From the major installations, showroom presentations, and, of course, the Salone del Mobile fair itself, here are the takeaways and top trends from Milan Design Week 2025 that have editors from AD’s global editions swooning.Heart of glassAt Milan Design Week 2025, glass emerged from the background—and not as invisible as one may think. These varieties were colorful and expressive, demonstrating exciting material mixes, vibrant surfaces, tiered levels and transparency that added both delicacy and delight. The glass of right now is not fragile, but rather confident that it can be the focal point of the room. Furniture and lighting in chunky, colorful, and glamorous designs exude main character energy.Striche gives glass a gummy-like allure with vibrant Murano pieces designed to light up any space. Photography courtesy of Matteo ZorzenoniMini-forms abounded too, like the Striche table, which means “to make large” in the Venetian dialect. Indeed, the small side table makes a big impression; its top, made of fused Murano glass, has a sugary, lustrous look. Made from mouth-blown Murano glass, Studio Urquiola’s modular Quadrato lights for 6:AM featured myriad surfaces with grooves, air bubbles, and a play of transparency and opacity that adds a tactile dimension to cold glass. –Katharina Schwarze, AD Germany6:AM’s Quadrato 36 chandelier in the basement of Milan’s Piscina Cozzi. Photo: Melania Dalle Grave6:AM presented Two-Fold Silence, its first solo show, set in the historic former public baths of Milan’s Piscina Cozzi. Photo: Melania Dalle GraveLighting pieces, including the Quadrato wall lamp, were installed throughout the space. Photo: Melania Dalle GraveTime for some funFrom left: Kyoto-based Suna Fujita’s tea set in the shape of a bird; Dan McCarthy’s watering can-like designs with egg-shaped faces. Photography courtesy of LoeweThis year, Milan Design Week seriously leaned into whimsy. Childlike wonder elevated everyday objects into something joyful and worth looking forward to using. Case in point, Loewe transformed the humble teapot into a fantastical piece via a global raft of artists, designers and architects. Spanish talent Laia Arqueros created a teapot inspired by the feminine form, blending Surrealism with sharp-tongued political commentary, whilst Dan McCarthy’s pieces were festooned with egg-shaped faces.Laila Gohar’s giant bed for Marimekko in the brand’s archival candy cane textiles. Photo: Sean DavidsonThe immersive setting dedicated to “all the things we do in bed” served as a launchpad for Gohar’s capsule collection with Marimekko. Photo: Sean DavidsonTeasing her upcoming collection with Finnish design brand Marimekko, New York-based conceptual artist Laila Gohar invited loungers into a giant-sized bed decorated in the brand’s archival chunky stripes by Maija Isola. Visitors could read or eat french fries in bed. Certain sections were actually cake, which was eventually sliced up and passed around.Richard Hutten has layered Jaipur Rugs’ traditional designs with blobs of vibrant colors. Photo: Neville SukhiaOne of the new Jaipur Rug creations features banana skins. These playful motifs are part of the woven design (and not applied or embroidered on top). Photo: Neville SukhiaFor a more somber take on childhood pursuits, try Michael Anastassiades’s sculptural Cygnet lights informed by the shape of flying kites or invest in a Richard Hutten design for Jaipur Rugs: Inspired by Holi, the Hindu festival of color, he has layered traditional rug designs with blobs of vibrant hues and even banana skins. (Hello, Maurizio Cattelan’s Taped Banana!) –Pratyush Sarup, AD Middle EastThe Surrealist resurgence continuesMarcin Rusak presented his exhibition “Ghost Orchid” in the former Pasino greenhouses. Photo: Piergiorgio SorgettiIn 2020, Surrealism experienced a new moment in time for its 100th anniversary. Opinions are still divided when it comes to the art movement, but the writing’s on the Milanese walls: Absurdly beautiful references are making a comeback, albeit in subtler ways than in Dalí’s days. This year’s Milan Design Week offered it an opportunity to break free from conventions to explore new creative directions. In the Pasino greenhouses, Marcin Rusak’s 3D-printed PLA sculptures, called Ghost Orchids, transported visitors to entirely different realms.Dimoremilano designed furniture for Loro Piana that was shown in the setting of the production La Prima Notte di Quiete. Photo: Andrea FerrariLoro Piana and Dimoremilano showcased theatricality at its finest: For their collaborative performance, titled La Prima Notte di Quiete, red velvet curtains (from the foyer of an imaginary vintage cinema) peeled back to a set resembling a fully-furnished house inspired by an apartment from the 1970s and 1980s. Here, Dimoremilano