorgia Zanellato and Daniele Bortotto‘s freshly unveiled Orizzonti (“horizons”) is certainly one of them.
Staged on the third floor of an early 19th-century building in Brera’s vibrant via Palermo, their pastel-shaded curation of the Brera Design Apartment — the ever-transforming Brera Design District showroom — is imbued with a sense of nostalgia for an Italy that was and is, perhaps, no more. But it’s what emerges from this encounter between past and present, or two ‘connected worlds’, to cite the theme of this year’s Salone del Mobile, that counts.
Numerous are the references to the country’s cultural heritage, scattered throughout it, from the softly tinted entrance, where pioneering Italian photographer Luigi Ghirri’s suspended-in-time documentation of Mediterranean landscapes is brought back to life through delicate lines, crafty artworks, and layered colors and textiles, including fabrics from Bolzan and Fishbacher 1819, an Alpes Inox kitchen topped with ceramic surfaces by Chiara Andreatti for Botteganove, as well as lighting by Davide Groppi.
Elsewhere, it’s the designers’ origins to take centre stage, like in the ‘Barene’ dining room, named after the islands of the Venetian lagoon and evoking the incessant movement of its water through a series of bespoke ceramic tiles. Lesser-known Italian artisanal practices are recontextualized, too, as shown on a sweeping, maritime-inspired wall tapestry crafted by Saba Italia following the Sardinian technique of ‘pibiones’, which confers a three-dimensional effect to the arras. More Venice nods appear in the living room, ‘Caigo’ (Venetian dialect for “fog”), where warm wood details from heritage artisanal brands like Lunardelli Venezia are interspersed with more of Zanellato/Bortotto’s quirky retro-fueled designs, like Saba Italia’s buttery ‘Vela’ sofas, and statement pieces like a sleek onyx coffee table by Del Savio 1910. Capturing the experiential and creative horizons of the Italian design duo, the ‘Desert’ bedroom retraces a now-distant trip the two took to Namibia through flaming terracotta, sand, and plummy tones, with a fitted carpet by Radici and a wooden rug by cc-tapis. The ‘Volcan’ of the bathroom winks at the quiescent yet ever-creating energy of Mount Etna through striking, iridescent mosaics and pigments rendered from volcanic dust by Botteganove and Rezina, with fittings by Agape, while the beautifully arranged selection of objects, photographs, and ephemera acts as a window into Zanellato/Bortotto’s innermost worlds.
THE DETAILS
Open by invitation and to press only during Milan Design Week 2025, open by appointment to the public thereafter
Brera Design Apartment, Via Palermo, 1, 20121 Milano MI, Italy
9. Galleria Rossana Orlandi
ANOTHERVIEW N.41 – A Day Around the Gaysir in Iceland is a striking, surreal video installation that renders nature in all of its explosiveness.
(Image credit: Courtesy of the artist and Galleria Rossana Orlandi)
A must-visit for any contemporary design enthusiast, during Milan Design Week 2025, Galleria Rossana Orlandi will both host and support a number of unmissable exhibitions, with its via Matteo Bandello headquarters being a trove of avant-garde experimentation in itself.
Among the presentations confirmed so far are those of Lebanese architect and interior designer Aline Asmar d’Amman, whose sinuous, glamorous furniture will be on display at the gallery throughout both the festival and Salone del Mobile 2025, and the nomadic, interdisciplinary project Anotherview.
Presented by Galleria Rossana Orlandi at Le Cavalerizze in the 5VIE district as part of the platform’s BAR Altra Vista, a design symposium spanning talks, exhibitions, and F&B activations, the audiovisual installation ANOTHERVIEW N.41 – A day around the Gaysir in Iceland will transport viewers to the raw landscapes of the Nordic country through a series of intermitting eruptions. Following the alternating course of night and day, and breaking with the anthropized landscape within which Milan Design Week 2025 takes place, the work wants to be “a timeless and meditative experience for those who long to connect with the Earth’s elemental beauty”.
