Inspiration Station: 10 Best Installations At Milan Design Week 2025
Photography: Tomaso Lisca and Luca Argenton; Courtesy of Artemest
You've packed your comfiest trainers and worked out your game plan for exploring the Fiera Milano Rho, the stage for multi-storey booths featuring the latest furniture collections. While a lot unfolds on the expansive fairgrounds of Salone del Mobile, the coolest installations actually happen outside the fair.
From taking in the festival vibes at Brera and Cinque Vie to stepping inside private palazzos and hidden courtyards that open their doors just for the occasion, Milan Design Week is an inspiration (and sensory) overload. There won't be enough time to see everything, but it's worth planning a pitstop at these immersive installations.
The cocktail room at L'Appartamento by Artemest 2024
Photography: Tomaso Lisca and Luca Argenton; Courtesy of Artemest
Trust Artemest to choose a stunning backdrop to its showcase, especially as it marks its 10th anniversary this year. The setting? The historic Palazzo Donizetti, a 19th-century masterpiece that usually serves as the VIP space for Alberto Ferretti.
For Milan Design Week 2025, they invited six international designers — Romanek Design Studio, Champalimaud Design, 1508 London, Meyer Davis, Nebras Alijoaib, and Simone Haag — and tasked them to each transform a room using bespoke pieces from over 180 Italian artisans, brands and artists under the Artemest umbrella.
April 8 - 13, 2025; Palazzo Donizetti, Via Gaetano Donizetti 48, Milan
Known for his sculptural lighting designs, Michael Anastassiades unveils his latest collection at the grand Palazzo Danese — a space reopening for the first time 20 years. An initiative by the Jacqueline Vodoz and Bruno Danese Foundation, this exhibition is extra special for Anastassiades as he's long time admirer of Bruno Danese's work. Expect to find a strikingly modern set-up and new modular lighting pieces including a portable lamp in collaboration with Alessi.
April 7 - 13, 2025; Fondazione Danese, Via Santa Maria Fulcorina 17, 20123 Milan
Marimekko collaborates with Leila Gohar on a bedroom-themed installation for Milan Design Week 2025
Courtesy of Marimekko
Marimekko is a brand that knows how to have fun, and that's exactly their aim at Milan Design Week 2025. They tapped creative force Laila Gohar, a New York-based artist known for her conceptual work revolving around food, to design an installation that encourages visitors to explore the 'softer side of things'.
Occupying the foyer of Teatro Litta, the Finnish brand and Gohar create a whimsical bedroom-themed installation featuring a grand-scale bed swathed in bold, colorful archival stripes by Maija Isola. The bed serves as a platform for daily activations as well as a peek into a new capsule collection by Gohar launching in September 2025.
April 7 - 13, 2025; Teatro Litta, Corso Magenta 24, 20123 Milan
Any design lover who's been to Kyoto has surely stopped at Kaikado cafe to experience the world of Japan's oldest tea caddy manufacturer. Since 1875, they've been producing tea caddies exactly the same way — a practice honored in a new tome by specialist publisher ERG media.
The sumptuously designed Kaikado 150 book is printed in two different types of paper and wonderful metallic inks, a tribute to the intricate craftsmanship of Kaikado. The book will be launched with a special installation featuring 150 tea caddies set in one of Milan's most beautiful courtyards. Five Japanese artisans are travelling to Milan for the occasion, the first time they're holding a public display of their craft.
Kaikado 150 is launching on April 9 (pre orders here) and the installation opens on April 10 to 12, 2025; ERG Media, Via Bernardino Luini 12, 20123 Milan
Aline Asmar d'Amman at Galleria Rossana Orlandi in Milan
Photography: Giulio Ghirardi; Courtesy of Aline Asmar d'Amman
Have you really done FuoriSalone properly if you haven't set foot at Galleria Rossana Orlandi? One of the world's foremost places for contemporary design, the gallery is a treasure trove of talent perfect for lingering.
