Milan Salone Del Mobile 2025
Our Highlights
A word from our Creative Director, Blair Cooper_
Inspiration is imperative.
Year after year, our creative team at Seen Studios steps away from our London studio to immerse ourselves fully in Milan’s vibrant design scene. Milan Design Week remains arguably the most infuential event in the global design calendar, ofering a frsthand view of emerging interior trends, future-forward installations, and groundbreaking developments in CMF design.
Armed with a few espressos (remember, ragazzi, cappuccinos are a morning-only afair!), we tackled endless queues with enthusiasm, exploring four days packed with design inspiration, innovative product launches, artistic expression, and dynamic brand collaborations. Extraordinary locations pulled us beyond familiar paths into Milan's lesser-known corners—eyes wide open and always on the lookout for our 5pm aperitivo.
In this report, our designers share insights into the most impactful experiences, highlighting the moments and ideas set to shape our creative projects and conceptual thinking until we return next year.
For those unable to attend Milan Design Week, we hope this report provides a valuable window into the event through our team's eyes. Feel free to reach out if you're curious to learn more.
Countless Selfies 45 miles of pavement pounding
Loads of QR Code scanning and endless queuing
Daily Power Naps
One Ultimate Supermercato Trip
_01 Fashion, Luxury & Lifestyle
Checkered Future: Frequency Manifest_
Overview_ Vans presents Checkered Future: Frequency Manifest at Milan Design Week 2025—an immersive installation by designer Willo Perron and musician Tim Hecker. Inspired by frequencies, waves, and vibrations, the experience informs both the Old Skool 36 FM sneaker from Vans’ OTW line and the "Future Make" platform.
Set in a dark, industrially inspired gallery space, visitors recline beneath a grid of moving mirrors that mimic Vans’ checkerboard. As Hecker’s soundtrack shifts, the mirrors respond in sync, transforming sound into a kinetic, multi-sensory display where design, architecture, and emotion converge.
I went in with no real expectations, but the experience was a standout. Reclining on a metal structure while light, sound, and movement unfolded around us. It was intentionally disorienting—uncomfortable in a compelling way. The moving mirrors, shifting light, and immersive soundscape pushed perception - I could’ve stayed in there for ages!
Steph Mount_ Design Director
Hermès_
Overview_ Hermès unveils an enchanting installation at La Pelota, designed by Charlotte Macaux Perelman, the architect and artistic director of Hermès collections for the home, alongside designer Alexis Fabry. The new creations can be discovered in suspended boxes that are almost colourless in their whiteness, projecting halos of bright colours onto the floor.
Gucci | Bamboo Encounters_
Overview_ The exhibition celebrates the House’s enduring legacy of bamboo, reimagining the emblematic material through the unique contributions of contemporary designers.
Moooi x EveryHuman_
Overview_ Moooi and EveryHuman collaborated to offer visitors the chance to co-create personalised room fragrances using AI. This bespoke scent experience was powered by EveryHuman's Algorithmic Perfumery platform, allowing attendees to embark on a spatial and sensory exploration to craft their unique room scent in real-time
_02
Tech & Automotive
Overview_ Exploring contrasts through immersive art, sound, and technology. Held at Museo della Permanente, the exhibition featured themes like “The Cave” and “Beyond the Horizon,” showcasing Kia’s design philosophy through sensory experiences that blend innovation, tradition, and the human imagination.
A.A. Murakami’s The Cave merges ancient and futuristic elements to explore human creativity. A robotic automaton interacts with bone-like instruments, creating haunting sounds in a space filled with red light and still water. The installation evokes a sense of reflection, highlighting life’s defiance of entropy and the enduring quest for meaning. Rather than revisiting the past or projecting the future, The Cave reimagines both, embodying Kia’s Opposites United philosophy through contrast and innovation.
“Kia delivered the unexpected through its premium soundscape, immersive lighting, and striking production design. The exhibition sparked a surprising sense of reflection—something rare for an automotive brand.”
ZoeChung Experience Designer
Google_ Making the Invisible Visible_
Overview_ Google collaborated with artist Lachlan Turczan to create an immersive installation using mist, lasers, and motion sensors that lets visitors interact with light as if sweeping through physical curtains. The installation explores the illusion of solidity created by light and water, aligning with Google’s theme of art and design as "acts of alchemy." Triggered by movement, the light “curtains” shimmer and respond with sound, blurring the line between the tangible and intangible.
After a long queue, we finally made it in! This installation was an intriguing blend of tech and sensory design. The interplay of mist, light, and sound created a surreal experience, challenging our sense of touch and making the intangible feel almost physical. A great example of tech elevating spatial storytelling — not just interactive, but emotionally resonant”
Steph Mount_ Design Director
_03
Furniture & Product
Overview_ An immersive design exhibition showcases the innovative works of a diverse group of creative designers, each specialising in different fields and levels such as furniture, lighting, textiles and accessories. This collaboration brings together various design disciplines and presents impressive details and craftsmanship.
“The
The
“It was such an inspiring experience. Every piece of work showcases the designer's attention to detail and material. They brought together a fantastic blend of styles and ideas, pushing the boundaries of industrial design..”
on (into
Iona Senior BettyLin Designer
Highsnobiety | Not in Milan_
Overview_This year’s theme, ”Classics Reinvented”, set the tone for an immersive cultural festival that blended a dynamic blend of design exhibitions, exclusive product drops, and collaborative installations, celebrating the intersection of heritage and innovation in Milanese design.
