November 20, 2025 |
Of all the quotes – and there are a lot – about design, it’s one by Isabella Blow that I like the best: “I hate crap, I like craftsmanship. But you must also have a little bit of fantasy…” Step forward Salone del Mobile, the design world’s Super Bowl, which sees brands and fans fill the studios and streets of Milan to transform it into a 10-day fantasyland of the most exquisite craftsmanship.
at Hermès, a blanket installation. Photography courtesy of Hermès
Never one to miss out on a good party, the fashion industry queues up to take part in the 64-year-old extravaganza. In the six years I’ve been covering Salone, it’s gone from niche to prestigious and non-negotiable for a brand to participate in. This year, no fewer than 25 major luxury fashion houses hosted an event that looked past their bread-and-butter product and instead focused on the world of interiors.
It’s no surprise. In case you hadn’t noticed, there is significant cachet in having a lifestyle offering right now. It’s not enough just to design the gear; now it’s all about where and when it’s all worn, and if it’s styled with an LC4 Chaise Longue by Corbusier or Gaetano Pesce’s Up chair in the background. In short, it’s hot to be a design swot, and it was with this in mind that I landed in the Lombardy capital in April, ready to hit the ground running to soak up the fashion pack’s designs in 48 hours and report back to Ten Towers.
First up, a date with one of the OG fashion players on the interiors scene, Ralph Lauren Home. This year, Mr Lauren’s latest ode to the American West, Canyon Road, came clean lined and minimal. It also debuted the fashion house’s first artist-in-residence collaboration for its home collections with seventh-generation Navajo weavers Naiomi and Tyler Glasses. Everything was impossibly and desirably chic – as you would expect.
from left; an office setup with a cushion, on the armchair, from Ralph Lauren’s Canyon Road collection; Gucci’s Bamboo Encounters exhibition. Photography courtesy of Ralph Lauren and Gucci
A hop across town on the Metro (the only way to successfully navigate Milano during design week), the Cloisters of San Simpliciano were playing host to Gucci Bamboo Encounters, an immersive celebration of the material so synonymous with the Italian house. Curated by Ippolito Pestellini Laparelli, founder of the 2050+ agency, 25 artists were invited to give their take on the material in their own mediums, with installations ranging from a collection of baskets featuring handblown glass accents by Palestinian architect, artist and researcher Dima Srouji to an ethereal collection of bamboo kites by the Dutch design collective Kite Club.
While it was tempting to stay in this breezy, bamboo-flooded oasis, an antidote to the swelling crowds outside – especially as a tray of cold bubbles emerged – the clock was ticking to make it back to the other side of town to Saint Laurent. That was where creative director Anthony Vaccarello had commissioned four furniture prototypes, designed between 1943 and 1967 by the legendary Charlotte Perriand, into being. Next was Fendi Casa’s collaboration with the British designer Lewis Kemmenoe, who took over the windows of the brand’s via Manzoni flagship with his large-scale abstract panels. And then the final appointment of the morning, Loro Piana’s special collaboration with Milano’s resident design royalty Dimoremilano: La Prima Notte di Quiete. An early contender for best showcase of the week, design duo Britt Moran and Emiliano Salci transformed LP HQ into an affluent 1970s penthouse that was part Boogie Nights, part Dynasty and filled it with furniture designed by the pair for Loro Piana Interiors alongside vintage pieces upholstered in their lush textiles. Chef’s kiss, people, chef’s kiss.
from left; the Prada Frames symposium; circular bed by Loro Piana Interiors. Photography courtesy of Prada and Loro Piana
Having traversed the city four times already, a pit stop was in order, which always means the Pattini pasticceria in Brera. It’s a perfect station in between – and in the thick of – everything. My standing caffé and a mouthful of an excellent sugary doughnut concoction – which I surprised the superbly dressed older ladies of Milano, aka the sciure, beside me by consuming in one go and two seconds flat – fuelled me for the afternoon events. Salone waits for no woman, after all.
