Illuminated bodies, connected spaces and conscious design - Milan Design Week 2025

Salone del Mobile 2025 celebrated human-centered design through immersive installations, sustainability, and cross-disciplinary collaboration—exploring the deep connections between body, material, light, and space in a transforming world.

On 24 September 1961, a group of thirteen Italian furnishing entrepreneurs launched the first Milanese fair dedicated to furniture. Thanks to an inspired idea, it was called the Salone del Mobile right from the start. That inaugural edition welcomed 328 companies and was described by television reporters as “a packed exhibition of everything needed to make the home beautiful and comfortable.”

Over six decades later, Salone del Mobile remains a magnet for design lovers, architects, creators, and the curious public alike. Every April, it continues to transform Milan into a vibrant stage for innovation and creativity.

Thought for Humans was the title of a striking communications campaign launched by Dentsu Creative Italy for the 2025 Salone del Mobile, whose theme centred on Design, the Body, and Sustainability. At the heart of the campaign were five powerful photographs by American artist Bill Durgin, known for his work deconstructing and reimaging the human form. These are not your typical promotional images: they carry symbolic weight and reflect a deeper vision. Durgin juxtaposes human skin with light, wood, metal, fabric, and bioplastics to visually convey a harmonious relationship between sustainable materials and humanity.

Rather than showcasing design as static objects or pure function, the campaign emphasised its relationship with people—placing the human being at the centre. It explored the synergy between human intelligence and material intelligence, reflecting a contemporary dialogue between form, emotion and sustainability.

But Durgin’s visuals were only the beginning. The 63rd edition of Salone del Mobile featured a star-studded lineup, including none other than Academy Award-winning director Paolo Sorrentino. He unveiled a site-specific installation titled La Dolce Attesa (“The Sweet Wait”), a tribute to waiting rooms, which he described as “spaces that often risk becoming non-places.” In a press interview, Sorrentino explained how thoughtful design can elevate transitional spaces—as found in airports, train stations, and hospitals—into meaningful experiences.

Supporting this idea, Maria Porro, president of the Salone del Mobile, emphasised the increasing attention design companies are giving to these in-between, often-overlooked spaces, reflecting a broader shift in the design world.

Another highlight was American multidisciplinary artist Robert Wilson, whose background in architecture informed a powerful event at Castello Sforzesco. His piece, titled Mother, entered into a poetic dialogue with Michelangelo’s Pietà Rondanini, accompanied by the ethereal music of Arvo Pärt. This collaborative piece conveyed the transdisciplinary spirit of the event, blurring boundaries between design, art, music, and architecture.

This sense of collaboration was echoed in the project The Skin I Live In, a partnership between Saba and Alysi, and curated by Studiopepe in collaboration with Around Studio. The multisensory installation integrated body, fabric and furniture to create a shared spatial experience. Installed in the Garden House by Alysi, this exhibition invited visitors to slow down and reflect on the interactions between surfaces—exploring the parallels between body and furniture, fabric and space, skin and surface.

Rather than spectacle, the installation underscored nuance: folds in textiles, curves in modular furniture, and how clothing can echo the rhythm of objects. At the centre was Saba’s Simposio—a modular sofa with soft, curved profiles designed to foster interaction rather than draw attention. The sofa served as both physical anchor and conceptual platform.

This year also marked the much-anticipated return of Euroluce, the biennial lighting exhibition. After a successful 2023 edition, it returned with 300 exhibitors—nearly half of them from abroad. Lighting, once treated as an accessory, is now a protagonist in sustainable and integrated space design. It plays a central role in improving both quality of life and environmental awareness. 

Euroluce featured masterclasses and workshops led by 20 international experts across fields like lighting design, architecture, science, biology, psychology, and anthropology—all working towards rethinking the future of light in meaningful, human-centered ways.

Outside the main fair, Fuorisalone 2025 adopted the theme Mondi Connessi (or Connected Worlds). More than a catchphrase, it was a powerful call for collaborative, generative design. It explored how design and artificial intelligence can create new ways for people to connect.

Connected Worlds invited people to reflect on how design weaves together nature and technology, tradition and innovation, the physical and the digital, different cultures, peoples and the environment. Framed as an agent of cohesion, the goal of this year’s Fuorisalone wasn’t only to impress or decorate, but to unite and foster cooperation in reducing our ecological footprint.

In the end, Milan Design Week 2025 lit up the city—both literally and emotionally. It wasn’t just about furniture or fixtures. It was about ideas, people, inventiveness, and connection. It was about showcasing innovations and new points of view. It was about learning, moving forwards, and forging breakthroughs for generations to come.