The event celebrated Milanese design heritage while embracing contemporary innovation, offering a multifaceted experience. The activation also featured an exclusive collaboration with FILA, unveiling limited-edition products that blended classic sportswear aesthetics with modern design sensibilities.
Iona Barr_ Senior Designer
“Amid the Salone’s high‑energy buzz, stepping into the laid‑back space was refreshing—it invited visitors to chill and discover the brand playfully. The Pétanque court was a highlight, effortlessly delivering summer vibes and bringing the Highsnobiety spirit to life!”
“The The on (into Iona
Senior Pierre Bottriaux_ Senior Designer
Capsule Plaza | Expanded Living_
Overview_ This year's theme, "Expanded Living," explored the shifting idea of home, focusing on hybrid spaces that integrate multiple facets of contemporary life. Capsule Plaza Expanded Living, transformed into a cultural hub, went beyond showcasing innovative design, it redefned the concept of living spaces, providing a platform for creative expression and fostering dialogue within the design community.
Capsule | Stone Island’s Studio One_
Overview_ Blending classic design with advanced audio engineering, Friendly Pressure has created a custom hi-fdelity sound system for Stone Island Sound. Inspired by the golden age of recorded music, the modular system ofers a rich sensory and physical experience. Its Unity horns, developed over years of testing, merge frequencies into a single source for precise, emotive sound.
“Stepping into the Nike x PAN installation at Capsule felt like entering a living remix— An experimental electronic score, accompanies stunning suspended speakers by Sub, minimalist PAN x Nike Air Max 180 NIX product vitrines sit back with an oversized PAM inflatable visible through the haze. A fusion of expressive club culture, that was ironically, a moment of pause.”
Blair Cooper_ Creative Director
Dropcity | Prison Times_
Overview_ The Prison Times exhibition at Dropcity explores the design and architecture of prison environments, aiming to spark public debate on underreported issues within the carceral system.
“The space had a vibrant, buzzy feeling, reflective The
busy maze-like structure encouraged exploration on the
mezzanine level were
a
The exhibition presents a curated collection of objects and furnishings from prisons across the globe, inviting reflection on how design influences the experience of incarceration. By examining these elements, the exhibition seeks to shed light on the socio-economic structures of the prison system without romanticising its inherent hardships.
great chance
to kick
(into an IKEA bag) and soak up the atmosphere.”
Iona Barr_ Senior Designer
_04 Store Design & Gallery
Overview_ Seletti Store known famous for its creative and playful designs on home decor and furniture. The store features an extensive selection of Seletti's diverse products, including quirky lighting options and cutting-edge furniture designs. The brand is well-regarded for its collaborations with a variety of designers and artists, leading to distinctive collections that merge artistic fair with functional items.
Seletti_
Overview_The Marni store in Milan is a striking blend of avantgarde design and refned elegance. With its bold use of colour, unexpected textures, and artful displays, the boutique re brand's quirky, intellectual spirit. More than just a retail space, it feels like a curated gallery and an immersive experience that captures the eclectic essence of Marni’s world.
BOYY_
Overview_ The BOYY Milan fagship store ofers a dynamic and evolving retail experience. Designed in collaboration with Danish artist FOS, the 62-squaremeter space transforms traditional luxury retail by integrating art, design, and architecture. Visitors encounter elements such as hand-dyed fabric walls, warped mirrors, and terrazzo fooring, creating a dialogue between past and present. The store's design evolves over time, refecting BOYY's growth and collaboration with FOS.
Prada Foundation_
Overview_A cultural institution founded by Miuccia Prada and Patrizio Bertelli, dedicated to exploring art, cinema, music, science, dance, architecture, and various other creative disciplines. It features a campus with a mix of post-industrial and contemporary spaces that accommodate both permanent art installations and temporary cultural initiatives.
_05 Trends
Experimental Graphics_
Overview_ Bold type experimentation, colour play and retro pattern took the spotlight across programming, installation, materiality and signage overlays. Playful print took the a less serious stance and served as a refreshing reminder to continue to push the brand guidelines.
Speaker Series_
Overview_ In an ever-evolving digitally connected world, retro speakers bridge past and present— capturing nostalgia through timeless aesthetics, analogue warmth, and a sustainable elegance. The presence of speakers throughout design week ranged from retro inspired, minimalist and artful.
Interpretations by Nike x PAN x SUB, seamlessly blended cutting-edge audio technology with immersive design to create a multisensory homage to club culture. Whilst Stone Island’s ‘Friendly Pressure: Studio One’ at Capsule Plaza redefned sonic design—where high-fdelity craftsmanship met architectural acoustics, creating an immersive experience that resonated with both the body and soul.
Metallic Muses_
Overview_Mirror, brushed, stainless – metallics appeared on mass across product design and interior space. Materiality varied from reflective plastics at Prada, PVC chrome upholstery at Diesel, mirror tiles at Marni, orb finish stainless steel furniture at Gucci and individual product design showcases throughout the week.
Nature Recontextualised_
Overview_Visual merchandising overlays at BOYY heroed garlic bulbs and birds of paradise, whilst lighting at Gucci and Commune infused bamboo and rock. Bonsais became lamps and natural printing technology by Growink used fungi and bacteria at Drop City. Google and Highsnobiety opted for drop in earthy mounds to juxtapose their stark minimalist environments.
Iona Barr_ Senior Designer
Colour_
Overview_ Red on repeat. From monochromatic spaces to lighting installations, the red thread of Salone stitched through spaces and furniture, matte to gloss, a swatch book of tomato, at Highsnobiety Not In Milan, berry foors and graphic statements at Capsule, and fre red lighting at Vans , Kia and Gucci.
Ciao ragazzi! �
