The Hypebeast Guide to Milan Design Week 2024
Featuring toilets by Samuel Ross, an installation by David Lynch, and rising stars aplenty.
The Hypebeast Guide to Milan Design Week 2024
Featuring toilets by Samuel Ross, an installation by David Lynch, and rising stars aplenty.
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There really is something for everyone at Milan Design Week. From tech and cars, to luxury fashion and experimental materials – the districts across the city all play host to a wide range of activations across the course of the week.
This year’s week-long festival officially kicks off on April 15, and as per-usual we’re here to help you navigate your way through the blockbuster installations and the small-scale independent shows. There’s a handy map here, which also sheds light on the key districts: 5Vie, Brera, Tortona, Isola, Centrale, Triennale di Milano, and Porto Venezia to name a few.
See below for our pick of the must-see’s, and keep your eye on our Milan Design Week coverage over on Instagram, via our dedicated design vertical, Hypeform.
Barazante Ateliers
Baranzate Ateliers will being together 35 studios in a space just five minutes from the city’s Linate airport. Signature to the initiative’s concept, the show will transform a vast industrial space into a hotbed for discovery. Of the studios taking part, we’re most excited to see the solo show of Laurids Gallee’s, titled “Hazy Gymnastics”, hosted by collectible design gallery Objects With Narratives.
1st, IKEA
At Padiglione Visconti, IKEA will work with architect Midori Hasuike and spatial designer Emerzon to create an exhibition that evokes the sensations of moving away from home for the first time. The huge space will be zoned with a variety of activations. A mezzanine will be dressed up in IKEA bedroom classics, while the restaurant will serve the brand’s iconic hotdogs. At night, the venue will become a destination for music with programmes spotlighting the local scene. Elsewhere, student projects will be on show, and new products (including inflatable furniture) will also be revealed.
Padiglione Visconti, via Tortona 58
Alcova
Alcova returns for another edition, promising a show full of rising stars and major brands. This time, the show is split across two iconic villas: Villa Borsani and Villa Bagatti Valsecchi (which are a little out of town, so make sure to plan in enough time). Expect a feast for the eyes against an *elevated* domestic backdrop – with projects from over 70 exhibitors.
Villa Borsani and Villa Bagatti Valsecchi
Design Ancora, Gucci
Gucci’s “Design Ancora” show will include five special-edition objects that symbolize “Italianity” — and, more specifically, “Milananness.” Inside the Via Montenapoleone flagship store architect Guillermo Santomal will design an installation that displays the objects, which will each be reinterpretations of old icons.
Gucci Flagship, Via Montenapoleone
Capsule Plaza
Capsule Plaza was possibly the highlight of last year’s Milan Design Week. We’ve got high hopes for 2024’s edition, which will be spread across both Spazio Maiocchi and 10 Corso Como. At Spazio Maiocchi, brands incliding Rimowa, Nike, Tiffany&Co, Iitala, Ugg and Ecco Leather will partner with designers to create installations. Over at 10 Corso Como, there will be an immersive experience – currently under wraps – created in collaboration with Verpan (Verner Panton’s label).
Spazio Maiocchi and 10 Corso Como
Salone del Mobile
When you get to the Salone del Mobile fair in Rho, head straight for Salone Satellite to check out the latest crop of up and coming talent. Then, make your way over to the immersive installations and talks arena’s which have been designed by the likes of Formafantasma and filmmaker David Lynch. A somewhat unprecedented collaboration, Lynch will create the two identical mirrored “thinking rooms” wrapped in a blue velvet curtain. The rest, the fair says, is a “surprise”.
The Farm Shop
We first saw The Farm Shop open its doors during last year’s London Design Festival. A unanimous hit, the initiative – spearheaded by design collectives Fels and Grymsdyke Farm – will make its debut in Milan, celebrating the “conviviality of everyday objects”. At Theatro Milano, the likes of Theodóra Alfreðsdóttir, EJR Barnes, Juli Bolaños-Durman, Marco Campardo, Guan Lee, Miranda Keyes, Andu Masebo, Jaclyn Pappalardo, Parti, and Jamie Wolfond will showcase works in an installation that will no-doubt be one of the week’s best.
Nuova Group
California-based research and innovation design practice Nuova Group will create a time portal within the walls of a Milanese restaurant. Arriving at Via Stampa, guests will be transported to 1971 America, with furniture, lighting, tailored garments, fragrance, music, gastronomy and performances all playing their own part.
Dropcity, in Progress
Dropcity is set to become the city’s hub for architecture and design, and is currently under construction in and around a series of tunnels at the back of the Central Station. For the design week, the team presents “Dropcity in—progress” – where visitors will be able to see the build happen in real-time, accompanied by a series exhibitions, talks, experiments, and sound explorations.
