The best Salone del Mobile itinerary is one that leaves room to explore the city itself. Depending on the time of year, the industrial center of Italy serves a hub for the worlds of fashion or design, but Design Week activates both sectors with a gusto that galvanizes brands, editors, and enthusiasts far and wide. As CULTURED touches down for a week of meetings and evening catch-ups at Bar Basso, we did the dirty work of gathering the most formidable activations to add to your schedule.
Multi-Day
Prada Frames Is in Session
Event: Symposium
When: April 19, 20, and 21, 9:30 a.m.–4 p.m.
Address: Via Caradosso, 1
Curated by design duo Formafantasma, Prada’s annual symposium returns this year to the complex of Santa Maria delle Grazie, where Leonardo da Vinci painted The Last Supper. The symposium’s lectures (on modern image-making, the political imagination, algorithms, and photography techniques) unfold alongside intimate guided visits inspired by the themes of the talks.
Janus et Cie Has the Designer’s Touch
Event: Preview
When: April 19–26, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
Address: Via Fatebenefratelli, 15
The California-born outdoor furniture staple—a perennial presence in the lobbies and terraces of the world’s most exacting hotels—hosts guests in its showroom to explore newly commissioned work by award-winning designer Sebastian Herkner. His Viretta collection, designed exclusively for the brand, combines his own contemporary flourishes with the heritage mainstays of Janus et Cie.
Artemest Hosts a Party (or Three)
Event: Preview and Parties
When: April 20–21, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
Address: Via Gaetano Donizetti, 48
The Italian luxury e-commerce platform hosts a preview of the debut furniture collection by Gachot’s John and Christine Gachot, alongside a preview of its House & Garden collection. Pulling out all the stops, Artemest’s Milan space has been designed by celebrated interiors firm Charlap Hyman & Herrero. Three private parties will fête the activations, with one co-hosted by CHH, one by Gachot, and one in honor of the latter’s furniture release.
Kvadrat Goes Melodic
Event: Musical Performances
When: April 20–26, 10:30 a.m.–9 p.m.
Address: Corso Monforte, 15
The Danish textile giant is bringing its material intelligence to the design fair through music. Designer Giulio Ridolfo has conceived “In Rainbows,” a four-chapter series of melodic activations. Each two-hour vinyl set bleeds into the next. For Kvadrat, the performance is an extension of its relationship to material: a conversation between friction, texture, and time.
Straf Lets You Live with Art
Event: Exhibition
When: April 20–26, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
Address: Via S. Raffaele, 3
During the fair season, Straf Design Hotel is presenting “Ambienti,” an exhibition by Milan-based artist duo Goldschmied & Chiari, in its common space. The quietly rigorous conceptual artists interrogate perception and the politics of looking, a mission that is especially apt during a week where attention is at an all-time premium.
Flos Is Light and Modular
Event: Exhibition and Party
When: April 21–26, 10 a.m.–7 p.m.
Address: Corso Monforte, 9
Just steps from Kvadrat, the iconic Italian lighting brand Flos stages its annual presentation of its new lineup. A highlight at the Italian flagship is designer Erwan Bouroullec’s sculptural and moldable wall lamp, dubbed Maap. On the evening of April 22, a private party in collaboration with Kvadrat will rally tastemakers from around the globe for a mid-week check-in on the hullaballoo.
Gucci Memoria Has Demna’s Stamp
Event: Preview and Party
When: April 21–26, 10 a.m.–8 p.m.
Address: Piazza Paolo VI, 6
Gucci’s exhibition curated by Demna is one of the week’s most anticipated events. Expect a rarified, atmosphere-first experience that offers a symbolic retelling of the house’s 105-year history through design. An after-hours party to celebrate the show is invite-only.
B&B Italia Turns 60
Event: Preview
When: April 21–26, 10 a.m.–9 p.m.
Address: Via Durini, 14
Six decades into an experiment that has altered the course of Italian furniture, B&B Italia marks its anniversary with an exhibition tracing the brand’s milestones and introducing a new visual identity. The scene is anchored by a museum-style display of new indoor and outdoor collections by an international roster of designers (only to be revealed on site).
Flexform’s Quiet Statement
Event: Exhibition
When: April 21–26, 10 a.m.–8 p.m.
Address: Via Moscova, 33
Flexform’s Salone presentation, “The Private Lives of Objects,” introduces a new indoor collection that moves with daily life: sofas with fluid lines, tables scaled for shared meals, generously padded beds, and accessories with restraint. Notably, everything is built to look better for being lived in.
