Milan Design Week 2026 is here and with it comes the age-old dilemma: ‘What should I actually go and see?’ What was once an easy, artful extension of Salone del Mobile has now become a marathon; anyone who's anyone in design – whether you work for a fashion house or a car brand – has an installation. Not to mention top-notch furniture makers who now launch their latest collections in the city rather than at Salone.
To help you figure out where to go and how to get the most of the city while you're there, we have distilled the best of Fuorisalone into 19 highlights. From the collections to see, installations not to miss and pitstops to stop by to refuel, this is your guide to doing Milan Design Week 2026 like a pro.
Designer Allegra Hicks unveils her third consecutive Milan collaboration with celebrated gallery Nilufar Depot. The Trame di Confine collection sees a screen, a mirror, a floor lamp, a bed, a bench, and a pair of wall sconces presented as part of an intimate bedroom space. All are handcrafted in Naples using crochet, a technique that Hicks has refined over the years. The room will be decorated in velvets and blue tones that evoke peace and calm. Viale Vincenzo Lancetti 24, April 20-26.
At this point, the only question left to ask this multi-hyphenate Californian designer is this: ‘Where do you find the time to do it all?’ When Kelly Wearstler is not designing homes and hotels for the A-list, this glamorous mother-of-three is busy giving emerging creatives a platform through her gallery, Side Hustle, developing new work with artisans in India or collaborating with digital learning platform, MasterClass, to help people find their own style. Now, she has taken her artfully layered, laid-back LA look to the high street with a new collaboration with H&M Home. Unveiled at Palazzo Acerbi, the collection features a range of sculptural objects and furniture that promises to elevate any interior. Kelly's debut Milan Design Week presentation is staged within a conceptual installation designed by Studio Boum that explores the daily rituals of the home. Corso di Porta Romana, 3
Finnish design house Marimekko is renowned for its contemporary take on floral prints, and this signature is re-spun in a playful lifestyle space uniting design, gastronomy and culture. Osteria Fiori di Marimekko invites visitors to immerse themselves in the brand’s ‘art of flowers’, and will present the new Kukasta Kukkaan designs by Erja Hirvi in the form of bold textile installations and shoppable ceramics. A Finnish-inspired aperitivo menu will reference the shapes and colours of Marimekko patterns. Via Ascanio Sforza 75, April 20-22.
After making its mark in Paris with a showstopping gallery on the Champs-Élysée, RH – the American luxury furniture brand, formerly Restoration Hardware – makes its debut in the Italian design capital on Corso Venezia. Set across seven levels within a jewel of neoclassical architecture that was restored to its former palatial glory, the brand's Milan Design Week premiere introduces RH Estates. A new direction for RH, it reimagines the late nineties California look through a contemporary lens. You can also discover new and continued partnerships with design industry icons. Next stop, London. 56, Corso Venezia.
Need an interlude from touring the design collections? Head to Miu Miu’s fourth annual literary club, entitled Politics of Desire, which explores the subjects of sexuality, consent and desire through the work of two notable authors: Nobel prize-winner Annie Ernaux and writer and academic Ama Ata Aidoo, Ghana’s former Minister of Education. Staging conversations, lectures and live performances in suitably chic surroundings, it becomes a reading room on its third and final day, when visitors will be gifted books by both authors. Circolo Filologico Milanese, Via Clerici 10, April 22-24.
You know Ray and Charles Eames as designers of iconic furniture, but did you know that the duo were also developing a modular, accessible home building kit that could be deployed anywhere in the world? Originally part of a case study project, approximately 30 homes were built using the concept in Los Angeles in the late 1940s. Now, the Eames Office has revitalised their research to offer a fully functional prefab solution called Eames Pavilion System. Developed in collaboration with Spanish furniture brand Kettal, the end result is presented at Triennale di Milano showcase during Milan Design Week. Composed of aluminium ‘I’ and ‘H’ beams, with glass, wood and polycarbonate panels that can be fitted into the grid-like system, the full Eames Pavilion System is slated to be available – across single, double and multi-level designs – in early 2027, with the 2x2m grid format ready by the end of 2026. Viale Emilio Alemagna 6, April 21-10 May
The Venetian textile house’s Milan showroom becomes the setting for a high-profile collaboration with Chinese artist Ai Weiwei. The space will be enveloped in a silk artwork woven with metallic threads, on which the artist has depicted the socio-political themes that define his career: surveillance cameras, handcuffs, chains, and the Twitter bird all feature, alongside the alpaca, a symbol of freedom, dissent, and the fight against internet censorship. This is the first time that Ai Weiwei has translated his message onto silk – a fabric that has deep cultural significance in China – and it is sure to be an unmissable moment. Via Fatebenefratelli 9, April 17-May 15.
Pitstops for refuelling with a side of Italian coffee are an essential part of any trip to Milan. This new restaurant in the CityLife district, designed by Nick Maltese Studio, combines that prospect with a colourful design experience. The interior takes the traditional Italian figure of the nonna (grandmother) as a muse, conjuring an atmosphere of conviviality with joyful shades of yellow, pink, blue and mint green. The effect is part Pop Art painting, part Mediterranean kitchen. Via Mosè Bianchi 103.
