While standing, yet again, outside Bar Basso during Milan Design Week 2026, an industry friend recounted a funny story from one of his previous trips to the fair many years back: After a long day of chasing down novelties, he and his colleague had reached what they thought was the next design event on their itinerary and walked right in, only to discover some 20 minutes later that they had entered the entirely wrong building, and were in fact crashing a wedding. It’s an honest mistake. For one week in April, every venue in Milan seems to be hosting the equivalent of the world’s most elaborate nuptials. There are flowers (this year, Gucci filled an entire courtyard with fresh blooms as part of its Memoria garden installation), delectable bites (matched this time around by supersized vegetables designed by Laila Gohar for an Arket merry-go-round) and dance parties galore (Moooi, for instance, kicked off its 25th anniversary bash with an enchanting performance masterminded by French choreographer Yoann Bourgeois).

Granted, amidst all the spectacle and merriment generated by the city’s jam-packed schedule of programming (which is now fuelled by not just design companies, but also fashion, auto, tech and liquor brands, not to mention McDonald’s), it can be easy to lose sight of actual furniture. Thankfully, Salone del Mobile and the city’s showrooms remain laser-focused on outfitting the next generation of home, office and hospitality projects. After an emphasis on caramel tones last year, we were especially excited to see brands embracing bolder hues for 2026. Expect a bright orange bed, purple armchair or yellow sofa in your future. B&B Italia, back at the fair for the first time in 25 years (with the exception of its 2019 presence as part of the Holding Design group presentation), also demonstrated the power of a monumental backdrop, with a gorgeous stand by Formafantasma that felt like the studio’s take on a Mies van Der Rohe interior. When it came to fair displays, we were just as impressed by the sustainability efforts of Knoll, which again reused the same structural framing it had built its booth from since 2024, and Quadro, which commissioned Giacomo Moor to design a stand that will later be reconstructed as a public restroom in Zambia.

A few other stray observations: The rising popularity of cosmetic serums, lotions and potions that are best kept cold means that fridges are becoming just as big of a fixture in bathrooms as they are in kitchens. (Grohe showcased an especially elegant concept at its Aqua Sanctuary installation, integrating a slide-out refrigerated drawer directly into a vanity.) Building on that extravagance, the luxury sector continues to chart ever-more rarified territory, as evidenced by Salone’s introduction of Raritas, a new section dedicated to experimental and antique designs. Back in the city, an exhibition commissioned by Uzbekistan, “When Apricots Blossom,” looked at rarity through another lens, using the loss of the Aral Sea — and the major ecological and cultural implications caused by it — as a starting point to explore regional traditions tied to bread making and yurt construction.

Oh, and if you do happen to be planning an actual wedding and are looking for ideas about what to add to your registry? Consider Alessi’s revival of Ettore Sottsass’s 1993 dinnerware collection. That reissue (showcased in a pavilion featuring columns that resembled supersized versions of Sottsass pepper grinders) was just one of many moments that delved into design’s archives this year. After securing the rights to Carlo Mollino’s estate, Zanotta brought back a series of his tables and chairs. Meanwhile, the Triennale showcased an incredible archive of designs by Lella and Massimo Vignelli, and B&B Italia dedicated its showroom to its own retrospective of advertisements from the past 60 years. For its part, Salone del Mobile partnered with Milan’s historical design and architecture archives to open many venues up to the public for one night, free of charge.

Ultimately, these archives prompted reflection about which of this year’s launches might maintain enduring appeal several decades from now. After all, throwing a wedding — or a launch party that rivals one — is easy. Still having something to celebrate by the time you reach your 25th or 60th anniversary — now therein lies the challenge. Of course, we’ll have more to say about all this — and other Milan Design Week 2026 standouts — in our upcoming summer issue, out at the end of the month.

For now, here are a selection of photos from our camera rolls.

Outside one of the buildings on the Baggio Military Hospital grounds, which served as one of the venues for this year’s edition of the sprawling design exhibition Alcova.

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Deconstructed industrial lighting proved especially popular at Alcova. Here are some examples by London’s Architectural Association school of architecture.

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The University of the Arts Bremen kicked off a burgeoning wicker and rattan trend that continued throughout the rest of the week. Students had harvested their own materials, then explored weaving techniques in workshops led by experienced craftspeople.

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The Concerto console table, a symphony of colourful ceramic panels and brass shelves by Vancouver’s Marrimor Objects.

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One of the best visualizations of the fast fashion industry that we’ve seen, the Wasted Waste exhibition by UMPRUM (the Academy of Arts, Architecture, and Design in Prague) featured a conveyor belt that shuffled clothing from one trash heap to another.

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Slalom acoustic products enclosed a listening room filled with retro synthesizers from the Vintage Audio Institute.

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A “living DNA” installation by Caecilia Rebbe.

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“A Feast for Rats” was a table scape designed by HEAD Geneva to be entirely edible by animals.

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A crowd lined up outside Alcova’s second venue, Franco Albini’s Villa Pestarini.

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Albini’s original furnishings, reissued by Cassina, filled the ground floor.

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The retro kitchen had us reconsidering teal.

