MILAN DESIGN WEEK 2025: THE ESSENTIAL EDIT

Milan transforms once again into the global epicenter of design innovation as Milan Design Week 2025 brings together the world’s most visionary creators, curators, and design enthusiasts. This year’s edition promises an extraordinary convergence of established masters and emerging talents across the city’s diverse venues—from historic palazzos to industrial spaces reborn through creative vision.

Our essential guide cuts through the overwhelming array of exhibitions to spotlight the truly unmissable experiences. Read on for ADORNO’s selection of groundbreaking installations, experimental materials, and boundary-pushing concepts that define this year’s design conversation. Whether you’re drawn to sustainable innovation, sensory experiences, or collectible objects that challenge conventional thinking, these are the destinations that demand your attention during this celebration of global design excellence.

Capsule Plaza

Returning for its third groundbreaking edition, Capsule Plaza continues to energize Milan Design Week while expanding its global footprint. This dynamic hybrid between fair and collective exhibition brings together visionary designers and companies across creative disciplines, seamlessly connecting industry with culture through bold, multi-sensory curation.

Don’t miss R100 by Hydro, a remarkable experiment in hyperlocal design presenting stunning works created entirely within a 100km radius of Milan—from locally sourced post-consumer scrap to finished objects. The five designers, unaware of the production constraints, delivered a striking collection of mono-material aluminum pieces that proves sustainability needn’t compromise excellence. Equally unmissable is Friedman Benda Gallery & Misha Kahn’s FAR AFIELD collaboration, where the pioneering gallery and designer inject delightful spontaneity into domestic spaces with works like “Azimuth,” a sprawling grid of vibrant mirrors, and “Euphausiids Delight,” a center table inspired by marine crustaceans.

Romantic Brutalism. A Journey into Polish Craft and Design

“Romantic Brutalism: A Journey into Polish Craft and Design” offers a compelling celebration of Poland’s design heritage, marking the centenary of the nation’s 1925 reemergence on the global stage at the Paris Exposition following a century of foreign rule. Through a series of curated encounters, the exhibition underscores the importance of themes relating to nature and post-nature, and how historical influence of brutalism, romanticism, decadence, folk, and art deco continues to shape contemporary Polish design culture.

The objects created by twenty-three selected designers will be presented in sections that emphasize the role of materials such as wood, glass, ceramics, steel, as well as lace and textiles. Coordinated by the newly established Visteria Foundation (founded by publisher and arts patron Katarzyna Jordan), this showcase brings Polish creativity to Milan. Don’t miss the elemental the remarkable collectible glassware by Szkło or sensory-engaging pieces that bring unexpected tranquility through their thoughtful approach to materials and form by Hasik Design Studio.

COMUNE

Building on the presence of the incredible Polish design scene, COMUNE returns to Milan Design Week with its second edition, continuing its mission to redefine how design is presented in urban spaces. Born from a desire to showcase creatives in non-obvious settings, its inaugural event attracted approximately 2,000 visitors in just three days, affirming the appetite for this fresh approach. Co-curated by the visionary team of The Good Living Co., LEXAVALA, and DÉRIVE, alongside acclaimed set designer Anna Szczesny, this year’s exhibition promises a boundary-pushing experience that merges various design disciplines in dynamic new ways.

Alcova

Alcova, the groundbreaking platform established in 2018 by curators Valentina Ciuffi and Joseph Grima, returns as a key fixture in Milan Design Week. Known for uniting emerging talents with established designers in unconventional, historically rich locations, Alcova expands this year to four distinct venues: the former SNIA factory and Pasino glasshouses join Villa Bagatti Valsecchi and Villa Borsani from the previous edition, where ADORNO presented Animism.

Don’t miss Ghost Orchid by Marcin Rusak Studio at the former Pasino Greenhouses, an immersive exploration of creativity, material innovation, and time through 3D-printed PLA sculptures inspired by flower breeding. Equally compelling is Forma Rosa Studio’s Coexist, transforming an underground bunker with biomorphic ceramic lighting sculptures that evoke nature itself.

SKNYPL’s Six Benches installation offers an endlessly adaptable geometric composition that shifts from incredibly long bench to chaise lounge according to user interpretation. Studio Bovti brings two exquisite collections—Kinoko and Cartapesta—that seamlessly integrate nature’s delicate wonders where elegance meets playfulness. The New Raw presents Knotty, a stool featuring a digitally knitted surface that allows water and air passage while creating a sculptural quality when stacked. Be sure to take the opportunity to experience ESTO’s Disguise series in person—radical, eclectic seating unlike anything you’ve seen before.