From my dine and dash to something a whole lot more chic: The Row. The Olsens’ first homewares line was unveiled in typically under-the-radar style at their brand’s soon-to-be Milan HQ near the Teatro Scala, a light-filled, parquet-floored haven complete with a secret garden. There, a collection of three handwoven throws and a quilted blanket created with artisans in Kashmir – each takes 600 hours to make – were presented nonchalantly, draped over steel and bronze rails designed by Julian Schnabel. To my surprise, I was encouraged to take pictures of all the gorgeousness. It served as a nice reminder that Salone, which has a famous open-door policy for all who land in the city for its duration, really is the most relaxed of all showcases if cameraphones are allowed at The Row.
Gucci’s Bamboo Encounters exhibition. Photography courtesy of Gucci
lamps by Atelier Oï and A-POC Able Issey Miyake. Photography courtesy of Issey Miyake
The next two hours rolled on in fast and fabulous fashion: The Versace Art of Living, billed as a “universe that brings a fantasy of poise, extravagance and heritage to life”, served up a new edition of the Harem chair, complete with distinctive gold Medusa head; Issey Miyake unveiled its collaborative project between the Swiss design studio Atelier Oï and A-POC Able Issey Miyake: Type-XIII Atelier Oï, comprising five sculptural lights inspired by the Japanese art of ikebana (flower arranging) and building on its ‘piece of cloth’ concept. Meanwhile, Etro paid tribute to 40 years of its signature Arnica fabric by putting on a retrospective exhibition and gifting attendees foldable leather footstools (not the most practical of party gifts, I grant you, but a much coveted one judging by the queues snaking around the block).
from left; a baby football table at Louis Vuitton’s Objets Nomades; Versace tableware. Photography courtesy of Louis Vuitton and Versace
Fendi Casa chair
Approaching 29,000 steps, I called it a day, retreating to a cosy corner of Antica Trattoria della Pesa to devour plates of in-season puntarelle and bresaola with a group of exceptional women at the top of their design game – hello, Carolyn Asome, Twig Hutchinson, Eva Coppens and Bec Astley Clarke – before collapsing into bed wearing a cucumber face mask in the hope of appearing bright-eyed the following day.
Day two brought more meaty in-store design appointments. Prada’s annual symposium, Prada Frames, was staged at, in my opinion, the world’s most beautiful building: Milano Centrale Station. After meeting in the station’s fabulous Padiglione Reale, which once served as the waiting room for Italian royalty and heads of state, we were escorted aboard the Arlecchino train, designed by Gio Ponti and Giulio Minoletti in the 1950s. I’ve been a die-hard train enthusiast my whole life (from toddler Thomas the Tank Engine books and teenage Interrailing trips to a life in Italy spent commuting on the rails), so this was a big deal (huge). Recently restored by the Fondazione FS Italiane, the carriage played host to discussions based on the common theme In Transit, looking at “the impact of digital revolutions and global distribution networks on daily life”, and was moderated by the simply brilliant design critic Alice Rawsthorn.
Having reluctantly disembarked, I headed to the Salone fashion stalwart, Hermès, which takes over La Pelota every year with a huge immersive installation. This year, the brand opted for a bright white box designed by Charlotte Macaux Perelman, architect and artistic director of Hermès’s collections for the home. Amid the four polyhedron shapes suspended from the ceiling, the house’s collection of glassware, ceramics, furniture and textiles were displayed as guests meandered and mingled. It reminded me of another excellent quote by another exceptional woman, Charlotte Perriand: “There is art in everything, whether it be in action, a vase, a saucepan, a glass, a sculpture, a jewel, a way of being.”
a vase from Dior’s Pieces Unique collection. Photography courtesy of Dior
Onto Loewe, where Jonathan Anderson may have already left the building, but his presence could be felt all around. In his last public curation for the house before confirmation landed that he had departed to head up Dior, Anderson invited 25 international artists to give their take on the classic teapot. From the surrealist two-faced vessel from Spanish ceramicist Laia Arqueros to Patricia Urquiola’s purple number, it was a sweet reminder of the art of ceremony and Anderson’s sensational Loewe legacy.
Vessels were a theme for the rest of the day. At Dior, French artist Sam Baron presented his handblown vases inspired by the Miss Dior amphora perfume bottle from 1947, depicting the blooms that the founder Christian insisted on having in his atelier; and Brioni revealed its Dualité Crystal Edition Perfume in collaboration with Lalique. The bottle stands at 40cm and features an internal sculpture created using the cire perdue method, the lost-wax technique first used by René Lalique in 1893, while the scent inside took master perfumer Michel Almairac seven years to develop. A quick wrist spritz released its notes of green apple, violet, ambroxan and rare iris butter, the perfume only getting better as my day progressed.
