Jil Sander and Apartamento will present Reference Library at Milan Design Week
At the upcoming Milan Design Week, Jil Sander and Apartamento will present Reference Library, an installation that stages a quiet rebellion against digital skimming by inviting visitors into a space of deliberate reflection. The installation features a collection of 60 books curated by a global circle of visionaries – including prominent architects, filmmakers and writers – each representing the personal references that have fundamentally shaped their creative trajectories.
The curated library includes contributions from an eclectic group of cultural leaders, including Jil Sander creative director Simone Bellotti, alongside influential figures such as Ronan Bouroullec, Jasper Morrison and Hans Ulrich Obrist. Other notable participants include musician Lykke Li, filmmaker Celine Song and artists Rirkrit Tiravanija and Faye Toogood. By bringing together these diverse perspectives, Reference Library offers an intimate look into the foundational texts that continue to inspire some of the most significant voices in contemporary design and art.
The physical space, designed by the Milanese practice Studio Utte, is engineered to foster an atmosphere of deliberate reflection. The interior utilizes mirrored walls and chrome lecterns to display the selected titles, creating a stark, focused environment for study. To emphasize the sanctity of the physical book in an era of instant access, the exhibition has been designed as a specific ritual. Entry is strictly limited to 60 hourly slots, and visitors are required to wear white gloves provided at the entrance to handle the delicate collection.
Reference Library will take place at the Jil Sander showroom at the annual Milan Design Week, from April 20 – 24, 2026.
Moooi 25 and Promising
A Silver Celebration by Moooi, in partnership with Superstudio Design: Moooi reflects on its roots to propel imagination fearlessly forward
During Milan Design Week, from April 20 to April 26, 2026, Moooi invites visitors to experience Moooi 25 and Promising in collaboration with Superstudio Design. Returning to where it all began, Moooi presents a large-scale immersive installation at Superstudio Più, alongside Moooi Milan in the heart of the city.
Wrapped in silver – raw, rough and reflective – Moooi reveals a world where icons are reengineered, light becomes movement and imagination is propelled fearlessly forward. Across both locations, visitors encounter new designs, evolving icons and layered environments where material, technology and storytelling come together to shape extraordinary interiors.
Alongside the Superstudio presentation, Moooi Milan opens its doors for a layered exploration of our evolving world – from new designs to iconic pieces that continue to surprise and delight.
And that’s only the beginning. More moments, gatherings and celebrations will unfold throughout the week.
Superstudio Più Via Tortona 27, 20144, Tortona, Milan
Moooi Milan Via Filippo Turati 2, 20121, Brera, Milan
Kelly Wearstler H&M Home collection is the Scandinavian company’s first furniture collaboration and the designer’s Milan debut
Unveiled at Milan Design Week 2026, the Kelly Wearstler H&M Home collection is the Scandinavian company’s first furniture collaboration and the designer’s Milan debut
Kelly Wearstler H&M Home is the new collection based on a creative collaboration between the American design doyenne and the Scandinavian brand, based on an idea of accessible, democratic design.
To be launched at Milan Design Week 2026 through a site-specific installation by Studio Boum at Palazzo Acerbi, the collection features furniture, lighting and accessories that speak Weastler’s rich aesthetic language while being based on a modular approach.
The collection also marks Wearstler’s Milan Design Week debut, as well as H&M Home’s first furniture collaboration with a creative.
Among the collection’s highlights are a series of modular lounge chairs, lamps and vases whose designs are based on outlines and silhouettes, side tables and trays experimenting with mix-and-match material combinations – the material palette for the collection including wood, metal, ceramics, marble and textiles.
21-26 April 2026, Palazzo Acerbi, Corso di Porta Romana, 3, Milan
“Renaissance of the Real” by Swiss designer Annabelle Schneider explores human perception and connection to step outside digital saturation
USM Modular Furniture, in partnership with the transdisciplinary architecture studio Snøhetta, is proud to announce Renaissance of the Real, a multisensory installation by Swiss artist and experience designer Annabelle Schneider. Debuting at the prestigious Fondazione Luigi Rovati during Milan Design Week (April 20–26, 2026), the project invites visitors to step outside digital acceleration and rediscover the sensory intelligence of the physical body.
The Vision: Presence Cannot Be Downloaded
We live in an era of hyper-connectivity, yet feel increasingly disconnected from our surroundings. While algorithms shape our desires more than reality, our attention becomes fragmented. Renaissance of the Real serves as a conceptual counterpoint to this digital saturation. The installation explores how carefully designed physical spaces can restore presence, perception, and human connection in an age increasingly shaped by technology.
Renaissance of the Real’
Fondazione Luigi Rovati, Corso Venezia 52, Milan
Palazzo Molteni Host “Il Conforto Dell’Architetto / The Archiect’s’ Relief”, Works by Michele de Lucchi
From April 14, 2026, Palazzo Molteni will host Il C onforto dell’architetto / The Architect’s Relief, an exhibition dedicated to the work of Michele De Lucchi, presented in partnership with Antonia Jannone Disegni di Architettura , the historic Milanese gallery founded in 1977 , and with Francesca Molteni.