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Moooi marked its 25th anniversary with supersized versions of its lights, special embroidered editions of its Monster chair, and black-and-white photos of its designers, all shown at age 25.

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Part of Uzbekistan’s “When Apricots Blossom” exhibition, a pavilion by WHY Architecture adopted traditional yurt construction techniques.

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The Tullissè table lamp by Atelier Oï for Poltrona Frau, featuring a leather lampshade.

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Patricia Urquiola took inspiration from sportswear for Cassina’s Ardys sofa, shown in a windbreaker-like upholstery.

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Cassina’s Dalila chairs, realizing an archival design by Gaetano Pesce, are pleasantly squishy.

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Zanotta’s showroom paid homage to Carlo Mollino, whose archives the brand recently acquired, with reproductions of his pieces — including Arabesco — in a pink-curtained exhibition.

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The Nagori bed by Simone Bonnanni for Zanotta.

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Celebrating 60 years, B&B Italia recapped some of its past advertisements in an exhibition at its showroom.

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Le Design Défilé, a showcase of established and emerging French furniture makers (including Ligne Roset, Petite Friture, and plenty of other new-to-us brands) displayed furniture along catwalk-like displays. Credit for the chic setup goes to Jakob + MacFarlane.

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Tom Dixon outside the Mua Mua Hotel, a 12-room showcase of his latest furniture inside a building that is in the midst of being turned into boutique lodgings.

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The “lobby” of Mua Mua Hotel was a lounge featuring Coalesse furniture, designed to transition seamlessly from co-working space to disco club.

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Tom Dixon was also the creative force behind Cosentino’s Axis display showcasing its new mineral surface Eclos in illuminated totems.

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Alessi’s Memphis pavilion, designed to fête reissued tableware by Ettore Sottsass.

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Onto Salone!

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The return of Eurocucina brought Flair, a fluid new kitchen from Scavolini.

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Fisher & Paykel wowed with a booth that celebrated the brand’s New Zealand roots, through forest imagery, local tōtara wood, and ceramics by Aaron Scythe.

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Showing how its offerings pack major heat, Miele hosted a cooking demo by chef Fabio Pisano.

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Minotti’s Ruffle sofa was the lounge we never wanted to leave.

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Minotti also presented the Elas chair, which comes in a wicker version that feels as at home indoors as it would seem out.

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Living Divani presented Haven, a chair by Yabu Pushelberg that suspends the seat and backrest between two, subtly bent armrests.

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At Linteloo, the Tembo table by Studio Roderick Vos caught our attention with its robust, elephantine legs.

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A sculpture by Sabine Marcelis dazzled inside Raritas, a new section of the fair dedicated to collectible design.

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Draga & Aurel’s Draga Obradovic at the pair’s booth in Raritas.

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At B&B Italia, a 16-seater dining table by Ronan Bouroullec with concrete legs.

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Vincent van Duysen might be the unofficial MVP of Milan Design Week, with new launches for several brands, including this generously plush chair for B&B Italia.

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Kartell presented its novelties in a gallery-like setting alongside a series of A.I.-generated artworks that made reference to each of the pieces shown, like the Cardio armchair by Fabio Novembre.

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Kartell, continued.

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Pedrali worked with another recurring talent at MDW — Formafantasma — on the Estratto tables.

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The Ikon Twist, also at Pedrali, reinterprets the brand’s Ikon table for the outdoors — with a delightful, rope-wrapped pedestal.

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Opalia bookshelves by Patricia Urquiola underline your prized possessions.

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The Layup chair, designed by Nathan Martell for Established&Sons, is a feat of plywood molding.

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Sancal’s Twins chair by Júlia Esquéinvite riffs on cinema seating.

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Arclinea’s Kora island was another kitchen design embracing curves.

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Arper always takes the opportunity to show off its eco-material innovations at Salone, and this year, it presented a cross-section of Aom by Jean-Marie Massoud to reveal its Breathair padding. (The sofas were also shown whole.)

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A visit to the Centre for Advanced Studies in Visual Arts, one of several archives participating in a city-wide showcase of design history organized by Salone.

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CC-tapis partnered with Fornasetti for a rug collection that features the ceramic maker’s evocative imagery.

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An assembly of architectural rubble by Alessandro Scandurra with Holcim Italia.

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Paola Navone’s Otto Studio celebrated parmigiano reggiano with a pavilion that held a sculpture built out of hundreds of cheese graters.

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Ikea introduced its PS 2026 collection and enlisted designers to stage rooms showcasing its products in action.

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Exhibitors at Capsule included streetwear brand Stone Island, plus Karimoku, which showcased four brands that have been supported by the furniture maker’s Karimoku Research incubator program.

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Grohe’s Aqua Sanctuary featured a series of concept designs that demonstrated the bathroom’s potential to act as a personal spa.

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6:AM Glassworks filled an old swimming pool, the Piscina Romano building, with Murano masterpieces, including this wall of stacked stools that cemented glass block’s comeback.

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As magical as ever, the courtyard at Rossana Orlandi’s gallery was anchored by wicker furniture designed by Beirut’s Atelier L’inconnu.