Tactile Baltics at MoscaPartners Variations

Tactile Baltics at MoscaPartners Variations presents an immersive showcase of contemporary design from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Visitors will encounter a sensory display featuring furniture, lighting, textiles, tableware, and collectible design from 21 designers, all demonstrating exceptional commitment to material experimentation, sustainability, and circular principles.

The exhibition invites attendees to engage through a tactile lens, experiencing the fascinating intersection of traditional craftsmanship with modern technology. Don’t miss Mantas Lesauskas’s futuristic expressions that create a harmonious confluence between the ancient and avant-garde, Dace Suna’s immersive, experimental lighting installations that transform space through illumination, Vilius Drigelis’s unique pieces combining innovative digital technologies with unexpected materials, and Liepa Marija Gradauskaitė’s soft yet bold designs that remain contemporary while sparking joy through their uniqueness and accessibility.

Henning Larsen Growing Matters

Growing Matter(s) invites visitors into a groundbreaking interactive space that explores mycelium’s untapped potential as a living, evolving building material. Moving beyond the material’s limited applications as rectangular panels for insulation and acoustics, this exhibition challenges our fundamental understanding of permanence, control, and beauty in design.

Henning Larsen’s mycelium pavilion—both structure and experiment—poses the provocative question: how do we design with a material that keeps growing? Through an innovative collaboration with Politecnico di Milano, this project unites architects, researchers, and students to showcase alternative biogenic building materials that support new design aesthetics within a circular economy framework. Don’t miss this opportunity to witness firsthand how organic growth and material authenticity are reshaping architectural possibilities and expanding our collective understanding of bio-based design.

Good Selection

Good Selection returns for its second edition during Milan Design Week 2025, transforming a former factory into a vibrant showcase of 64 emerging creative talents. Curated by designers Lucas Zito and Marika Caputo, this exhibition breaks free from the complex commercial mechanisms of traditional design markets to create what Zito describes as a space “curated by designers, for designers.”

The thoughtful layout ensures different display pieces interact with each other, creating unexpected dialogues between works. Beyond showcasing design excellence, Good Selection celebrates the silent struggles and authentic connections that bind this community together, fostering collaboration and mutual support. Don’t miss some of the standout studios from ADORNO including aeditto, Paul Coenen, Thibeaus Scarceriaux, Studio Fabius Clovis, Stijn van Aarednne, WKND Lab, and Sai.E Studio — each bringing fresh perspectives that exemplify the exhibition’s commitment to authentic, self-sustaining design culture.

ISOLA

ISOLA brings its ninth edition to Milan Design Week 2025 with the powerful theme “Design is Human,” a thoughtful reflection on the essential role people play in the design process. As the world’s first digital and physical platform connecting independent designers with industry professionals, brands, curators, journalists, and clients, Isola has evolved into a truly global presence while maintaining its commitment to sustainability, innovation, and handcraft. Fresh from launching its Dubai outpost, the platform celebrates its roots while embracing contemporary perspectives.

This edition reinforces the belief that design should begin at a human scale, ultimately enhancing wellbeing for both people and planet while highlighting the dynamic fusion between traditional mastery and digital innovation. Don’t miss the exceptional Adorno designers showcased this year: Victoria Dabdoub’s expressive stone works, Tom Schoonhoven’s innovative-yet-classic approaches, and Orfeo Studio’s intensely evocative pieces—all exemplifying how human creativity remains the beating heart of meaningful design.

SaloneSatellite

SaloneSatellite stands as the definitive outpost of emerging creativity, powered by an unwavering belief in the experimental vision of recent design graduates ready to forge their careers. This visionary hub dedicated to designers under 35 celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2024, establishing itself as the quintessential meeting ground where entrepreneurs and talent scouts connect with the most promising new designers.

Founded in 1998 by Marva Griffin Wilshire, who continues as its Curator, SaloneSatellite represents an enduring act of faith in the creative potential of young designers. The impact is undeniable—many prototypes from previous editions have entered production, while numerous alumni from the 14,000+ designers and 270 international design schools that have participated have risen to prominence on the global design scene. Don’t miss this year’s standout talents: NOKNOK studio’s fresh perspective, BASNY’s traditional yet contemporary rugs, Luis Gimeno’s distinctive voice, Pablo Ejarque González’s eclectic, thoughtful creations, and Studio NAWA’s avant-garde compelling design language—each representing the next wave of design innovation.

Milan Design Week runs from April 7-13, 2025, with exhibitions spread throughout the city. Most venues are open daily from 10am to 8pm, though specific hours may vary.

We recommend allocating at least three days to explore the highlights mentioned in this guide, though dedicated design enthusiasts may want to plan for the full week to thoroughly immerse themselves in all that Milan Design Week 2025 has to offer.