THE DETAILS
April 7-13
Galleria Rossana Orlandi, Via Matteo Bandello, 14, 20123 Milano MI, Italy
April 7-13 (10 AM-7.30 PM)
BAR Altra Vista at Le Cavallerizze, National Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo da Vinci, Via Olona, 6, 20123 Milano MI, Italy
10. Salone del Mobile
Salone del Mobile 2025 is set to attract 2,100 exhibitors from 37 different countries, between newcomers and returning brands, presented across a near 210,000-square-meter footprint.
(Image credit: Delfino Sisto Legnani)
Could this Milan Design Week 2025 not include the festival’s event par excellence? Not really. At Salone del Mobile 2025, the future of the furniture field comes to life, embodied by the 2,100 global exhibitors and numerous collateral initiatives revolving around the world’s largest design fair this year. Coinciding with Euroluce, Italy’s leading lighting exhibition, which takes place biannually alternately with the EuroCucina kitchen showcase during the fiera, SaloneSatellite, a spotlight for budding design talent, and the constellation of events that make up the Fuorisalone public program, Salone del Mobile simply can’t be missed. Besides offering a comprehensive overview of renowned interior brands’ latest collections, every year, the fair gains new momentum thanks to the multidisciplinary personalities at the heart of its special projects, who cement the convergence of the art, design, and technology worlds.
Pierre-Yves Rochon’s A Luxury Way, the absorbing exhibition located in the Villa Héritage space in Pavilions 13-15, for example, will straddle classical and contemporary design inspirations to immerse viewers in a sumptuous dimension that defies time. Oscar-winning filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino’s contribution to Salone del Mobile, titled La dolce attesa (“the sweet wait”) and positioned at the entrance to Pavilions 22-24, will probe themes of anticipation, surprise, and fantasy with an expansive installation developed in collaboration with scenographer Margherita Palli that puts the heart back into design (you’ll see, quite literally). American theater director and playwright Robert Wilson will infuse new drama into the unfinished Michelangelo masterpiece that is the Pietà Rondanini with Mother, a dramaturgical light installation that, evolving to the music of Arvo Pärt, offers space for awakenings and introspection.
At Euroluce 2025, new exhibitions by trailblazers Lasvit and Lee Broom will illuminate the evolution of the lighting sector with ingeniously crafted, sculptural fixtures that merge functionality and skillful artistry, while the inaugural Euroluce International Lighting Forum (April 10-11), directed by Annalisa Rosso in collaboration with APIL, will reunite best-in-class personalities like studio DRIFT, A.J. Weissbard, Marjan van Aubel, and Kaoru Mende for a two-day of masterclasses, round tables, and workshops. Last but, in any way, not least on our edit of the unmissable Salone del Mobile appointments is British artist and designer Es Devlin‘s otherworldly Library of Light — a futuristic project set to transform the Cortile d’Onore of the Pinacoteca di Brera in an interactive, multisensory celebration literature, intercultural dialogue, and spoken word.
THE DETAILS
See our FAQs for more information on tickets and opening hours
Fiera Milano, 20017 Rho, Metropolitan City of Milan, Italy
April 8-May 18
Mother at Pietà Rondanini, Piazza Castello, 20121 Milano MI, Italy
April 7-21 (9 AM–9 PM)
Library of Light at Pinacoteca di Brera, Via Brera, 28, 20121 Milano MI, Italy
Milan Design Week — Our Editors’ Dos and Don’ts
At Milan Design Week 2025, Alcova will take over Villa Bagatti Valsecchi, the Pasino Glasshouses, the former SNIA factory, and Villa Borsani.
(Image credit: Piergiorgio Sorgetti. Courtesy of Alcova)
• Fly into Malpensa if you’re going to the fair, Linate if you’re going into town.
• Definitely take the train to Salone del Mobile rather than a taxi — it’s quick, easy, and means you won’t risk getting stuck in traffic jams.
• Alcova is miles away and unfolds across multiple locations, so leave time and do your research about what exactly is happening, and where, before traveling out there by train.
• Central Milan is very walkable and the traffic is a nightmare, so put your comfy shoes on and walk!
• Finish off your day with a dinner at Bice, a storied Milan institution.