Poliform Finds a New Home
Event: Preview
When: April 24–26, 10 a.m.–9 p.m.
Address: Via Clerici, 5
Just ahead of the fair, Poliform opened the (carefully crafted) doors of its new Milan flagship. Spread across Palazzo Clerici, the showroom presents the full breadth of the brand’s collections in rooms that offer a masterclass in how Poliform thinks about living: considered, unhurried, and cast in soft, earthy tones.
Monday
Byredo Takes a Seat
Event: Preview
When: April 20, 10 a.m.–1 p.m.
Address: Via Cappuccio, 5
The Swedish fragrance house opens the week with an activation conceived alongside artist Jean-Guillaume Mathiaut—limited-edition wooden sculptural seats designed exclusively for the brand, and finished in black Japanese ink. It’s a fitting partnership, given Byredo’s longstanding practice of treating scent as a visual and conceptual medium.
Loro Piana Clocks the Pattern
Event: Preview
When: April 20, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
Address: Via della Moscova, 33
The Piedmontese maison, synonymous with cashmere of the most indulgent caliber, hosts an installation devoted to the plaid pattern as an interior medium. It’s the first edition of a series of material case studies, with on-site exclusives including a display of curated plaids at their Milan headquarters (a secondary treat to tour).
Louis Vuitton Thinks Outside the Box
Event: Preview
When: April 20, 10 a.m.–1 p.m.
Address: Corso Venezia, 16
The grandeur of Palazzo Serbelloni (constructed for 14th century aristocrat Gabrio Serbelloni) provides an appropriately suave backdrop for Louis Vuitton’s interiors presentation. Its Objets Nomades collection for 2026 is co-designed with the archives of designer Pierre Legrain, who was commissioned by Gaston-Louis Vuitton (grandson of the titular Louis Vuitton) to develop the house’s first furniture pieces in 1921. The assortment includes exceptionally limited-run furniture, decorative objects, and art pieces.
Kohler and Flamingo Estate Take the Plunge
Event: Cocktail
When: April 20, 5 p.m.–7 p.m.
Address: Via Palestro, 14
Kohler steps into Milan’s aperitivo hour with a decidedly buzzy partner: cuisine and wellness brand Flamingo Estate. The two offer a reframing of the bathroom as a site of genuine design ambition, with Kohler’s distinctive hardware and Flamingo Estate’s knack for making the conventional into something utterly beautiful. Via Palestro, bordering the Giardini Pubblici, also makes for one of the week’s more atmospherically lush settings.
Ginori 1735 Expands its Porcelain World
Event: Cocktail
When: April 20
Address: Piazza San Marco, 3
Ginori 1735 contributes to the week’s happenings with the debut of Officina Ultra, a porcelain collection featuring table ware, vases, and portable LED lamps. The suite offers intricate engravings, layered bands, and contrasts between enamel, polish, and raw biscuit porcelain with five handmade variations: Bloom, Layer, Gear, Cloud, and Stripe.
Cosentino‘s Stony Embrace
Event: Cocktail
When: April 20
Address: Via Gerolamo Morone, 1
The Spanish stone and surface manufacturer is arranging cocktails at Casa Manzoni—the 19th-century home of one of Italy’s great novelists, Alessandro Manzoni. The event serves as a fitting close to an opening day that has moved through perfume, fashion, furniture, and now, surface itself.
Tuesday
Jaeger-LeCoultre is Under Pressure
Event: Exhibition
When: April 21–26, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
Address: Villa Mozart, Via Mozart, 9
For the second year running, watchmaker Jaeger-LeCoultre takes over Villa Mozart for an exhibition titled “The Perpetual Timekeeper.” The centerpiece is the Atmos pendulum, a clock that runs on atmospheric pressure variations alone (requiring no winding, no battery, no human intervention), just the small fluctuations in temperature and barometric pressure that the surrounding air provides. Its history is laid out in full, with a selection of timepieces tracing the arc of the maison’s craft and vision.
Rimadesio Is 70 Years Young
Event: Exhibition
When: April 21–26, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
Address: Corso Monforte, 35
The Milanese specialist in sliding systems and contemporary furnishings celebrates its 70th birthday with “Becoming,” an activation staged across the grand rooms of Palazzo Isimbardi on Corso Monforte. The brand’s history unfolds a single continuous arc, with research, design, and architecture blurring into one another. An installation by Encor Studio visualizes the concept in physical form, with public viewing available throughout Design Week.