The title of the exhibition takes its cue from the book “Il C onforto dell’architetto ”, written with psycho -socioanalyst Giuseppe Varchetta, in which Michele De Lucchi reflects on the pain an architect feels when seeing a piece of land occupied by a new building. “As architects, we are going through a paradoxical situation: in order to do our work, we continue to build, to occupy space and land, perpetuating a practice that today we increasingly perceive as invasive toward nature. And nature seems to rebel against human activity, sending signals through climate change and extreme weather events. On the other hand, someone mu st create our living environment, which is essential to meet our
expectations and ambitions because, for better or worse, we are animals that constantly change.”
The exhibition brings together around forty works, some shown for the first time in Milan, born from radical questions: what is the architect’s contribution today? Where is the boundary between building and occupying? What responsibility does each design gesture entail?
The exhibition path unfolds through sculptures such as Sasso , Edificio vuoto , Pagliaio, Legno Cucito , Casetta ; tempera paintings on paper such as Cultivation Station , Architettura ideografica , Casa con Abbaini ; and compositions of pencil dra wings. These works take shape as reflections on material and making, the outcomes of an intimate and meditative process. A body of work that translates into plastic and pictorial form questions developed over more than fifty years of research. The works on display represent a space of freedom, where the architect suspends engagement with clients and the market to work on himself, choosing his own interlocutor and directly engaging with matter.
Il conforto dell’architetto / The Architect’s Relief is an invitation to enter this space of reflection, where art, architecture, and thought intertwine. Line after line, day after day, time settles into marks, wood, and drawings: a poetic hatching that accompanies the flow of life.
“Il conforto dell’architetto / The Architect’s Relief”, works by Michele De Lucchi
in collaboration with Antonia Jannone Disegni di Architettura
Molteni Galleria
Palazzo Molteni, Molteni&C Flagship Store
Via Manzoni, 9, 20121 Milano
Fornasetti and CC-Tapis Reinterpret a selection of Archival motifs in a project that brings together Art, Irony and Artisanal Savoir Faire
The collection brings the imaginative and almost dreamlike universe of Fornasetti into the tactile, material world of cc-tapis, merging two emblematic forces of Italian design. The collection takes shape as a visual and conceptual dialogue between Fornasetti’s symbolic and timeless imagery — filled with illusion, irony, and storytelling — and the experimental vision of cc-tapis, which has long explored the rug as an expressive surface, a design space, and a collectible object.
The result is a collection in which each rug becomes a stage, evoking a theatricality suspended between fiction and function. Trompe-l’oeil, fragmentations, rhythmic variations, and graphic details merge with refined textures, transforming each piece into a narrative “act” ready to inhabit a space with character and personality.
The variety of techniques and materials employed reflects the project’s expressive richness. Each rug is handcrafted using fine natural fibers such as Himalayan wool, merino wool, and silk — selected by cc-tapis to enhance the details and nuances of Fornasetti’s visual world. The sheen of the wool, the softness of merino, and the luminosity of silk all contribute to expressing the graphic depth and optical illusion characteristic of the distinctive style of the Milanese atelier.
Piazza Santo Stefano 10, Milan
Ikea’s immersive ‘Food for Thought’ exhibition, where culinary creativity meets interior design
IKEA might be best known for its meatballs, but for the 2026 Milan Design Week, the Swedish furniture giant is venturing far beyond the spherical delights.
Held in the bustling Porta Venezia district from April 21 to 26 – and free for anyone to pop by – IKEA introduces ‘Food for Thought’, an immersive exhibition that explores “how design reflects the way we cook, eat, and connect with each other.”
Co-created with acclaimed interior designers and chefs plucked from across the globe, much like the rooms we roam through in IKEA stores, the showcase features a must-see installation housing five distinct room settings. The spaces have been co-curated by five creative duos, which pair an interior designer with a chef. The result? Playful, vibrant rooms where IKEA’s design prowess meets the culinary world, with both the surroundings and the menu inspired by everyday, food-centred moments at home.
Spazio Maiocchi, – at Via Achille Maiocchi 7 – in Porta Venezia during Milan Design Week
Dialoghi: A Chromatic Conversation at Paola Lenti Milano
For Milano Design Week 2026, Paola Lenti presents Dialoghi, an immersive exhibition staged at the brand’s Milan flagship on Paola Lenti Milano. Conceived as a spatial and sensorial narrative, the project explores the interplay between colour, material, and form within an environment where architecture, design and nature converge.
At the heart of the exhibition is an exploration of colour as a design language. Installed in the gallery space, more than forty colour families unfold across Paola Lenti’s extensive range of textiles and materials. These chromatic compositions establish a series of subtle “dialogues,” revealing emotional and tactile nuances while reflecting the brand’s longstanding research into material innovation.
Rooted in the company’s creative heritage, the installation extends Paola Lenti’s distinctive design culture—one that continuously evolves while maintaining a recognizable identity across both indoor and outdoor environments. The exhibition interprets dialogue as a dynamic exchange: between colours and textures, between objects and space, and ultimately between different sensibilities.