At Alcova, Forma Rosa Studio’s Coexist “transforms an underground bunker, reclaiming a manufactured space with organic forms and luminous glow”.
(Image credit: Courtesy of Santi Braby Space and Forma Rosa Studio)
• Don’t try and do everything. It’s impossible! There is so much to see and so many far-flung places to visit that it’s literally not doable.
• Focus on where you want to be and what you want to see most — but be prepared to have your eyes caught by exciting moments on the way.
• Always make sure your phone has battery. So many brands now require you to have a QR code to enter their showcase, which you get emailed while waiting in line — not the most popular idea, but one that everyone seems to want to stick to.
• Visit Salone del Mobile … with a plan. Like the city itself, it’s vast and potentially overwhelming. But if you know what you’re doing, it’s magical and inspiring.
• To ensure you do, target the brands you want to see and make a beeline for them.
Industry Insiders on Milan Design Week 2025’s Best (and How to Get in on the Fun)
Art, culture, and interiors PRs are, whether because of love or by sheer necessity, among the most loyal, die-hard attendees of every Milan Design Week. Needless to say, as the comeback of the festival is fast approaching, their plans for Milan Design Week 2025 have been long laid out. What are they most looking forward to seeing in town this year?
Read on for some expert-backed anticipations, including underrated and up-and-coming attractions and an invigorating dose of much-needed, meneghino culinary inspiration.
Hot on the Milan Design Week 2025 agenda, Prada Frames will let guests aboard Gio Ponti’s 1950s Arlecchino train for a series of talks titled In Transit.
(Image credit: Courtesy of Prada)
“Among our not-to-be-missed highlights from Milan Design Week 2025 is the Isola Design Festival, especially the exhibitions at Basic Village (also home to the Very Simple: Kitchen showroom), and SENSES, an immersive installation by IAMMI and materia-studio in the Porta Venezia Design District.
“While in the area, we never miss Capsule Plaza at Spazio Maiocchi, with coffee breaks at Loste, lunch at Sandì, or a toastie at Pan. We’ll also visit the HENRYTIMI gallery and DOPO? in Corvetto, followed by cocktails at Lubna, just around the corner.
“Two last must-sees: Prada Frames, curated by FormaFantasma at Stazione Centrale, featuring Gio Ponti’s Arlecchino train, and Padiglione Visconti, where Saint Laurent presents re-editions of Charlotte Perriand’s furniture.”
— Giulia Milza and Maria Azzurra Rossi, co-founders of MINT LIST
Extending across over 1,500 square meters, Prison Times promises to be “an unprecedented investigation into time and space in detention centers”.
(Image credit: Piercarloquecchia / DSL Studio. Courtesy of Dropcity)
“An underrated destination of the festival is the Salone del Mobile fair in itself. Yes, it’s huge and can take a long time to get around, but it’s truly legendary, being the reason why Milan Design Week started in the first place, with hundreds of world-leading brands and well-known designers who rose to fame after showing at [its young talent-focused sibling showcase] SaloneSatellite all presented in the same place.
“Dropcity — the new center for progressive thinking in architecture and design — was the hit of Milan Design Week 2024. This year, the up-and-coming destination will see the launch of two new, coinciding exhibitions, Prison Times – Spatial Dynamics of Penal Environments and Bruther.fbx, open until May 31.
“The iconic Triennale Milano‘s garden is a lesser-known spot than the museum itself. It is a great location for meetings, whether personal or professional, with great food served in a wonderful setting. Plus, in between your catch-ups, you get to immerse yourself in the institution’s design exhibitions.
“As far as drinks go, Bar Basso remains one of the best places to meet almost everyone in the design scene at the end of the night. It might be obvious, but it is still worth visiting.”
— Chloé Boucouvalas, Associate Director at Alpha Kilo
Open only for lunch, Italy’s foremost meal, except for Friday nights, Sandì is a nostalgia-soaked restaurant that evokes the charm of 1960s Milan.
