Every April, Milan undergoes a metamorphosis, revealing a city-wide interior of imagination and innovation. This year’s Design Week places importance on the spaces we inhabit not just as physical structures, but as emotional landscapes.
From the liminal thresholds of luxury hotels to the expansive, wall-less visions of ideal cities, the exhibitions on display challenge our perception of time, materiality, and the domestic sphere. Milan invites us to step out of the mundane and into a series of curated dreams.
Milan Design Week, including the 64th edition of the Salone del Mobile, is happening from April 21st - 26th, 2026. Here’s a round-up of some of our favourite exhibitions redefining the intersection of art and design.
ROOM FOR DREAMS:
Hosted in ME Milan Il Duca, a luxury lifestyle hotel at Piazza della Repubblica, ROOM FOR DREAMS explores the hotels as a liminal space to combine design with emotion.
The design of the space celebrates Italian design, featuring furniture from Gio Ponti and Luca Meda in collaboration with Rossi, and lighting from Achille Castiglioni, alongside bespoke artisanal art from local artists.
The mix of traditional and contemporary design outlines the setting for the exhibition. With several designers exhibiting their work in a way that encourages the audience to move throughout the open spaces of the hotel.
As part of ROOM FOR DREAMS, Designboom has curated these spaces in line with the theme of dreaming. Outside in the open air garden, Solid Nature has collaborated with OMA/AMO to create a sculpture that reimagines the shopping experience through a dream, using the solid structure as a tangible approach to utopian thinking.
In the basement of the hotel, Paf atelier has created a cinematic experience through their ‘time capsule’ which encourages the audience to slow down and engage with the screenings. The rest of the hotel is filled with other experiences, such as Ressences’s challenging of the linear nature of time and La Marzocco’s multisensory exhibition that revolves around daily rituals.
Amongst it all, the main lobby functions as a space for live talks. It’s open to the public between 21-26 of April.
Armani/Casa:
Throughout Milan Design Week, Giorgio Armani presents a range of events that revolve around the theme of identity and contemporaneity.
Established in the 2000s, as a luxury home interiors collection, Armani/Casa focuses on homeware and designs with a deliberate aesthetic that champions simple lines and perfect proportions.
For Armani/Casa, Armani presents a new collection of furniture and interior pieces, hosted at their flagship boutique at Corso Venezia, the display provides a narrative of the intersection between materiality and spatial design.
Giulio Cappellini’s SuperCity:
Giulio Cappellini’s major exhibition is at Superstudio Maxi, a modular and sustainable 7,200 m² venue in the Barona district.
The exhibition showcases Cappellini’s curated vision of an ideal city, composed through the intersection of the functionality of art and design in a multi-cultural environment.
As a key pillar of Milan Design Week, the space contains over 15 projects and collective exhibitions from leading brands and international design universities.
The structure of the building itself is integral to the ethos of the exhibition as the main hall is designed without physical walls, allowing for a flow of movement as the visitors pass through the space.
Tortona Design Week:
Tortona Design Week is an epicenter of Milan Design Week. This year with the theme, Thinking better, look back to shape the future focuses on how sustainable technology can be combined with traditional craftsmanship.
With partnerships from the likes of Geberit and Barton Perreira, the work on show at Tortona converges the themes of creativity and technology to explore new perspectives.
At Torneria Tortona (Via Tortona 25), Sara Riccairdi Studio presents Corpografia - Paesaggio di Donna. Inspired by Elsa Schiaparelli, the sculptural installation by Ricciardi Studio explores this wider theme through femininity.
In its urban context, the shared architectural space considers how the human body can be transformed into a hub for community. Intimate and inhabitable.
The conversations from Milan are only beginning, with the focus soon shifting to the minimalist streets of Denmark for 3 Days of Design in Copenhagen, where the focus on circularity and Nordic craftsmanship promises to offer the next chapter in this evolving narrative.
Images: Filippo Pincolini, designboom, Armani Casa, SuperStudio Design, Sara Ricciardi Studio