New Store, by Nieuwe Instituut
Rotterdam’s Nieuwe Instituut is setting up shop in the Isola district this year, in a bid to explore the ways we exchange and consume throughout our daily lives. Here, the idea of “shopping” is proposed as something that helps the environment, rather than causing it harm. “Can a store help our planet to sustain life, instead of just consuming natural resources? Can shopping ever contribute to the regeneration of the living world?,” they ask. We’re looking forward to finding out.
12 Chairs For Meditation, Andrés Reisinger at Nilufar Depot
Andrés Reisinger’s work has reached far and wide over the last few years. At Nilufar Depot, he unveils a solo show as part of the gallery’s wider programme. Named “12 Chairs for Meditation”, the exhibition will – as the name suggests – feature a series of new chairs, alongside a sit-specific mosaic installation and a musical piece composed by Reisinger himself.
Under Pressure Solutions, ECAL
ECAL – the École cantonale d’art de Lausanne – always presents exciting projects during Salone. This year, the students come together to showcase “UPS – Under Pressure Solutions” – an experimental research project aimed at “reducing the environmental impact of the furniture industry” through the use of shape memory materials. It’s an interesting concept to showcase at the world’s biggest design week, and is the result of the work of five practicing industrial designers teaching at ECAL, as well Master Product Design students.
Making Sense of Color, Google
This installation looks to explore the “sensorial qualities of color”, and will feature a series of interactive light and sound installations. “Guided by specific sensations inspired by different colors, guests explore how color shapes our perceptions and experiences,” the organisers say. Typical of Google’s Milan shows, we’re expecting “Making Sense of Colour” to be fully immersive, and a perfect place to spend reflective time away from the crowds.
Rude Arts Club, Faye Toogood
Faye Toogood’s Rude Arts Club looks to be a textural, atmospheric showcase. Here, the London-based designer (who will elsewhere be showcasing a debut collection with Poltrona Frau) will create a space that brings together two new launches: Cosmic, a furniture capsule by Toogood for Tacchini, and Rude, a rug collection for cc-tapis.
Omi Iyo, Nifemi Marcus-Bello
In the 5vie district, Nifemi Marcus-Bello will create an installation titled “Omi Iyo” – meaning “salt water” in Yoruba. Curated by Anna Carnick, the installation was first shown in Miami last year, and sees salt continuously flowing from a mirrored vessel. Through this movement, Marcus-Bello is visually representing the dangerous journeys of undocumented migrants from Africa to Europe – the salt being a “poetic marker honoring the very real human toll of this crisis.”
Palazzo Litta, Corso Magenta, 24
An Invitation to Dream, Moncler
Moncler is making a big statement for its activation this year – claiming to turn the Milano Centrale railway station into “one of the world’s largest public galleries”. Curated by Jefferson Hack, the show will feature works from a wide range of creatives – including Daniel Arsham, Deepak Chopra, Isamaya Ffrench, Laila Gohar, Francesca Hayward, Ruth Rogers, and Rina Sawayama. According to the bramd, the show will take over all of the billboards to create a “dreamscape” of sorts, featuring images and quotes from the exhibited artists.
Convey
Convey returns for its second edition, with the continued mission of connecting contemporary brands to the wider industry. This year, exhibitors include Vero, Magniberg, Rira objects, and Project 213A (among many, many others). “The purpose is to accelerate their growth path with sinergy: creating opportunities and promoting shared values with the aim of contributing to the construction of the new international design scenario,” say the curators, Simple Flair studio.
Taiwan Pavilion
In the Brera district, 15 Taiwanese studios and brands will come together to showcase how they use their practice to address global issues. Projects will be directed from a series of questions that are each looking to uncover the role of design and its impact on contemporary society.
Terminal 02, Samuel Ross and Kohler
Yes it’s a toilet, but it might just be the best toilet we’ve seen. Designed by Samuel Ross for Kohler, the Formation 02 loo will be unveiled in a large-scale site-specific installation titled Terminal 02. The Palazzo del Senato will be transformed into a maze-like network of industrial pipes that takes its aesthetic cues from Brutalist details, in reference to the toilet itself.
“On the Rocks”, Bottega Veneta
Off of the back of the partnership that began at their latest show, Bottega Veneta, Cassina and Fondation Le Corbusier will present “On the Rocks”, a large-scale installation at Palazzo San Fedele. Here, the LC14 Tabouret Cabanon that lined the runway will be on show, as well as some new limited-edition pieces featuring Bottega Veneta leatherwork.