The quintessentially Milanese design brand Fornasetti has two new presentations. First, at its recently revamped store, expect a series of porcelain and ceramic vases, shown alongside compositions by Australian floral artist Simone Gooch. There are also unique collectors’ editions of scented candles, and a piece from the archive never realised before: the Palladiana e Arlecchini cabinet-bar, a twist on Piero Fornasetti’s neoclassical motifs. Most exciting of all is a rug collection with cc-tapis: three pieces will be on show in the store, or head to the dedicated installation to see all 16 designs. Fornasetti store, Via Senato 2; cc-tapis collection, Piazza Santo Stefano 10, April 20-26.
In the 5VIE district, Colombian-born designer Natalia Criado collaborates with ceramics atelier Laboratorio Paravicini to unveil a new collection, Metalia, which brings together hand-painted ceramic dishes and sculptural metal chargers. Their installation, entitled The Invisible Table, sees the works staged as a spatial composition rather than as a traditional dining setting, and explores elemental forms and material contrasts. The result evokes the symbolism of everyday dining rituals, with domestic objects becoming almost ceremonial. Via Nerino 8, April 20-26.
An underwater theatre festooned with glistening silverware, Buccellati's Milan Design Week 2026 presentation is an artistic reimagining of the Altantis, brought to life with vibrant watercolour illustrations by the English artist and designer, Luke Edward Hall. Legends of ancient Rome, papal cookbooks and even Renaissance paintings blend into one another, creating a magical experience that tells the little-known story of Italian caviar. Piazza Tomasi Di Lampedusa, Via Gorani 6.
In a few year's time, we will be able to experience Lina Ghotmeh's ‘archaeology of the future’ philosophy in action in London at the British Museum – the Paris-based Lebanese architect is redesigning the institution's Western Range Galleries. But in the meanwhile, you can head to Palazzo Litta, where she has installed a bold pink labyrinthine installation that's been designed to make the visitor discover new facets of the legendary building. Palazzo Litta, Corso Magenta 24
Know for it's annual immersive showcase, L' Appartamento, which draws queues round the block, this year, Artemest – the online platform for contemporary, artisan-led Italian design – kicks things up a notch with the launch of its own furniture collection. Developed in collaboration with Christine and John Gachot, the Artemest Collection by GACHOT is inspired by the duo's NYC living room and blends American modernism with Italian craftsmanship. Material honesty and warmth are interpreted in timeless forms that promise style, substance and longevity beyond fickle trends. ‘Unpretentious yet rigorously considered, these are pieces are intended to be lived with for decades to come,’ say the designers. Via Gaetano Donizetti 48
Artist and curator Emmanuelle Luciani has conceived Baccarat’s exhibition Crystal Crypt, an immersive showcase merging light, image and sound. Envisioned as a galactic cathedral, the space pays tribute to artisan craftsmanship and is inspired by science fiction, particularly Philip K. Dick’s short story The Crystal Crypt. Highlights will include Mille Fleurs by British designer Bethan Laura Wood, a colourful new interpretation of the Zénith chandelier designed in the 19th century; and new editions of the iconic Harcourt goblet in red, green, and blue. Via Marco Formentini, 10, April 21-25.
J.J. Martin’s brand La DoubleJ is known for its exuberant patterned tableware, and this spring it unveils Al Fresco, a homeware collection for the outdoors. Featuring poufs inspired by rum baba desserts, folding tables, trays and, of course, a panoply of powerhouse prints designed for mixing and matching, the range embodies the brand’s concept of ‘p-leisure’, or playful leisure. ‘The Al Fresco collection is about connection,’ says Martin. ‘It’s inspired by the Italian instinct to gather - barefoot, unfiltered, joyful - around a table under the sun.’ Via Sant’Andrea 10A.
To celebrate its 50th anniversary, fragrance brand L’Artisan Parfumeur will present L'Appartement, an exhibition conceived by antiques dealer Antoine Billore in a Milanese apartment. Arranged as an intimate interior, the space will reveal Billore’s first collection of hybrid furniture, which fuses influences from the past with contemporary style. The poetic, playful designs are intended to subtly echo the brand’s olfactory world. Via Giovanni Lulli 2, April 20–26.
French design duo Garnier & Linker will present Vesta, a new collection of seating and side tables designed for Pierre Frey Mobilier, at the heritage fabric brand’s Milan showroom. This debut collaboration explores the balance between comfort, materiality and formal restraint, with pieces designed to work in a variety of settings. Each artisan-made creation is structured around a central oak element that shapes its silhouette, forming a subtle interplay between the warmth of wood and the softness of Pierre Frey textiles. Via Fatebenefratelli 3, April 20–26.
Belgian fashion designer Kris Van Assche unveils a 14-piece collection of sculptural bronze vessels in a contemplative installation at the Fondazione Sozzani, imagined as ‘a moment suspended in time’. The vases are the result of years of creative exchange between Van Assche and gallerist François Laffanour, founder of Laffanour | Galerie Downtown Paris. They are imagined as ‘flowers’ in their own right: coloured bronze exteriors suggest petals, and gleaming metal linings evoke nectar, inviting the viewer to look inside. Via Enrico Tazzoli 3, April 20-26.
Venetian manufacturer Barovier & Toso, whose origins date back to 1295, enters a new era with the arrival of designer Luca Nichetto (himself a native of Murano) as artistic director. New collections will be shown off in its city-centre showroom, including lamps and vessels by Nichetto, and Lithos vases by Emmanuel Babled. The exhibition, which is imagined as a treasure chest, concludes with the brand’s Coppa Barovier wedding cup, a Renaissance masterpiece decorated with polychrome enamels and gold on blue glass. Via Durini 5, April 20-26.
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