(Image credit: Claudia Zalla. Design: Parasite 2.0)
“I am beyond curious to see the former SNIA Factory location at Alcova, where Ranieri will be exhibiting. In terms of areas to explore during Milan Design Week 2025, Porta Venezia and Città Studi are always a must, though this year, the inspiration is truly scattered all around town.
“Piazza Tomasi di Lampedusa will host the most extraordinary exhibition from jewelry brand Buccellati, featuring design by Balich Wonder Studio and a botanical installation by Studio Mary Lennox.
“I am always delighted to have lunch or breakfast at Via Stampa. Marco is the best owner; so caring and sweet. Last year we even had the chance to hold an event there — it was a success.
“Right in the heart of Milan and with a spectacular rooftop overlooking the Galleria and Duomo, Horto is my go-to spot for a unique lunch. With spring and the warmer season approaching, it’s the perfect place to get away from the chaos of the city and enjoy a special aperitivo. Bar Nico, in via Saldini, is where I love going for a glass of natural wine and some great company — owners Riccardo and Chiara know how to curate a bar.”
— Giulia Castelli, founder of GC AGENCY
The sleek, brutalist interiors of Bar Nico look straight out of a film, as does its red neon-lit and cement façade.
(Image credit: DSL Studio / Alessandro Saletta. Design: SagomaStudio © SagomaStudio)
Milan Design Week 2025 — FAQs
What Else Is There to See During Milan Design Week 2025?
Coinciding with Salone del Mobile like every year is Fuorisalone (“out of the fair”), or to put it simply, the dense calendar of interdisciplinary events taking place in Milan on the occasion of the world’s largest design showcase. Start from the affluent via Durini, Corso Monforte, Corso Venezia, and Quadrilatero della Moda to get a full immersion into the finest Italian design brands (yes, showroom-stopping is part of the Milan Design Week fun). Among the most spectacular hotspots to catch along the way are Edra‘s permanent showroom at Palazzo Durini Caproni di Taliedo — a 17th-century masterpiece where contemporary design expression and timeless grandeur collide — where the house will be hosting a private cocktail reception to inaugurate Milan Design Week 2025 (April 7, 6.30 PM-8.30 PM). Meanwhile, the scenic inner courtyard of the mansion will become the stage for a special installation open to the public, like Edra’s booth at the fair in Rho, April 8-13, 10 AM-8 PM.
An Edra neighborhood on via Durini, furniture brand Cassina will unveil the latest iteration of The Cassina Perspective 2025 in a special preview held at the showroom April 4-6, continuing through April 13. An even more exciting appointment to mark in your books is the house’s collaboration with research-based design studio FormaFantasma. Titled Staging Modernity, this one-of-a-kind project, combining theatrical performance and installation and directed by Fabio Cherstich at the Teatro Lirico Giorgio Gaber (via Larga 14, April 8-13), will weave together contributions by philosopher and Alessandro Michele collaborator Emanuele Coccia, architect, author, and curator Andrés Jaque, and spatial and visual designer Feifei Zhou. To mark the 60th anniversary of the Le Corbusier®, Pierre Jeanneret®, and Charlotte Perriand® Collection edited by Cassina, the brand is also reissuing limited editions of their designs.
During Fuorisalone, Milan’s most spectacular courtyard come to life with eye-catching installation, as in the case of Edra’s Palazzo Durini.
(Image credit: Courtesy of Edra)
Work your way through armonie invisibili: design as a threshold between matter and intuition, the brimming-with-talents program of 5VIE. Headquartered in one of the most historical and characteristic districts of Milan, this cultural incubator will be uncovering over 60 boundary-pushing exhibitions, including Tokyo-based artist and designer Iyo Hasegawa‘s sublimely beautiful geometric furniture series, ANGLE, ELIURPI‘s seemingly floating, ever-evolving lighting sculpture presentation, Panta Rei, and Alberto Levi Gallery‘s latest mesmerizing collaboration with Iranian rug artist Lila Valadan, HEECH: The Art of Embracing Nothingness, across three locations (Cavallerizze, via Olona 4; Cesare Correnti 14; SIAM, via Santa Marta 18).
