Milan Design Week can feel like a scavenger hunt. You don’t really “see” everything—you edit in real time. Your feet hurt, your phone dies, you forget to eat lunch, but somewhere between an off-site in a crumbling palazzo and a courtyard show staged like a Kubrick dream sequence, you spot it: the thing. The thing you didn’t know you needed to see until you did.
This year, I went hunting for those objects. The ones that stop time. The ones that hint at their makers’ obsessions. The ones that carry stories—personal, political, strange, or silent. Below, a shortlist of the best things I saw: pieces that may be practical or poetic, sometimes both, but always memorable. You don’t need a design degree to appreciate them. Just curiosity, a little patience, and maybe a Negroni.
Cardo Rug by Atelier de Troupe and Studioutte
BB Studio MDW25, ATELIER DE TROUPE, Intermezzo Installation View, ©GIULIO GHIRARDI.
Atelier de Troupe’s Intermezzo was an equally cinematic and pared-back exhibit amongst the noise of Design Week. In collaboration with Studioutte and cc-tapis, the Cardo Rug anchored the space—a quiet, textural field that bridged the line between design and atmosphere. The rug doesn’t rely on statement colors or patterns. Instead, it plays with proportion and material, offering a sense of weight without dominating the room. It’s the kind of piece that doesn’t demand attention, but rewards a second look. Part of a larger exploration of liminality—what’s in progress, what’s complete—the rug was one of the most honest objects I saw all week.
Lighting by James Cherry at Cabana
CABANA MDW 25, Courtesy of CABANA.
At Cabana’s Speak Memory exhibition—curated by Deborah Needleman and staged with the layered storytelling you expect from Martina Mondadori—James Cherry’s lighting stood out. No sculptural showboating, no gimmicks. Just a series of lamps that felt raw yet deeply considered. Cherry, a Los Angeles–based artist, works with found materials and recycled components, giving his pieces a sense of history without leaning too heavily on nostalgia. In a show built around memory, Cherry’s work was a perfect fit, exploring the interplay between personal and public narratives, utilizing meditative processes to both reveal and obscure symbols of the human experience.
PARTICULAIRE Wallpaper by Stephen Burks Man Made and Calico
Courtesy of Calico Wallpaper.
Installed in the courtyard of the Istituto dei Ciechi, Particulaire by Stephen Burks, Malika Leiper and Calico Wallpaper transformed the space into a visual archive of personal histories. Enlarged silhouettes of everyday travel objects became a kind of personal inventory writ large. It was playful but pointed, evoking the way design can hold memory without becoming overly sentimental. Burks’ work often sits at the intersection of craft and commentary, and this collaboration was no exception. The installation felt both specific and universal: objects as placeholders for stories, identities, and movement across borders. It wasn’t just wallpaper—it was a mapped-out memory wall, quietly insisting that what we carry with us matters.
Plates by Laboritorio Paravicini
Courtesy of Laboratorio Paravicini.
Laboratorio Paravicini’s ceramics are rooted in the traditions of Italian craftsmanship but never feel stuck in the past. Known for their hand-decorated plates and tableware, the Milan-based workshop brings a playful and experimental edge to classic techniques. Their latest collections move fluidly between styles—minimalist graphics, baroque flourishes, imagined landscapes—without losing a sense of cohesion. Each piece reflects a balance between research and intuition, formality and freedom. In a week filled with digital interventions, Paravicini’s work stood out for its slow, deliberate pace—and its ability to surprise without shouting.
Void Table by Casa Milana for Ranieri
RANIERI TAVOLINI, VOID COLLECTION, Courtesy of RANIERI.
Shown at Casa Milana—the expanded Milanese home-studio of Mario Milana and Gabriella Campagna—the Void Table collection explores the tension between mass and emptiness. Designed for Ranieri, the pieces are made from lava stone, shaped into modular elements that play with proportion and texture. The contrast is the point: hefty material, minimal form. Milana’s work often blurs the line between function and sculpture, and this series was no different. Positioned in a domestic setting rather than a conventional showroom, the tables felt integrated rather than staged—objects to live with, not just look at.
Camini by Ronan Bouroullec for Mutina
Courtesy of Mutina, photo by Gerhardt Kellermann.
Ronan Bouroullec’s Camini series for Mutina was one of the most quietly compelling releases of the week. Made in a limited edition of 100, each piece combines anodized aluminum and ceramic in a pairing that feels both precise and poetic. The structure is simple—two cylindrical vases supported by glazed ceramic blocks—but the execution is anything but. The glaze, based on an old formulation, gives the ceramic a crystal-like sheen that shifts in the light. There’s a familiarity to the form, but also something elusive. Like much of Bouroullec’s work, Camini continues his ongoing interest in modular forms and material tension.
Thaw Glass Jug by Completedworks
Courtesy of Completedworks.
The Thaw jug by Completedworks, part of their Fold collection, is a handcrafted piece made from recycled glass. Its design features a slanted form with a wavy rim and sturdy wide base, inspired by the representation of movement in Renaissance art. The jug’s shape gives the illusion of melting ice, reflecting the collection’s exploration of folds and textures. Each piece is unique, with slight variations in shape and size due to its handmade nature.
Liberamente Daybed by Soft Witness
In Repose Courtesy of Soft Witness, photo by Neige Thebault.
This Milan Design Week, Soft Witness by Whitney Krieger presented the Liberamente Daybed as part of their exhibition In Repose at Alcova‘s Villa Borsani venue. The design juxtaposes a rigid metal framework with plush cushioning, reflecting the concept of ‘liberamente’—a play on the Italian word for ‘freely’—to explore themes of freedom and environmental conditioning. The modular segments can be configured side-by-side or end-to-end, offering both utilitarian function and elegant form. This piece exemplifies Soft Witness’s commitment to creating furniture that embodies personal reflection and enduring beauty.
Bow Collection by Worn Studio
Bow Collection Courtesy of Worn Studio.
Shown at Alcova in the Marlot Baus room, Natalia Ortega’s Bow Collection is exactly that: wrought iron twisted into oversized bows that hold taper candles like they’re centerpieces at a surreal dinner party. The forms are playful but not kitsch, teetering just on the edge of theatrical. Ortega works with artisans in small towns across Spain, and that hand-built quality is obvious—the curves aren’t perfect, which makes them better. You get the sense that the bow wasn’t sketched, it was bent into being.
Jóia chair by StudioDanielK for Nilufar
Courtesy of NILUFAR, MDW25, STUDIO DANIEL K, Photo by Filippo Pincolini.
Jóia means “jewel” in Portuguese, and StudioDanielK takes that literally. The Jóia chair—part of a limited edition of 20 pieces—shown with Nilufar, is cast in bronze and balanced on slender legs with semi-precious spheres that look like they could just as easily belong to a piece of jewelry. Upholstered in Pierre Frey’s chocolate velvet, it reads more like a sculpture that happens to have a seat. But for all its ornament, the chair is surprisingly functional—steady, compact, and sharply proportioned. There’s a kind of architectural discipline at play, even as it flirts with excess.
The Great Sofa by Philippe Malouin and Hem
The Great Sofa Courtesy of Philippe Malouin and Hem.
Hem marked its 10th anniversary with The Great Sofa, a modular system by Philippe Malouin. Malouin spent three years developing it, and the result is straightforward: generous proportions, clean lines, and a construction that’s both relaxed and solid. Nothing flashy. Just a very large sofa that does exactly what it’s supposed to do, really well.
