Milan Design Week is already known amongst those with a fetish for design as the industry's premier annual event. It's been in operation since 1961 (this year it is holding its 63rd edition), anchored by the Salone del Mobile furniture fair at Fiera Milano Rho and city-wide Fuorisalone events.
If you're headed to Milan this week to join the fanfare – or if you're simply curious about what the highlights of this year's program are – we've curated a list of the coolest things happening at Milan Design Week 2026, below...
1. Marni is hosting a pop-up pastry shop
Fashion brand Marni has taken over Milan's iconic 1930s Pasticceria Cucchi for three months, with branded plates, milk jugs, chess boards and sugar sachets all design by interiors firm RedDuo Studio. The menu encircles signature Milanese aperitivo culture – from morning cappuccinos and standing-counter espressos, to an afternoon cocktail list debuting from Martini, inclusive of Bianco and Bitter Spritzes.
When: Visitors can stop through until 15 July 2026.
Where: Corso Genova, 1, Milan, Italy 20123
2. Ai Weiwei is draping a room in silk
Chinese contemporary artist and activist, Ai Weiwei, uses silk as a medium for the first time to envelop the Rubelli showroom in lampas fabric woven with intricate motifs in a site-specific installation called Ai Weiwei: About Silk. There will be an accompanying documentary on show talking about how the history of the material's origins in China and Rubelli's centuries-old craftsmanship in Venice.
When: The installation will be on view at Rubelli Showroom until 15 May 2026.
Where: Rubelli Showroom, Via Fatebenefratelli 9
3. There's an exhibition entirely about chopsticks
S-3, a platform for "connecting East Asian design to global ideas and practices", will be launching at this year's Salone del Mobile with an exhibition titled Chopsticks, curated by Yoko Choy. It will feature works by 16 creatives from countries like South Korea, Japan, China, each reinterpreting the dining staple
When: 21–26 April 2026
Where: Via Pietro Giannone 3, Angolo Via Bramante, 7, 20154 Milano
4. Jil Sander and Apartamento are curating a library
Reference Library will be an installation that curates a collection of 60 books from contributors such as Jil Sander creative director Simone Bellotti, Ronan Bouroullec, Jasper Morrison, Lykke Li, Celine Song and Hans Ulrich Obrist. Each book selected by contributors is a reflection of personal references that have fundamentally shaped their creative trajectories. Taking place at the Jil Sander showroom in Milan, the space will be designed by the Milanese practice studioutte, utilising mirrored walls and chrome lecterns. Entry will be strictly limited to 60 hourly slots, and visitors will be required to wear white gloves provided at the entrance to handle the delicate collection.
When: The space will open from 20–24 April 2026
Where: Via Pietro Verri, 6, 20121 Milano MI, Italy
5. Sophie Lou Jacobsen is turning an apartment into a 1970s drinks parlour
The glassware designer will be launching her Disco Aperitivo collection during the week, turning a Loreto apartment into a party bar with the help of Milanese institution Palinurobar. They'll be serving up drinks and snacks in the spirit of a glamorous 70s-era Italian aperitivo hour.
When: Monday 20 April until Wednesday 22 April, 10am – 4pm daily
Where: Address shared upon confirmation. To book a visit, email: [email protected]
6. Five designers are reimagining Italian cities as rooms at the Palazzo Donizetti
L'Appartamento by Artemest is back for its fourth edition at Palazzo Donizetti hotel. This year, five interior designers – including Charlap Hyman & Herrero, March and White Design, Rockwell Group, Sasha Adler and Urjowan Alsharif Interiors – envision Italian cultural capitals like Venice, Florence, Rome, Naples and Palermo as a room. This year, for the first time, the exhibition will extend outdoors, and feature an exclusive preview of Artemest’s first ever furniture collection: the Artemest Collection by GACHOT.
When: Open from 21 to 26 April 2026.
Where: Palazzo Donizetti, Via Gaetano Donizetti 48
7. Aesop is unveiling its first-ever lamp
The cult beauty brand will be introducing the Aposē lamp during Salone del Mobile at it's Factory of Light exhibition. Designed by the brand's in-house architects, its brass plinth is cast by hand in a German family-run forge, while its glass crown is mouth-blown near Murano.
When: 21–26 April 2026, from 10am–6pm.
Where: Chiesa del Carmine, Milan
8. Zeekr is presenting an immersive two-storey exhibition
As part of collective event Tortona Rocks, electric car brand Zeekr are presenting an immersive two-story exhibition exploring the journey of contemporary branding – from hand sketches to prototyping, interactive, sensory textiles installations and their latest release, the Zeekr 7GT car model.
