Discovering novel exhibitions during Milan's Design Week
Get ready for an immersive and innovative journey as Milan Design Week 2025 is set to captivate design enthusiasts from around the globe. Here are some of the most anticipated exhibitions that will showcase the fusion of nature, technology, human experience, and sustainability.
Layers at the University of Milan
Architect Silvio De Ponte's immersive installation, Layers, promises a multisensory experience. Suspended between earth and sky, the installation combines nature, technology, light, sound, and scent to create a unique atmosphere. Highlights include an upside-down landscape of wheat ears and LED screens showing water flowing upwards, creating a visually stunning and sensory effect.
Portanuova Vertical Connection
Located in the Fuorisalone area, Portanuova Vertical Connection showcases the theme "Connected Worlds" through a walkable Layher structure. Visitors can interact with AI-guided buttons and sensors, shaping content on videowalls using colours, images, and sounds.
Design Districts’ Exhibitions
Embracing the 2025 theme of “Connected Worlds” or similar, several Design Districts will present their exhibitions. The Brera Design District, Tortona District, 5VIE, Isola Design District, and Durini Design District each offer unique experiences, showcasing the human role in design, hidden design textures, matter as a source of innovation, and design as a connective tool.
BASE Milano
BASE Milano offers “We Will Design 2025,” a large-scale, multidisciplinary exhibition featuring workshops, performances, and talks. The exhibit emphasizes intergenerational and intersectional kinship, social transformation, and alternative futures with design as a connective tool. Notable exhibits include HEAD – Genève’s “Do you speak flower?” and Omnicent Japan’s “Formless Essence.”
SWISS Pavilion
The SWISS Pavilion, curated by Switzerland Global Enterprise at Fuorisalone, showcases Swiss design companies in various fields such as interior design, lighting, furniture, outdoor design, and architecture planning. It offers a unique and diverse design experience with creative product displays in unusual locations throughout the city.
Independent Projects
Many design watchers flock to Milan Design Week to see independent and self-funded projects. Some of these include Belgian gallery Cour's transformation of an artist's studio into a space for experimentation and dialogue, Collectible design gallery Vaspaar's exhibition of vintage furniture, and Oxilia Gallery's presentation of 'Duetto' - a dialogue between art and design.
Collaborations and Exhibitions
Several collaborations and exhibitions will also take place during Milan Design Week 2025. Boon Editions, a Parisian collectible design gallery, is returning to Milan with a collaboration with A-N-D, unveiling four new collections at a former bank in Piazza Affari. Design studio Tutto Bene debuts its first furniture collection inside a private flat in the Monti district, and Tutto Bene and Beton Brut are presenting an exhibition, although the details are not provided.
Three Belgian design powerhouses - Tim Vranken, Middernacht & Alexander, and Linde Freya Tangelder of Destroyers/Builders - unite for 'Strata', an exhibition showcasing both new and archival works at a post-industrial venue near Fondazione Prada. Canadian designer Jamie Wolfond and creative agency Simple Flair explore the design of clocks in their collaborative exhibition 'SpaceTime', featuring 24 interpretations of a timepiece by various designers.
Navigating exhibitions in the city centre during Milan Design Week can be challenging, but the dense concentration of gallery projects at Alcova, north of the city in Varedo, serves as a bellwether for ideas, aesthetics, and materials that will spread globally over the next year. Don't miss out on this design extravaganza!
- The Layers installation by Architect Silvio De Ponte, at Milan Design Week 2025,will fuse nature, technology, light, sound, and scent to create an immersive atmosphere, where visitors can experience a unique blending of fashion-and-beauty and lifestyle.
- The Portanuova Vertical Connection exhibition, located in the Fuorisalone area, will showcase the fusion of technology and travel, inviting visitors to interact with AI-guided buttons and sensors, shaping content on videowalls using colors, images, and sounds.
- Design Districts' Exhibitions, such as Brera Design District and Tortona District, at Milan Design Week 2025,will feature a fusion of home-and-garden, technology, and food-and-drink, showcasing unique experiences that highlight the human role in design, design as a connective tool, and matter as a source of innovation.
