Colour: Committed

Deep burgundy red and black dominated, while mauve, orange, terracotta, yellow, brown, blue and pink all made strong appearances, often in unexpected combinations. Of particular note was the finish: high-gloss lacquered and reflective surfaces amplified the drama, casting light and colour across rooms in ways that felt both retro and entirely contemporary, as seen in the work of Giuseppe Porcelli. Even where palettes were more restrained, as demonstrated by Demisch Danant x Tivioli, the contrast of luxurious materials created depth and richness.

Materials: The Texture Edit

The material story this year was defined by contrast. Wicker and rattan sat alongside ceramics and marble, while wood wall panelling appeared beside leather, as seen at davidandnicolas and at L'Appartamento by Charlap Hyman & Herrero. Decorative Murano glass wall sconces, along with large round glass coffee and dining tables, introduced a sense of lightness to schemes that might otherwise have felt visually weighty.

Metallics featured strongly, appearing on armchair bases, bookcases and even horizontal blinds. Gold and silver, used together rather than kept apart, created a more layered effect in place of rigid coordination. Once considered difficult to balance, the pairing now offers designers greater freedom when developing a scheme.

Fabrics leaned luxurious and tactile: velvet, satin, wool, leather, animal print, feathers, tapestries and fur all featured prominently. Then came the fringe. While fringe has long been used as a decorative edge, it has evolved into something thicker, deeper and more architectural, tracing the lines of furniture and drapery before re-emerging on sconces and coffee tables in metal and leather forms, as seen by March and White Design and Rockwell Group.

Scale and Form

Furniture this year embraced generous portions. Oversized angular table and floor lamps asserted themselves as architectural elements rather than accessories. Sofas were deep, soft, and enveloping, organic forms you sink into paired with square, declarative occasional chairs that provided visual counterpoint and grounding weight. Sculptural footstools, interchangeable day beds and open bookcases pointed toward a more fluid, adaptable approach to living. Traditional antiques were often set against contemporary pieces, creating tension through contrasting scale, line and mass.

Art and Design, in the Same Room

The most significant change we observed this year was the deepening collaboration between interior designers, artists and photographers. Artworks and sculptural objects appeared not as afterthoughts but as load-bearing elements of the overall composition. Sculptures were placed on plinths, occasionally turned on their side, a small gesture that said a great deal about how the sector is rethinking hierarchy. The result was installations that were expressive and considered, more curated exhibitions than product launches. For those of us specifying interiors, clients are increasingly asking for spaces that tell a story, and Milan showed us exactly what that can look like.

Design in a Domestic Setting

A notable development this year was the growing number of events staged within private Milanese apartments. Smaller, more intimate, and deliberately off the main circuit, these spaces offered a sense of how these ideas might live. Seeing a piece in a real domestic context such as the collaboration between Casa Milana x BENI Rugs is an entirely different proposition to a showroom floor. Elements became part of an experience, the domestic space transformed into a contemplative place seen at the home of redduo. Wellness and a sense of calm were recurring themes. We noticed it more this year than ever before.

On Longevity and Responsibility

It would be easy to look at the boldness of this year’s Milan and read it purely as spectacle. But beneath the drama, there was a clear emphasis on craft, longevity and responsibility. Craftsmanship was evident in the quality of finishes, in the hand behind objects, and in the focus on pieces designed to endure.

Building on last year’s Faye Toogood x Tacchini Butter sofa, we also saw more modular sofas, day beds and chairs designed to be adaptable and interchangeable, a considered approach to specification that allows interiors to evolve over time and reduces the need for replacement as requirements change.

Archival pieces were everywhere, positioned as both aesthetic and sustainable choices. An object with a previous life is, by definition, a more responsible one. For a sector increasingly required to account for its environmental impact, this reframing as a forward-looking rather than nostalgic choice felt particularly significant, seen at galleries such as Monument Gallery and Harold Mollet.

A Final Note

Perhaps because of its popularity, Milan Design Week is no longer for the faint-hearted. The event continues to expand at pace, with more than 1,850 events spanning exhibitions, installations, talks, and activations across the city.

We were fortunate to be invited to several press previews and private viewings, access that felt increasingly valuable given the scale of public interest, with several installations requiring hours-long queues. This layer of access shaped what could be meaningfully experienced within a limited timeframe.

It is also worth noting that interior design now sits closer to fashion than ever before, attracting a broader and more visibly style-conscious audience. The installations that drew the longest queues belonged to major fashion houses already widely circulated on social media. We spoke to designers who missed events entirely, and others who queued for two hours to enter rooms designed to be photographed in.

With so many designers, brands, and installations to absorb, any editorial edit is necessarily selective. We have aimed to provide inspiration, insight, and a considered reading rather than a definitive account. Milan is not a city that offers easy conclusions. Whether you take our edit with a pinch of salt or discover a supplier you haven’t come across before, we hope it proves useful.

The broader audience is, in many ways, a sign of the sector’s growing cultural weight. But it does change what a working visit looks like. The most considered moments of our week were rarely the headline installations. They were the apartment showings, the smaller exhibitions off the main circuit and the conversations with designers who had time to talk. Milan has a lot to show, but increasingly, that means planning around the spectacle rather than through it.