Milan Design Week 2024 Highlights: Fashion and Art Collaborations
This year, the spotlight at Milan Design Week was on fashion-art collaborations. Brands explored the relationship between design, fashion, and art. We've compiled the week's standout moments and expert insights for you.
At the historic Villa Necchi, known for being featured in Ridley Scott's House of Gucci and Luca Guadagnino's I Am Love, I stand in the garden. Facing me is Gucci's Creative Director, Sabata de Sarno. I ask how his work stands out amidst the plethora of collections and designs. Without hesitation, he replies, "You can tell if something is real by the impact it has on you. Success comes from that authenticity, and everything I do is real." The packed schedule was more relevant than ever for Milan Design Week 2024. Keeping up with the numerous collaborations and events in the city is challenging. Here are the most captivating highlights for you.
Saint Laurent and Gio Ponti at Villa Planchart
Curated by Anthony Vaccarello, the exhibition focuses on the plate collection Gio Ponti designed for Villa Planchart in Venezuela in 1953. The collection pays homage to the sun, the moon, and Anala Y Planchart.
Thom Browne and Frette Collaboration
More of a performance than an exhibition; a Thom Browne classic. This time, Browne collaborates with Frette for a neo-classical sleep experience. Models, performing before lying on specially crafted cotton and satin sheets, spent 15 minutes preparing, emphasizing that sleep is a serious act, as Browne states.
Rimowa and La Marzocco Collaboration
All about aluminum; Rimowa continues to partner with industry experts. Given the setting of Milan, espresso is naturally in the spotlight. The collaboration with renowned coffee machine maker La Marzocco takes 40 hours to produce each machine.
Loro Piana and Cini Boeri Exhibition
Loro Piana celebrates the 100th birthday of iconic Italian designer Cini Boeri. The Boeri pieces, reproduced with the brand’s special fabrics, celebrate radical luxury. Only 100 units of these groundbreaking functional and accessible Boeri products were produced.
Amy Astley of Architectural Digest
Amy Astley, Editor-in-Chief of Architectural Digest, shared her view on design: "Watching creative people design these objects and integrate them into the agendas of major companies, thereby changing those agendas, is fascinating. This work was never just about creativity; understanding the industry and having business acumen have always been requirements. Perhaps the question is: how do you combine creativity with business and the way you do business? Are you truly listening to the world and yourself?"
Interior Photographer Matthew Kappas
Interior photographer Matthew Kappas summarized Design Week: "This year, there’s a noticeable increase in the use of metal in designs. This is especially exciting for photography because metal brings more light into spaces, providing more play areas for photos. Recently, I photographed a Vincenzo di Cotiis chair with metal fittings. The metal and the extra light it brought created new spaces within the area."
Salone Del Mobile
Maria Porro, the first female president of Salone Del Mobile, one of the world's largest furniture fairs, has been working to ensure the event, which features over 2,000 participants (30% international), is sustainable. "We seek the most organic nature-conserving approach in our partner companies' policies. We prioritize responsible design."
Bottega Veneta On The Rocks
The On The Rocks collection, a collaboration with Cassina and the Le Corbusier Foundation, pays homage to the brand’s latest show. The stools, a lesson in minimalism, were produced in limited numbers with Bottega Veneta’s craftsmanship and leather materials.
Technogym Design to Move
Celebrating its 40th anniversary, the brand commissioned 40 international designers and artists to design 40 different benches. Renin Bilginer designed the piece for Turkey. The "Design to Move" exhibition explores the relationship between design, health, and aesthetics.
Al Ula in Milan
The seating area designed by Hall Haus explores one of Saudi culture's significant notions: large groups spending time together in vast spaces. The installation aims to question how these different voices can create synergy and how our surroundings influence creativity.
Gucci Ancora
To celebrate Italian design and ask what principles ensured its golden age, Sabata De Sarno curated the exhibition, which brings together some of the most iconic objects of its time, creating a puzzle for the viewers.
Issey Miyake Fold and Crease
Cut, fold, and reproduce. Collaborating with the Dutch fashion brand We Make Carpets, Issey Miyake presents an exhibition advocating that the value of craftsmanship is understood only when one comes into close contact with materials. Touching each material individually is the exhibition's motto.
Loewe Lamps
Jonathan Anderson gave various designers and artists worldwide the opportunity to design a special lamp for Loewe. Twenty-four different designers focused on the idea of "best lighting the home" based on the brand’s guidelines. Anderson, as always, had another question in mind: "Can we find a path to human enlightenment through home lighting?"
These were the key highlights of the 2024 Milan Design Week, showcasing the intricate interplay between fashion, art, and design.