Throughout Dialoghi, indoor and outdoor furnishings coexist within a cohesive narrative shaped by experimentation and material exploration. Each element gains meaning through its relationship with the surrounding space, contributing to a harmonious whole.
For Barovier&Toso, 2026 marks a moment of transition rather than closure.
With 2026 Chapter 1, the historic Murano glassmaker opens a new phase—one that looks ahead while remaining deeply rooted in centuries of craft, material knowledge, and experimentation.
Under the artistic direction of Luca Nichetto, the Maison introduces a renewed visual identity designed by Studio Blanco. More than a graphic update, the identity reflects a shift in perspective—framing heritage as something active and evolving, rather than fixed in time.
This new chapter is expressed through a series of collections created by Nichetto alongside an international group of designers, including CKR, Emmanuel Babled, Studio Lani, Keiji Ashizawa, and Garcia Cumini. Together, these voices bring diverse sensibilities to Murano glass, expanding its expressive potential while respecting its technical depth.
Rather than revisiting the past, 2026 Chapter 1 treats history as a foundation. Traditional techniques remain present, but they are interpreted through contemporary forms, proportions, and narratives—allowing glass to respond to today’s interiors and ways of living.
Within this framework, Barovier&Toso positions its legacy as a living system.
Craftsmanship is not preserved as memory alone, but activated through collaboration, design direction, and openness to new ideas. The result is a body of work that feels confident yet exploratory, grounded yet forward-facing.
Via Durini, 5 — Milan
Buccellati’s iconic Caviar silver collection through the imaginative lens of Luke Edward Hall
Silver, for Buccellati, has always carried more than material value. It holds time, patience, and the quiet rhythm of craftsmanship refined over generations. With Aquae Mirabiles, the Maison turns this sensibility into an immersive narrative—one that flows gently between heritage, imagination, and artisanal mastery.
The installation celebrates Buccellati’s iconic Caviar silver collection through the imaginative lens of Luke Edward Hall. Curated by Federica Sala and brought to life by Balich Wonder Studio, Aquae Mirabiles reinterprets the collection’s distinctive universe as a fluid, immersive environment—where delicate silver spheres become the starting point of a precious visual story.
For this occasion, Buccellati unveils an extension of the Caviar collection, originally conceived in the 1930s, introducing a new family of flatware. The addition feels less like an update and more like a natural continuation—honoring the Maison’s historic language while allowing it to evolve with contemporary grace.
Throughout the installation, the sphere emerges as both motif and metaphor. Echoing the hand-engraved silver beads that define Caviar, it becomes a symbol of timelessness and continuity—suggesting a process shaped by repetition, care, and human touch. Light, reflection, and surface interact quietly, reinforcing the idea of craftsmanship as something to be observed slowly.
In Aquae Mirabiles, Buccellati frames silver not as ornament alone, but as a medium of storytelling. Here, material becomes memory, technique becomes poetry, and the act of making reveals itself as the ultimate expression of luxury—measured not in excess, but in patience and precision.
Image courtesy of Buccellati
Piazza Tomasi di Lampedusa
Sail Away brings together Greek designer Leda Athanasopoulou and Chinese artist Yumo Yuan
Craft is one of the oldest manifestations of human aspiration. Not merely to produce, but to wish well — to embed hope, care, and meaning into the things we live among.
Sail Away brings together Greek designer Leda Athanasopoulou and Chinese artist Yumo Yuan, practitioners inside the living traditions of two of the world’s most enduring cultures. Silk weavings, fired clay, painted chairs, votive shoes. Objects made to wish well.
Sail Away
Via Nullo 6, 20129, Milan
Through Shared Matter, Pro Helvetia frames design as an ongoing conversation
For Pro Helvetia, presence in Milan has never been about representation alone. It is a space for exchange—where design moves beyond borders, shaped by dialogue, collaboration, and shared processes. With Shared Matter, a new chapter opens for the Swiss presence in Milan, building on the legacy of House of Switzerland Milano while shifting the focus toward what comes next.
Set within the Milanese gallery SPAZIOVENTO in the Brera district, the exhibition unfolds as a meeting ground for emerging voices shaping the future of Swiss design. Here, national identity becomes fluid, defined less by geography and more by networks of collaboration that extend across disciplines and cultures.
Rather than presenting finished statements, Shared Matter foregrounds process. Ideas, practices, and materials converge within the space, revealing how design is formed through exchange—between makers, contexts, and ways of thinking. The exhibition invites visitors to consider design as a collective act, one that evolves through openness rather than isolation.
In this setting, the gallery becomes a working environment as much as a place of display. Materials speak to one another, methods overlap, and boundaries between disciplines begin to soften. What emerges is not a singular vision, but a shared landscape shaped by curiosity, experimentation, and mutual influence.
Through Shared Matter, Pro Helvetia frames design as an ongoing conversation—one rooted in collaboration and attentive to the realities of a connected world. It is a reflection on how contemporary practice is built today: together, across borders, and through shared responsibility.
Image courtesy of Pro Helvetia
SPAZIOVENTO | Via Pinamonte da Vimercate, 4