Explore the various spaces indoors and out, including the Power of Tenderness — a showcase of designer Aline Asmar d'Amman's evocative creations including the Georgia sofa and Béton Littéraire bookshelf. In addition, discover the work of Brazilian designer Lucas Recchia, who has been represented by the gallery since 2021. From a new large-scale mirror to his well-loved Morfa No. 01 side tables, his collectible design pieces are pure eye candy.
From April 7 - 13, 2025 at Galleria Rossana Orlandi, via Matteo Bandello 16, 20123 Milan. Power of Tenderness runs until July 31, 2025.
Calico Wallpaper has long sought to bring art into everyday spaces through wall coverings that go beyond a pretty print. They're out to do it again with Particulaire, an installation with design studio Stephen Burks Man Made inspired by exotic souvenirs picked up on a trip. Taking over the courtyard of Instituto dei Ciechi, the bespoke composition is meant to spark wanderlust, but also think about the role of travel and the stories behind the objects we bring home.
April 8 - 12, 2025; Instituto dei Ceichi, Via Vivaio 8, Milan
Layer presents 101010 at Milan Design Week 2025
Courtesy of Scott Hobson-Jones and LAYER
Layer, the studio led by Benjamin Hubert, has been pushing boundaries over the last decade. To mark their 10th anniversary, they're pulling out all the stops with an ambitious exhibition at 10 Corso Como that weaves art, technology, and sustainability.
Called 101010, one part of the exhibition is a retrospective of collaborations with brands like Bang & Olufsen, Nike and Vitra, displaying the breadth of the studio's work. They're also debuting a new collection dubbed 101010, which is described as 'six pioneering social design prototypes' made with pioneering brands like Kvadrat and Muuto.
Corso Como 10, 20154 Milan
A preview of Exodus, an installation by Bolon at Milan Design Week 2025
Courtesy of Bolon
A Milanese house is the setting for Exodus, an installation presented by Swedish brand Bolon in collaboration with multidisciplinary designers Luca Nichetto and JoAnn Tan. Making use of the colorful sustainable woven flooring, the two designers created a vibrant interplay of 'mysterious anthropomorphic creatures that appear to be in a process of evolution', created to complement the historic space that was once a textile factory.
For Marie Eklund and Annica Eklund, the sisters who lead Bolon, the installation showcases a creative exploration of their products, all of which contain 68% waste material with zero climate impact in every square meter. 'The installation combines bold innovation and craftsmanship to explore new possibilities for Bolon's material, transforming it into something unexpected and extraordinary. It is not just about flooring — it is about storytelling, exploration, and creating a truly memorable experience.'
April 8 - 13, 2025 at Viale Lombardia, 56 20131 Milano MI, Italy
Range Rover launches its first-ever installation at Milan Design Week 2025
Courtesy of Range Rover
Luxury carmaker Range Rover joins hands with Nuova, a California-based studio who are experts in crafting immersive experiences. Located in the 18th century Palazzo Belgioioso, their first foray into Milan Design Week will be a visual narration of Range Rover's evolution from 1970 to 2025 with a scenography that includes a seventies dealership. In an effort to delight all the senses, the installation will also feature bespoke scents by Aeir, Nuova's carbon negative luxury fragrance brand, as well as custom furniture and a curated playlist.
April 8 - 11, 2025; Palazzo Belgioioso, 2, 20121 Milan
The growing relevance of third spaces and what unfolds within is at the heart of this installation at Straf, a 19th century palazzo-turned-hotel in central Milan. Design Hotels collaborated with Universal Design Studio to create a conceptual showcase consisting of an evolving 16-piece modular system that changes daily. Like the vibrant in-between spaces we inhabit such as restaurants and hotel lobbies, the imaginative installation hopes to foster interaction between people, objects and the world beyond.
April 8 - 9, 2025; Straf, Via S. Raffaele 3, 20121 Milan
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