In Milan, everything speaks. Whether it’s the quiet glow of hand-blown glass, the pulse of a bassline, the hush of pages turning, or the lull of a shared bed, the city reminds us—design is how we shape the world, and how the world, in turn, shapes us. Since 1961—when Milan Design Week, or Salone, as it is commonly known—Milan has been the beating heart of design, drawing creators from across the globe to showcase their latest works in the city’s vibrant showrooms, ateliers, and hidden courtyards. But there’s something particularly special about this city—a place where centuries-old craftsmanship meets cutting-edge modern design. Milan is a living testament to the power of Italian artisanship, and each year, Design Week reminds us why the marriage of tradition and innovation continues to drive the future of design.
A Rabbit’s Foot were in town for the proceedings. Here we pick our 6 highlights from all the goings-on in the Italian city, commonly referred to as the Olympics of Design.
Hermès at La Pelota
For Milan Design Week 2025, Hermès returns to La Pelota with a new vision, conceived by artistic directors Charlotte Macaux Perelman and Alexis Fabry. This year’s scenography is a nod to the city’s rich heritage of craftsmanship, stripping away excess and focusing on the purity of materials—glass in particular. The objects emerge softly from the shadows, glowing with an almost ethereal light, their emotional resonance unfolding gradually. It’s an installation that invites us to slow down, take a breath, and react emotionally to the objects we interact with. Amidst this luminous landscape, Tomás Alonso’s sculptural tables stand as pillars of calm and elegance. Designed to embody the very essence of this year’s themes—light, transparency, and texture—Alonso’s pieces fit seamlessly into Hermès’ vision.
Stone Island at Capsula Plaza
At Capsule Plaza, Stone Island’s Friendly Pressure: Studio One invites visitors into a new sensory register. Created in collaboration with Shivas Brown’s Friendly Pressure studio, the installation translates architecture into instruments. Sound is sculpted by space; its shape molded by concrete and void. An ever-shifting audio environment becomes the protagonist, framed by a week of live music, DJ sets, and dialogues that explore the interplay between sonic culture and spatial design—a visceral reminder that design doesn’t end at the visual.
Vans and Willo Perron
Elsewhere in the city, Vans and designer Willo Perron ask us to surrender to sensation in Checkered Future, a surrealist installation that begins with stillness. Reclined on a metal grid, viewers are drawn into an eerie choreography of mirrored panels and vibration, set to a spectral score by Tim Hecker. It’s a meditation on perception and pressure, turning the familiar Vans check into a hypnotic motif of reflection and disorientation. As the night unfolds, the energy shifts with Björk behind the decks, delivering an unexpected DJ set that transforms the space into an ecstatic dreamscape.
Es Devlin at Pinoteca
At the Pinacoteca di Brera, Es Devlin brings us Library of Light, a revolving installation of books and mirrors that turns reading into ritual. More than 3,000 titles—selected in response to this year’s Thought for Humans theme—glide through sunlight and shadow, revealing new perspectives with every slow rotation. As always with Devlin, light becomes metaphor and motion becomes meaning.
Laila Gohar at Teatro Litta
Just across town, Marimekko and food artist-slash-designer Laila Gohar bring an intimate scale to the grand stage of Teatro Litta. All the Things We Do in Bed merges 18 individual beds into one plush, salmon-hued landscape. Beneath a glittering chandelier, guests are invited to rest, lounge, sip coffee, and slip into Marimekko-designed pyjamas. It’s a quietly radical gesture: comfort as design, sleep as statement.
Paulin Paulin Paulin
In a tucked-away Milanese apartment, Paulin Paulin Paulin stages one of the week’s most atmospheric takeovers with Sounds Like Paulin. The space is transformed into an immersive homage to both sound and form, with studio audio equipment sharing space with the brand’s iconic modernist furniture. It’s an environment that hums, quite literally, with presence. Every curve of a chair, every hum of the speakers feels like a continuation of Pierre Paulin’s original rhythm—a living archive vibrating with new energy.
MoscaPartners at Palazzo Litta
And over at Palazzo Litta, MoscaPartners returns with Variations: Migrations, a group exhibition that explores the poetic terrain of movement—of ideas, cultures, people. The installations trace unseen journeys, from the work of Byoung Cho to a tactile pathway designed for the visually impaired. Here, ‘migration’ becomes not just a theme, but a lens through which to view the fluidity of identity, materials, and meaning. It’s thoughtful, inclusive, and urgent.
Off The Beaten Trail - a few of our favourite side-quests this week:
Le Sundial Jewelry
A new name on the Milanese scene, Le Sundial is part poetry, part precious metal. The brand’s debut collection riffs on light, shadow, and time—each piece feeling like it was unearthed from a dream. Tucked away in a calm corner studio, it’s a quiet triumph of storytelling through form.
Bar Paradiso
For when your feet give out and your senses need a reset: Maurizio Tentella’s Bar Paradiso is the city’s chic-but-chill haven for natural wine and deeply satisfying small plates. Come for the amber-hued pet-nat, stay for the anchovies.
Bar Nico
Hidden in plain sight, this no-fuss gem is where the real wine conversations happen. You won’t find it on tourist maps, but follow the faint buzz of clinking glasses and you’ll know you’re in the right place. Order the lambrusco and stay awhile.
Sissi
The best pastries in town, hands down. Whether you’re chasing a perfect morning espresso or a late-afternoon sugar high, Sissi never misses. Their maritozzi are the stuff of Milanese legend—pillowy, generous, and impossible to eat politely.
