Fashion meets design in Milan. Irina Dzhus AW2023-2024 collection – Photo by Irina Dzhus.
Design – Design Week is Milan’s most important event, but the city is not only a design capital. That is why Italian and international fashion houses usually join Fuorisalone to promote their brands with the excuse of occasional collaborations, capsule collections, hype window displays, and Instagram-friendly showroom set-ups. We have selected six initiatives that went further to tune with the messages and language of design truly.
- RELATED STORIES: Read more about Milan Design Week 2023 on Archipanic.
Prada Frames by Formafantasma
April 17-18-19. Teatro Dei Filodrammatici, Piazza Paolo Ferrari, 6 [Map].
Courtesy of Formafantasma.
Italian studio Formafantasma curates Prada Frames, a three-day symposium exploring the complex interaction between design and the environment. This year’s theme is Materials in Flux and examines the concept of waste as matter in transformation. Departing from the work of British anthropologist Tim Ingold, materials are interconnected and endlessly changing living entities. Prada Frames brings together scholars and professionals from various fields, including designers, architects, curators, scientists, anthropologists, activists, and legal and economic experts. Check the complete program HERE and join the symposium.
Armani Casa ‘a palazzo’
April 18-23. Palazzo Orsini, via Borgonuovo, 11 [Map].
Armani Casa at Palazzo Palazzo Orsini – Photo by Armani.
Giorgio Armani continues the dialogue with the city of Milan and opens the doors of the company’s historical headquarters to showcase the new Armani Casa design brand collections. Meander through the XVIII century building and find the secret garden to discover the new outdoor furniture designs.
A powerful message from Ukrainian brand Dzhus at CONTINUUM
April 18-23. Via Festa del Perdono 2, [Map].
Irina Dzhus AW2023-2024 collection – Photo by Irina Dzhus.
The CONTINUUM exhibition brings together five Ukrainian creatives who narrate their own personal idea of the future through their work and personal experience. In the wake of the Russian invasion, fashion designer Irina Dzhus and her team were forced to flee from Ukraine. DZHUS is a Ukrainian conceptual brand internationally known for its multi-purpose outfits made of cruelty-free materials. At CONTINUUM is an unparalleled, mesmerising experience, as the designer herself shows the metamorphosis of a resilient universal wardrobe in front of the audience.
More or Less by Maarten Baas for G-Star RAW
April 18-23. Church of San Paolo Converso, Piazza Sant’Eufemia, 1 [Map].
More of Less exhibition by Maarten Baas for G-Star RWA – Image by Maarten Baas.
Dutch designer and artist Maarten Baas teams up with fashion brand G-Star RAW and returns to Milan Design Week with the thought-provoking exhibition More or Less set within the grandiose surroundings of the 16th-century Church of San Paolo Converso. Together they delve into the paradoxical interplay between green design and mass consumerism, a sensitive topic, especially for an event like Milan Design Week and an industry that encourages consumption. “Each year in Milan, I enjoy the tragicomic dialogue between green design and mass consumption. When G-star approached me to work with recycled jeans, this was the perfect opportunity to address this curious dilemma instead of just acting as if we were saving the world. We’re well on our way. More or less….”
Thinking Design, Making Design by APOC Issey Miyake and Nature Architects
April 18. Issey Miyake flagship store, Via Bagutta, 12 [Map].
A-Poc Able Issey Miyake with Nature Architects.
Issey Miyake’s fashion brand A-POC. ABLE presents the Thinking Design, Making Design exhibition unveiling how the Japanese firm integrates technologies into design and making, featuring the TYPE-V project in collaboration with Nature Architects to explore the possibilities beyond clothes-making. In Milan, they reveal product prototypes made from just one piece of fabric, including lighting as well as a jacket that turns from flat to three-dimensional when it is steamed.
Hermès goes beton brut La Pelota Jai Alai
April 17-23. Via Palermo, 10 [Map].
Cordélie Arçon carpet by Pierre Charpin – Photo by Maxime Tetard © Hermès 2023.
Hermès returns to La Pelota Jai Alai in the heart of Brera Design District with a powerful installation highlighting the pureness of concrete and reinforcing steel bars. The radical beton brut scenography frames the Maison’s ultimate design collections, such as graphic rugs, 30s-style chairs, and timeless sofas. High-end craftsmanship dialogues and contrasts with an exquisite raw setting.
Home collections by fashion houses
Bomboca sofa by Studio Campana for Louis Vuitton’s Objets Nomades collection – Courtesy of Louis Vuitton.
Of course, fashion meets design with exquisite home collections highlighting high-end craftsmanship and precious materials. At Salone del Mobile, ONIRO Group launches new products by the brands Jumbo, Gianfranco Ferrè Home, and Roberto Cavalli Home. Other Maisons presenting new design collections in Milan are Louis Vuitton with the Objets Nomades project, Missoni, Versace, Fendi, Loewe, Liu Jo, Etro, Valentino, Simone Guidarelli, Furla, Dolce & Gabbana, and more.
Coquille seat, Liu Jo home collection – Courtesy of Liu Jo.