This year, the spotlight at Milan Design Week was on fashion-art collaborations. Brands explored the relationship between design, fashion, and art. We've compiled the week's standout moments and expert insights for you.
At the historic Villa Necchi, known for being featured in Ridley Scott's House of Gucci and Luca Guadagnino's I Am Love, I stand in the garden. Facing me is Gucci's Creative Director, Sabata de Sarno. I ask how his work stands out amidst the plethora of collections and designs. Without hesitation, he replies, "You can tell if something is real by the impact it has on you. Success comes from that authenticity, and everything I do is real." The packed schedule was more relevant than ever for Milan Design Week 2024. Keeping up with the numerous collaborations and events in the city is challenging. Here are the most captivating highlights for you.
Saint Laurent and Gio Ponti at Villa Planchart
Curated by Anthony Vaccarello, the exhibition focuses on the plate collection Gio Ponti designed for Villa Planchart in Venezuela in 1953. The collection pays homage to the sun, the moon, and Anala Y Planchart.
Thom Browne and Frette Collaboration
More of a performance than an exhibition; a Thom Browne classic. This time, Browne collaborates with Frette for a neo-classical sleep experience. Models, performing before lying on specially crafted cotton and satin sheets, spent 15 minutes preparing, emphasizing that sleep is a serious act, as Browne states.
Rimowa and La Marzocco Collaboration
All about aluminum; Rimowa continues to partner with industry experts. Given the setting of Milan, espresso is naturally in the spotlight. The collaboration with renowned coffee machine maker La Marzocco takes 40 hours to produce each machine.
Loro Piana and Cini Boeri Exhibition
Loro Piana celebrates the 100th birthday of iconic Italian designer Cini Boeri. The Boeri pieces, reproduced with the brand’s special fabrics, celebrate radical luxury. Only 100 units of these groundbreaking functional and accessible Boeri products were produced.
Amy Astley of Architectural Digest
Amy Astley, Editor-in-Chief of Architectural Digest, shared her view on design: "Watching creative people design these objects and integrate them into the agendas of major companies, thereby changing those agendas, is fascinating. This work was never just about creativity; understanding the industry and having business acumen have always been requirements. Perhaps the question is: how do you combine creativity with business and the way you do business? Are you truly listening to the world and yourself?"
Interior Photographer Matthew Kappas
Interior photographer Matthew Kappas summarized Design Week: "This year, there’s a noticeable increase in the use of metal in designs. This is especially exciting for photography because metal brings more light into spaces, providing more play areas for photos. Recently, I photographed a Vincenzo di Cotiis chair with metal fittings. The metal and the extra light it brought created new spaces within the area."
Salone Del Mobile
Maria Porro, the first female president of Salone Del Mobile, one of the world's largest furniture fairs, has been working to ensure the event, which features over 2,000 participants (30% international), is sustainable. "We seek the most organic nature-conserving approach in our partner companies' policies. We prioritize responsible design."
Bottega Veneta On The Rocks
The On The Rocks collection, a collaboration with Cassina and the Le Corbusier Foundation, pays homage to the brand’s latest show. The stools, a lesson in minimalism, were produced in limited numbers with Bottega Veneta’s craftsmanship and leather materials.
Technogym Design to Move
Celebrating its 40th anniversary, the brand commissioned 40 international designers and artists to design 40 different benches. Renin Bilginer designed the piece for Turkey. The "Design to Move" exhibition explores the relationship between design, health, and aesthetics.
Al Ula in Milan
The seating area designed by Hall Haus explores one of Saudi culture's significant notions: large groups spending time together in vast spaces. The installation aims to question how these different voices can create synergy and how our surroundings influence creativity.
Gucci Ancora
To celebrate Italian design and ask what principles ensured its golden age, Sabata De Sarno curated the exhibition, which brings together some of the most iconic objects of its time, creating a puzzle for the viewers.
Issey Miyake Fold and Crease
Cut, fold, and reproduce. Collaborating with the Dutch fashion brand We Make Carpets, Issey Miyake presents an exhibition advocating that the value of craftsmanship is understood only when one comes into close contact with materials. Touching each material individually is the exhibition's motto.
Loewe Lamps
Jonathan Anderson gave various designers and artists worldwide the opportunity to design a special lamp for Loewe. Twenty-four different designers focused on the idea of "best lighting the home" based on the brand’s guidelines. Anderson, as always, had another question in mind: "Can we find a path to human enlightenment through home lighting?"
These were the key highlights of the 2024 Milan Design Week, showcasing the intricate interplay between fashion, art, and design.