EGE and Gabriella Khalil Look Underfoot
Event: Drop-in Brunch
When: April 21, 10 a.m.–1 p.m.
Address: San Senatore 10
Creative director Gabriella Khalil and Danish rug company EGE celebrate the launch of their new collection, Common Ground, with a drop-in brunch featuring a scenic rooftop view. The collection is presented within an immersive installation, offering a firsthand exploration of Khalil’s measured taste in interiors.
Restoration Hardware’s Celebrity Fix
Event: Party
When: April 21, 7 p.m.–11 p.m.
Address: Corso Venezia, 56
Restoration Hardware has long operated with big ambitions—and the brand’s presence at Corso Venezia during Salone is, fittingly, one of the week’s more expansive gatherings. Four hours of programming, food, and conversation co-hosted by actors Zoe Saldaña and Margot Robbie, designer Brunello Cucinelli, and Cabana Magazine Founder Martina Mondadori ensure a guest list that blends the highest levels of design talent and boldface names.
Wednesday
Molteni&C‘s Green Thumb
Event: Party
Address: Via Senato, 14
When: April 22, 7:30 p.m.–11:30 p.m.
The storied Brianza furniture manufacturer arrives in Milan to celebrate “Responsive Nature,” an installation that builds out six distinct botanical worlds under one roof—spanning the fantastical and the naturalistic, the manicured and the reclaimed. The tension running through them—between manmade sensibilities and natural materials—reflects the best of furniture design.
DSquared2 Laces Up
Event: Party
When: April 22, 6 p.m.–9 p.m.
Address: Via Pietro Verri, 4
Dean and Dan Caten open the doors of the Dsquared2’s Milan flagship for a raucous evening celebrating the launch of the DC-642 sneaker. The night promises cocktails, an energized DJ set, and the particular electricity that follows the Catens wherever they go.
MASSIMODECARLO Offers an Artful Repose
Event: Exhibition Opening
When: April 22, 6 p.m.–9 p.m.
Address: Viale Lombardia, 17
Artist Mimmo Paladino, one of the defining figures of Transavanguardia (the Italian art movement theorized by Achille Bonito Oliva in the late 1970s), opens a solo show timed with Design Week. Stop by the opening for one of the more purely art-world moments of a design-forward week.
Comme Si and Sophie Lou Jacobsen Plan a Disco
Event: Aperitivo
When: April 22, 5 p.m.–7 p.m.
Address: Via Garofolo, 38
Co-hosted by design tastemakers Sophie Lou Jacobsen, Jenni Lee, and Sean Santiago, the cocktail celebrates Jacobsen’s Disco Aperitivo Collection, which includes flutes, coupes, and more all dotted with miniature silver balls. Presenting partner Comme Si, the made-in-Italy sock and hosiery brand with a strong design world following.
Miu Miu Reads Between the Lines
Event: Cultural Program
When: April 22, 1 p.m.–8 p.m.
Address: Via Clerici, 10
Miu Miu extends its long-running literary program to Milan Design Week. The Maison is taking over Circolo Filologico Milanese, a private cultural club founded in 1872 and one of the city’s most venerable intellectual institutions, for a full afternoon and evening of programming.
Moncler Sheds Layers
Event: Party
When: April 22, 7 p.m.–10:30 p.m.
Address: 10 Corso Como
Moncler lands in Milan for an evening cocktail timed to the launch of its Have a Puffy Summer campaign, an intriguing pivot for a brand best known for windswept peaks and powder. The collection reimagines the house’s signature quilted puffers in ultra-lightweight iterations for warmer weather, while a cast of oversized inflatable mascots (lobsters, seahorses, whales, oh my!) take over the building’s façade.
Porcelanosa Looks to Its Roots
Event: Party
When: April 22, 6:30 p.m.–10 p.m.
Address: Piazza Castello, 19
Spanish ceramic tile mainstay Porcelanosa transforms its Piazza Castello space into Casa Castello for the week and celebrates with an invitation-only gathering that doubles as a showcase for a curated edit of Spanish lifestyle pieces and fine craft. Alongside the host, the space brings together Heimat Atlantica, Gandia Blasco, Lorena Canals, Cerería Mollá 1899, and a constellation of emerging names from across the country.
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