When: 20–26 April 2026
Where: Opificio 31, Via Tortona 31, 20144 Milan, Italy
9. Hermès has a minimalist art exhibition
Hermès's annual installation this year features oversized and "nearly colourless" plinth-style boxes displaying the French fashion house's most recent homewares collection, including a lacquered glass table by London-based designer Tomás Alonso; a 33-piece porcelain water-coloured dinner set by Irish designer Nigel Peake; and mouth-blown glass vases.
When: 20–26 April 2026
Where: La Pelota, Via Palermo, 10, 20121 Milano MI, Italy
10. Jaeger-LeCoultre is presenting 53 archival timepieces and five new clocks
The watch brand will be hosting an exhibition called The Perpetual Timekeeper across six chapters as part of Salone del Mobile. It will feature 53 archival, design-led timepieces and 32 Atmos clocks, spanning nine decades of work. The exhibition also showcases a creative collaboration with celebrated industrial designer Marc Newson (with whom the brand has worked since 2008), unveiling three new designs by Newson and a further two new Atmos creations.
When: Running 21–26 April 2026, and is open to the public free of charge from 10am–6:30pm daily
Where: Villa Mozart, via Mozart 9, 20122 Milan
11. Louis Vuitton is reissuing its first-ever piece in an Art Deco-inspired furniture collection
Louis Vuitton is hosting its Objets Nomades at Palazzo Serbelloni this week, where they've reissued Pierre Legrain’s 1920s Art Deco furniture – including the iconic “Celeste” dressing table – and are showcasing rare archival trunks alongside contemporary designs by Raw Edges and Estudio Campana.
When: 21 to 26 April 2026, from 10 am to 8 pm.
Where: Palazzo Serbelloni, Corso Venezia, 16, 20121 Milano MI, Italy
12. Byredo and a French sculptor have crafted an olfactory exhibit out of wood
Byredo and Jean-Guillaume Mathiaut have put together an art installation whereby scent and wood design are combined to create a sensory experience inspired by nature and memory. Visitors can walk through a 15th-century cloister nestled in the former monastery of Santa Maria Maddalena al Cerchio, filled with wooden artworks and fragrance, designed to make them slow down, reflect, and feel connected to nature and the past.
When: 20 April 2026 2-7pm, 21–25 April 2026 10:30am–7:30pm
Where: Chiostro Cappuccio Via Cappuccio 3 20123 Milan Italy
13. Eames House is exhibiting a new modular collection
The Eames Office, at its The Eames House exhibition, is debuting its Eames Pavilion System, manifesting Charles and Ray Eames' enduring vision for prefabricated, module and human-scale residential architecture. The collection was developed in partnership with Barcelona-based manufacturer Kettal.
When: 20–26 April 2026, from 10:30am – 9pm
Where: Triennale Milano, Viale Emilio Alemagna, 620121 Milano
14. Prada is hosting its fifth design symposium
Prada Frames has returned for its fifth year at Salone del Mobile. It's a design symposium talking about design and how culture, politics, society can shape the way we look and think. This year's edition, titled In Sight, is focussed on image-making as a cultural, political, and material force.
15. Bottega Veneta collaborates with Korean artist Kwangho Lee
Bottega Veneta’s third collaboration with Korean artist Kwangho Lee under Trotter’s creative direction sees an installation, titled Lightful combine a suspended woven form characteristic of Lee’s practice with new light sculptures woven from Bottega Veneta leather fettucce (strips).
16. FENDI launches its annual FENDI Design Prize
The new initiative is dedicated to discovering and nurturing emerging talents and celebrating design and craftsmanship. The 2026 edition culminated in the announcement of its first winner during Milano Design Week on April 19th: VIA by Gustav Craft. The project was unveiled among a shortlist of six finalists at the FENDI Casa boutique in Piazza della Scala in Milan during a private event.
17. ASICS put on a multi-sensory immersive installation
ASICS SportStyle debuted at Milan Design Week with its ASICS Kinetic Playscape, an immersive installation invites visitors inside a fictional ASICS research institute conceived by Los Angeles based design studio NUOVA. Across five distinct environments, guests move through a sequence of tactile and spatial encounters that explore motion, shifting from grounded physicality to a more elevated and expressive state.
When: 22–24 April 2026
Where: Garage 21, V. Archimede, 26, 20129 Milano MI, Italy