Art-led visitors will likely find in Brera, the Milanese answer to Paris’ Montmartre, their place to be, with more award-winning design flagships, intimate eateries, cafés, and bars, and burgeoning galleries all minutes away by foot. It is an area that brims with young creative talent, especially thanks to the presence of institutions like the Brera Academy of Arts. This is also where the annual Milan Design Week presentation of ECAL graduates and students takes place, more precisely at Spazio Orso (via dell’Orso 16). This year, the school’s Bachelor Media & Interaction Design program created an immersive experience that, centered around a series of amusing, cartoony creatures, sews the gap between Japanese and Swiss folklore. This dialogue continues at the House of Switzerland‘s residence at the nearby Casa degli Artisti, where, to mark the World Expo 2025 in Osaka, the Product Design Master program has joined forces with Karimoku New Standard and Presence Switzerland on the design of ten unique models of stackable wooden chairs.
Searching for more, and even more expansive, showcases? Take to Milan’s world-class art institutions, from the hypnotic, David Chipperfield-designed Mudec and the former locomotive manufacturer-turned-contemporary creative expression haven Pirelli HangarBicocca (home to Anselm Kiefer’s towering The Seven Heavenly Palaces) to Triennale Milano, the Adi Design Museum, Armani/Silos, ICA Milano, and Fondazione Prada for more inspiration.
Installation view of Yukinori Yanagi’s solo exhibition ICARUS, which continues at Pirelli HangarBicocca through July 27.
(Image credit: Courtesy of Pirelli HangarBicocca)
How to Get to Salone del Mobile 2025?
• From Milano Malpensa — As Livingetc‘s Global Brand Director Sarah Spiteri pointed out, flying to Milano Malpensa is your most convenient option if you plan on attending Salone del Mobile during Milan Design Week 2025. From there, BusForFun will take you for free to Rho Fiera, where the event takes place — all you need to do is register by entering the code SALONEMILANO2025. Alternatively, the Malpensa Shuttle, Malpensa Bus Express, and Malpensa Express connections will also be available.
• From Milano Linate — Salone del Mobile 2025 can be easily reached from Milano Linate via the Metro M4 Linea Blu and the Linate Shuttle connection.
• From Orio al Serio Airport (Bergamo) — Although located further out of town, Orio al Serio Airport will allow you to reach both Salone del Mobile and the other creative locations of Milan Design Week 2025 via the Orio Express and Orio Shuttle services.
• From central Milan — Traveling by public transport will save you precious time to make the most of Milan Design Week 2025 while also reducing the environmental impact of your visit. To get to Salone del Mobile, simply board a M1 (Linea Rossa) train to Rho-Fieramilano, which links the industrial venue to most key locations across the city. The commute is less than half an hour, and the buzzy viavai of people will put you in the mood for great design.
The Salone del Mobile Design Kiosk will return for the fair’s latest edition, making the ultimate stop for printed matter lovers.
(Image credit: Alessandro Mitola)
Where to Buy Tickets for Salone del Mobile 2025?
Designers, architects, and press can apply for accreditation directly on Salone del Mobile’s website, while the wider public can purchase their tickets (Trade Visitors; General Public; Students; Travel Agencies and Groups).
Salone del Mobile’s Access and Opening Hours
Hosted within the sprawling, aerial web that is the Massimiliano Fuksas-designed Rho fairground, the Salone del Mobile pavilions will span a near 210,000-square-meter surface. This means there isn’t just a lot to see, but it also takes a good amount of movement to do so. Despite its vastity, the great news is that the fiera was conceived to be fully accessible.
Running April 8-13, Salone del Mobile will be open 9.30 AM-6.30 PM for operators, the public, and students, and 8.30 am-6.30 PM for press. The event will be open to the design community on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13, while students will be welcome on April 11, 12, and 13.
The Livingetc Milan Design Week 2025 Map
Keen to attend most of the above events but scared you’ll struggle remembering where everything is at? Get the Livingetc Milan Design Week 2025 Map — your cheatsheet to all things MDF 2025, from happenings, galleries, and museums to trendy hangouts.