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Hannes Peer and Margraf’s “La Casa di Marmo,” an underground oasis of stone and sculpture complete with a waterfall, felt like stepping into a set from Dune.

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Of the many non-furniture brands at MDW, Veuve Cliquot was one of the more memorable. Its collaboration with Yinka Ilore, while essentially a branding exercise, was still a nice respite from the chaos.

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Topolini were everywhere in the city, branded anew in pastel hues and with logos galore.

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When more than one person points you to a specific showcase, that’s often a sign that good things are afoot. Such was the case with Rick Tegelaar’s slightly off-the-beaten-path solo show. Tools of his trade were front and centre while installations of his work over the past few years created a journey through his innovations.

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The show culminates in his latest piece, Traces, which features handcrafted circuits applied to bent plywood, where they are celebrated as both light source and surface pattern.

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Poltrona Frau partnered with Toronto’s Paolo Ferrari to create this ultra-swoopy, yacht-inspired seating.

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Stephen Burks was on hand at the Roche Bobois showroom to introduce his latest collection, made with citrus-y Missoni Home textiles.

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At Poliform, Yabu Pushelberg went ultra-luxe, presenting Lanai, a bed and soft seating piece in one.

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In the courtyard of Palazzo Clerici, Poliform staged a modern forest, designed by studioutte, with product showcases in the clearings of its tall black reeds.

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Ottagono Green Architecture built a lightweight metal structure supported by stone blocks in the city centre.

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The Moroso showroom abounded with colour and graphic energy.

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Beyond its radical entry installation, the space presented practical yet elevated pieces, like Cuadra-Soft Edge by Patricia Urquiola.

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Vincent van Duysen’s Julian sofa system, in all of its permutations, was the star at Palazzo Molteni.

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Even with its many floors of novelties, Palazzo Molteni still wasn’t capacious enough to house the entire collection by the leading Italian brand. Like many other local heavyweights, Molteni took its outdoor furnishings to a courtyard offsite.

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Its showcase at Via Senato 14 was replete with dreamy furnishings, like Elisa Ossino’s Pantalica chaise longue.

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Modulnova’s luxury kitchens are always a study in bold materials.

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The brand also had some of the longest and thinnest islands.

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Atelier Oï’s resplendent Quetzal mobile welcomed guests to the Louis Vuitton Objets Nomads exhibition at Palazzo Serbelloni.

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One of the main rooms at Louis Vuitton Objets Nomades was dedicated to pieces inspired by the bookbindings and archives of Art Deco artist Pierre Legrain.

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And then, an entire, mirrorball-like room was dedicated to Raw Edges’ corpulent Stella Armchair.

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At Issey Miyake’s shop on via Bagutta, Ensamble Studio made marvellous pieces out of paper as part of Paper Log: Shell and Core, with some furnishings, like this central table, resembling marble.

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Paper Log also included ethereal, art gallery–worthy light pieces.

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In the Chiostri di San Simpliciano, Demna created one of the week’s most memorable destinations. Gucci’s Memoria saw the portico lined in tapestries depicting the couture label’s biggest cultural moments.

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Resembling Renaissance paintings, the canvases were wickedly grandiose.

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In the centre of it all, Gucci Memoria filled the courtyard with a meadow of flowers inspired by the label’s Flora motif. It was a branding exercise deserving of the hype.

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Hermes introduced its home collection as a “City of Objects,” with plaster and beechwood blocks acting like buildings and new introductions (including this marble table by Barber & Osgerby) stationed between them. One detail we appreciated: the text accompanying each product was handwritten in pencil, giving the product labels a personal feel.

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Many other companies made fabulous use of Milan’s wonderful urban courtyards. The entry to Gaggenau’s exhibition was through Villa Necchi Campiglio.

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Once inside the glass conservatory, visitors were delighted to find that the pebbles underfoot, which seemed to continue from outdoors in, were actually made of rubber.

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On display in the beautifully designed space were Gaggenau’s Expressive Series, which felt both futuristic and deeply human.

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Another hidden Milanese gem, the Chiostri Sant’Angelo, hosted Flexform’s outdoor collection. The incredible architecture might have stolen the show…

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…but Flexform’s pieces, augmented by massive artworks, were both beautiful and cozy.

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Elle Decor’s Sensory Landscape at Palazzo Bovara, meanwhile, brought the outdoors in.

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Among the many rooms of Sensory Landscape, this one — a dinner party attended by some of modern design history’s most iconic chairs — was the wittiest.

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More than any other MDW attraction, the Triennale demands your undivided attention. Its multiple blockbuster shows, including this one, “Andrea Branzi by Toyo Ito,” require close reading, concentration and appreciation.

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Among the most impactful features in all of Milan was the Triennale’s Eames Pavilion System launch. Complemented by archival photographs of Charles and Ray in their home, the presentation put the mid-century dream of modern living for all within grasp.

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Laila Gohar’s carousel for Arket satiated the desire for whimsy and lightheartedness.

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And Ai Weiwei’s silk textiles, on view at Rubelli, subverted that whimsy, reminding us that everything — including design — is political.

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