Armani Casa. Photography courtesy of Armani Casa
An appointment at Armani Casa conjured another design-quote fave, this time from Le Corbusier. His sentiment that “the home should be the treasure chest of living” could be the strapline to Mr Armani’s home collections (which celebrate 25 years this year), given that few other places would deliver a collection with equal amounts of design decorum, intrigue and sass. The offering comprised a cabinet with samurai-sword-inspired handles, a black lacquered table with platinum detailing, 4cm-high bamboo salt and pepper cellars and embroidered bedheads that looked like they had bounced straight out of the opening credits to The White Lotus. Armani Casa sure knows how to surprise and delight.
As does Paula Gerbase at Georg Jensen. The newly appointed creative director set up a hole-in-the-wall pop-up coffee shop off the beaten track to unveil her collection of glass and sterling silver serveware. She had enlisted Copenhagen neighbours Gelateria Danese and coffee roastery Prolog, which meant that affogatos were served up alongside espresso macchiatos and popsicle sticks as guests, myself included, marvelled at Gerbase’s originality and knocked back the taste sensations being served.
a Fendi Casa living space. Photography courtesy of Fendi Casa
Louis Vuitton pieces. Photography courtesy of Louis Vuitton
It was needed, as the day was far from over. After swinging by Tod’s for the launch of its coffee-table tome Italian Hands: Artisanal Stories from Italy, I headed to Palazzo Serbelloni, where Louis Vuitton had taken up residence to show its 2025 home collection. Like Saint Laurent, it had commissioned never-before seen works by Perriand (trend alert!), which stood alongside the more zeitgeisty Odyssée bag, a pinball machine inspired by the AW25 fashion show by Pharrell and a football table that had mermaids instead of players designed by Estúdio Campana.
Then the Miu Miu Literary Club called, where Mrs P worked with the writer and researcher Olga Campofreda to curate a series of discussions on A Woman’s Education, which explored girlhood, love and sex education through the pages of Simone de Beauvoir’s coming-of-age novella The Inseparables (written in 1954 but only published five years ago) and Fumiko Enchi’s groundbreaking 1957 novel charting female desire,The Waiting Years. I popped in to listen to Lou Stoppard moderating a panel discussion amid a packed room in Circolo Filologico Milanese.
Kai-Isaiah Jamal performs at the Miu Miu Literary Club. Photography courtesy of Miu Miu
a panel discussion at the Miu Miu Literary Club. Photography courtesy of Miu Miu
My second day pounding the streets ended much like the first: with 20,000 steps and rewarding plates of traditional Italian fare, this time courtesy of new kid on the block Botoi by Lodovico Rosselli, who serves his creations to a lucky six tables a night (it’s just him; he’s the chef, waiter, pot washer and front of house). Check it out as soon as you can.
With bags packed and my Airbnb key dropped through the letterbox, there was time to pop my head into Valextra, where the Milanese brand had cooked up another cult collaboration, this time with design studio Zaven, which had transformed its Costa 70 suitcase into a transportable mobile installation.
candle holders by Jaime Hayon for the Louis Vuitton Botanic collection. Photography courtesy of Louis Vuitton
I also had a minute to squeeze in a quick interview with Anna Jewsbury of Completedworks, who was hard-launching her first furniture collection at the Alcova installation not far from Milan. The inspiration behind her capsule collection was “everyday moments rather than traditional design icons,” she told me. “In that sense, our collections become a way of diarising these small, often overlooked experiences, like the way fabric crumples or folds in a Renaissance painting, or the slump of a puffy sandbag weighing down a sign in the street.”
It left me with the perfect nugget to end my whirlwind tour and add another entry to my little black book of great design quotes. Because design is really about romanticising the everyday, isn’t it? We do it with fashion and we do it with interiors, so capturing that probably has the most cachet. Because just like Blow said, it’s important to have a little bit of fantasy.
Top image: a baby football table at Louis Vuitton’s Objets Nomades event; photography courtesy of Louis Vuitton. Taken from 10 Men Issue 62 – BIRTHDAY, EVOLVE, TRANSFORMATION – out on newsstands now. Order your copy here.
