Once again, the Peclers Paris teams landed in Milan to soak up the energy of Milan Design Week, held from April 7 to 13, 2025. From the iconic Salone del Mobile to secret showrooms and immersive installations worthy of true art scenography, they explored the city in search of bold inspiration and fresh creative discoveries.

For its 63rd edition, the Salone del Mobile was all about light, thanks to the return of the Euroluce biennial. Every year, the event brings Milan to life, drawing in nearly 400,000 visitors and over 2,000 exhibitors from 37 countries. This year’s biennial, titled Light Between Past and Future, gathered 306 exhibitors—45% of them international—celebrating both daring experimentation and the reissue of cult design pieces.

Beyond the Salone, Fuorisalone continues to pulse with energy, featuring installations and projects in ever more unexpected locations across the city. This year, the event even spilled beyond Milan, stretching to Varedo, home to Alcova’s four sites and the brand-new Good Selection, curated by Lucas Zito. Immersive exhibitions multiplied, favouring strong scenography over mere product presentation.

Design Week keeps evolving and reaching a wider audience—no longer just for die-hard design lovers. Fashion houses are claiming their space: Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Loewe, were joined this year by Gucci, Saint Laurent and Loro Piana, all showcasing their objects and craftsmanship. Prada continued its Prada Frames symposium, while Ferragamo and Byredo brought the city to life with pop-ups and activations targeting the next-gen creative crowd.

This latest edition echoed the key narratives from the Environments & Design FW26-27 trendbook. The Prelude theme, a modern take on classic codes and the idea of heritage, stood out in many spaces. So did Majestic, which places the notion of the icon back at the heart of contemporary design.

In this report, we’re sharing an exclusive excerpt of our analysis on the Prelude trend.

👉 To access the full breakdown and discover the Majestic trend, join us on the Peclers+ platform.

PRELUDE

An escape into a dream world that is both romantic and steeped in history, decked in familiar, yet mysteriously reinvented, contours. A trend that emerged across several designers during the 2025 edition of Milan Design Week.

At the Visteria Foundation, the exhibition Romantic Brutalism: A Journey into Polish Craft and Design brought together a new generation of Polish artists and designers. Their work, deeply rooted in traditional techniques and cultural heritage, sketches out a renewed folklore—where romanticism meets raw, unapologetic brutalism.

At Alcova, visitors were welcomed at the entrance of the now-iconic Villa Borsani by a new tableware collection designed by British designer Faye Toogood in collaboration with Japanese porcelain manufacturer Noritake. Adorned with a hand-painted floral motif, the collection evokes the faded charm of an English garden—both delicate and melancholic.

Also at Alcova, British jewellery and ceramics brand Completed Works unveiled its latest collection of objects and furniture for the first time. Displayed in one of the Villa Borsani’s rooms, their delicate glass and metal pieces rested on dressing tables with unexpected textures, creating a series of contemporary still lifes.

An unexpected collaboration unfolded at Villa Bagatti Valsecchi in Alcova, where Super Yaya joined forces with artist Conie Vallese to create a seating collection titled Softness and Strength. Sculptural bronze frames, adorned with finely carved flowers, were softly wrapped in loosely woven Super Yaya textiles. A poetic interplay of strength, materiality, and fragility.

To close out the visit, Studio KO presented its new rug collection for Beni Rugs in a former 1930s textile workshop. The pieces were staged in an immersive scenography: a deserted office, fully covered in sheets of paper, as if time had stopped. A silent, story-filled atmosphere—both eerie and elegant.

A must-attend event, Milan Design Week stands out year after year as a key observatory for understanding and anticipating the shifts shaping the design industry. It’s also a vital source of inspiration for the Peclers Paris teams, fueling our creative and prospective insights.

📘 Discover our Environments & Design FW26-27 trend book, available in both physical format and enhanced digital version on our Peclers+ platform.

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Sur/Reality: creative dreamscape