Milan Design Week 2025 Preview

What we’re most excited to see at Milan Design Week 2025

Micro and macro movements in the design world

As the biggest design show in the world, Milan Design Week is the perfect chance to take stock of our moment in design. What is exhibited in Milan echoes for the rest of the year, so there’s no better place to get a sense of what designers are working on and where the industry is heading.

We don’t have long to wait now – be sure to sign up for our daily trend coverage! 

This is what we’re most excited to see in Milan in 2025.

^{A preview of what you’ll find at Palazzo Bovara…} 

Circularity

Milan is a showcase for the latest material innovations. With the spotlight on circular design set to continue this year, we can’t wait to see the brilliant work that brands from all over the world are doing with sustainable materials.

Circularity goes beyond materials, of course – it is also a philosophy. Circular thinking, symbols, and insights are also shared in Milan each year, informing the design process at the very beginning of the conceptual stage.

Along those lines, we are doubly excited to see the ouroboros that Patricia Urquiola designed for ALCHEMICA – an exhibition she is curating for ELLE DÉCOR ITALIA at Palazzo Bovara.

As a symbol of renewal, the ouroboros – traditionally depicted as a snake eating its own tail – is the perfect depiction of circular design: the circular manufacturing process creatively ‘consumes’ waste to bring new products to life.

The ouroboros symbolises hope for the industry. But circular design is no mere fancy; circular thinking is already leading to tangible products that serve as milestones on the journey. The Haworth Cardigan Lounge, designed by Patricia Urquiola, will also be displayed at ALCHEMICA. Haworth Cardigan is the most circular product we’ve designed so far, and some of the advances we made during that design process have already expanded to other products in the portfolio.  

Milan 2025 promises to be full of circular innovations. 

^{What will brands like Poltrona Frau do in 2025?}  

Colour trends

In 2025/2026, rich colours and gem tones are expected to be leading protagonists. We’re excited to see how will these rich colours be implemented in Milan – will they be used on smaller accents? In large swathes of upholstery, like curtains or long winding sofas? Will they be used mostly for the walls? Will colour drenching be common? 

But more than anything else, we are thrilled to share a collaboration between Haworth and the masters of colour, Pantone!

Our project will be displayed at the ALCHEMICA exhibition at Palazzo Bovara. If you’ll be in Milan, consider the exhibition unmissable. If you can’t make it, don’t worry – we’ll bring you live updates.

Look out for more on this fantastic collaboration with Pantone!

^{A Copilot-generated image of ‘AI assisting the furniture design process’}

AI’s impact on the design process

Just as in many other industries, AI is making a big splash in design, igniting wide-ranging debates about the scale and scope of AI’s involvement in creative industries.

The conversations around AI are sure to abound this year in Milan. As one example, artwork for Fuorisalone was created by a prompt designer with AI. Fuorisalone’s theme – Connected Worlds – examines the interplay between humans and the digital world. Where is creativity’s border?

There are many implications we’ll be keeping an eye on – including accessibility, sustainability, optimism and pessimism, and the opportunities for and impact on young designers. 

^{Which design eras are we longing for this year?}

Nostalgia

Every year at Milan, there are always exhibitions that play on nostalgia for one design era or another. In 2024, it felt like aesthetics from the 60s and 70s were everywhere.

We’re excited to see which eras will echo most insistently this year. Which decades are we longing for? As we look back, are we gaining inspiration for the future – or escaping from the uncertainty of the present? Which feelings are we trying to capture across time?

Speaking of celebrating the past, this year Cassina will celebrate a big anniversary! After the resounding success of their Masters retrospective a couple of years ago, we’re eager to see what Cassina will do with this year’s exhibition. 

We’re thrilled to see what Milan has in store for us. And as excited as we are about circularity, colour trends, AI in design, and nostalgia, those are just a few of the topics we’ll be covering.

We’re also interested in new movements in biophilia. We’ll keep an eye on rest, recovery, and relaxation spaces. We’ll see what’s going on with patterns.

We’ll be bringing you live updates every day from the streets of Milan. Make sure to sign up for our notifications so you won’t miss a moment!