unveiled its expressive furniture for Loro Piana Interiors—the Quarona poufs and coffee tables included. Broken shards of dinner plates and glasses, clothes scattered on the floor, unfinished drinks made for beautiful chaos, set to an immersive light and sound show. And it is precisely in this setting that Surrealism staged a thunderous comeback. –Anna-Lena Reith, AD GermanyGolden weaveAllegra Hicks’s new collection, Napoli Future Nostalgia, features intricate frames made from brass cast into crochet-inspired designs. Photo: Filippo PincoliniFrom lace that women needled for their daughters’ trousseau to museum-hung tapestries with depictions of victory and folklore, a woven piece is an intricate assemblage of personal and collective memories. The act of weaving is both a skill and a ritual, one that transcends time to remain traditional yet cutting-edge, everyday yet precious. Allegra Hicks’ new collection, Napoli Future Nostalgia, presented at Nilufar Depot during Milan Design Week 2025, is an ode to that sense of duality. It’s a quietly radical capsule—eight pieces in total—featuring intricate bronze frames, crocheted into shape by artisans in Naples using the centuries-old lost-wax casting process. “I love the contrast between something that feels masculine and strong and something that’s delicate and traditionally feminine,” Hicks says. “It’s about transformation—of material, of meaning.”A close-up of the woven brass edge from one of the coffee tables by Hicks. Photo: Filippo PincoliniIn their traditional form, weaves don’t get more ethereal—or luxurious—than Hermès’s new H Partition cashmere throw featuring delicate hand-woven chevron patterns, interwoven with 24-carat gold powder. “The natural ivory cashmere, combined with gold, represents the lightness we always aim for at Hermès, but with a rarefied elegance that feels both timeless and modern,” says Florence Lafarge, the maison’s creative director for home textiles. –Talib Choudhry, AD Middle EastNovel embroideryA detail of the embroidery on the wood for the Nullus Locus project. Photo: Luca RotondoWith “Nullus Locus,” Massimiliano Locatelli, together with fashion expert Fabio Zambernardi, welcomed a new challenge: embroidery on wood. As a result, metallic stitches adorn vases, boiseries, cupboards, chairs, tables, and an entire room. Clay also became a new form of textile thanks to the genius of the Diego Olivero Studio; all the way from Guatemala to Alcova, the atelier creates tapestries out of clay and rope. At Nilufar Gallery, a beautiful work by Bogotá-based Jorge Lizarazo unfolded in a Tatami weave of natural and metallic fibers. And in Sonora, Luce Couillet with JAD at Labò created a textile from wood and cotton. Ancient techniques are indeed finding newer ways of expression. –Valentina Raggi, AD Italia“Nullus Locus,” a collaboration between Massimiliano Locatelli and Fabio Zambernardi. Photography courtesy of Massimiliano LocatelliThe case for overhead lightingBrian Sironi’s Multidot for Martinelli Luce redefines the chandelier as a constellation of glowing orbs on cascading cables. Photography courtesy of Martinelli LuceMariah Carey may have sounded the death knell for overhead lighting, but just like Christmas jingles, not all overhead lights are created equal. At Milan Design Week 2025, ceiling fixtures took back their power from TikTok influencers. Think of this new generation as jewelry for your room—sculptural, customizable, and surprisingly warm. Brian Sironi’s Multidot for Martinelli Luce reimagines the chandelier as a constellation of glowing orbs, suspended on fine cascading cables, like strings of pearls.Cycad, Joe Armitage’s new nature-inspired ceiling lamp for Nilufar. Photography courtesy of NilufarJoe Armitage’s Cycad collection for Nilufar takes cues from tropical plants at London’s Kew Gardens—its sculptural brass and walnut form glows like a hothouse after dark. Foscarini’s Asteria fixture by Alberto and Francesco Meda pares back the chandelier to curved aluminum arms and warm, integrated LEDs. And Map, a ceiling mounted track light system designed by Geckler Michels for Lodes, is all about innovation: It uses a single electrical connection and a conductive tape system that powers every module, bringing a new kind of freedom to tailoring your space. Overhead lighting isn’t over—it just needed a glow-up. –Mona Basharat, AD Middle EastLighting, elongatedLight Knit by Cecile Feilchenfeldt and Karla Huff. Photography courtesy of Cecile FeilchenfeldtWhen it came to shape, lighting fixtures were also elongated and delicate. Cecile Feilchenfeldt and Karla Huff’s latest designs, exhibited at the Swiss Pavilion, featured lamps with knitted coverings. At 5Vie, Dutch studio Rive Roshan presented its version of the floor lamp: a geometric and minimalist (but no less colorful) object reaching for the Moon. –Annabelle Dufraigne, AD FranceA stoic floor lamp by Dutch studio Rive Roshan. Photography courtesy of Rive RoshanBack to the ’60sThe Bibliothèque Rio de Janeiro bookcase (1962), one of the unseen Charlotte Perriand designs presented by Saint Laurent at Milan Design Week 2025 Photography courtesy of Saint LaurentBaxter has unveiled its new West Coast Aesthetics collection. A tribute to 1960s Californian design, the pieces blend modernist elegance and material experimentation. Combining tables with worked bases, fine leather, chromed metal seating, and sculptural lamps, the new line is inspired by midcentury-modern style, reinterpreted for 2025 and beyond. Midcentury-modern was also very much in evidence at Minotti, in the designs of Hannes Peer and Giampiero Tagliaferri. At Pedrali, the ’60s roared again, with inspiration drawn from the Case Study Houses Program, an American research movement created to explore innovative, functional, and sustainable housing solutions. Not to mention the Charlotte Perriand showcase by Saint Laurent, which included 1962’s Rio de Janeiro bookcase in wood and rattan. –Marina Hemonet, AD France…and a ’70s revivalYes, you knew it. We knew it. But now, Salone del Mobile 2025 has confirmed it: Marset is reissuing a beautiful lamp from the 1970s; Edra is doing the same with its iconic models, featuring new fabrics; and Roche Bobois is reimagining the first version of its famous Mah Jong sofa, too.Roche Bobois’ limited-run reissue of the iconic Mah Jong sofa featuring prints and stills from Pedro Almodóvar movies. Photography courtesy of Roche BoboisLet’s break it down: The lamp in question is Lauro, designed by P. Aragay and J. Pérez Mateo in 1973. As for Edra, the spirit of the ’70s can be seen in the new finishes and fabrics—more shine and more color—coming to its most iconic models, like Standard and BOA. And finally, the Pedro Almodóvar collaboration is indeed something to shout about: The director, known for his explosive use of color, has teamed up with Roche Bobois for his new collection, Cromática. In it, we find a special edition of the 1971 Mah Jong sofa, reissued with images and posters from his films, with only 50 signed pieces to be sold. The series also includes other pieces co-developed by the director and the French brand, including a capsule collection in collaboration with one of Almodóvar’s muses, multifaceted artist Rossy de Palma. –Marta Sader and Marina Peñalver, AD SpainSo fauxFosbury Architecture’s “Silver Lining” exhibition at Nilufar Depot furry floors, columns, and seats, all reflected by a mirrored roof above. Photo: Alejandro Ramirez OrozcoIn collaboration with Marcel Wanders, Fischbacher 1819’s Ancient Memories capsule collection is a textile archaeology that journeys through time. Photography courtesy of FischbacherAfter making a mark at all the major fashion shows of the winter just past, faux furs are conquering the world of interior design. From furniture collections (such as the 1973 Botolo dining chair by Cini Boeri, now available in a fur version, or the Me-Time sofa by Garcia Cumini for Moroso) to fabrics for upholstery and curtains (like the new Ancient Memories collection by Marcel Wanders for Fischbacher 1819 or Dedar’s Thank You For Sending Me An Angel range), faux fur surfaces promise a nostalgic gaze to the 1970s, whilst embracing a very current desire for softness and visual sensations.Garcia Cumini’s Me-Time sofa for Moroso invites you into their richly imaginative world. Photo: Studio EyeAmong the 2025 Milan Design Week installations, one that will leave a lasting impression is the immersive “Silver Lining” by Fosbury Architecture at the Nilufar Depot. Transforming the atrium into a sensory experience, pink and burgundy fur wrapped a maze-like space, setting the scene for a 1970s style display. The showcase explored the infinite expressive possibilities of metal, the absolute protagonist of a monochromatic landscape of fluid geometries and shifting reflections. Here, work by contemporary creators including Supaform, Studioutte and Flavie Audi, Destroyers/Builders, Wendy Andreu and Bram Vanderbeke, Odd Matter, Irene Goldberg, and Michael Schoner rubbed shoulders with creations by past masters such as Gio Ponti, Marzio Cecchi, Pietro Chiesa, Gabriella Crespi, Mario Bellini, and Nanda Vigo. –Elena Dallorso, AD ItaliaDedar’s new collection strikes a lively rhythm through bold material and technique variations. Photo: Andrea FerrariBuccellati presented a broad range of intricately decorated wild creatures in silver. Photo Courtesy of BuccellatiAt Buccellati, life-like creatures from the air, land, and sea—all intricately crafted in silver—were presented in a layered, immersive setting. Elsewhere, L’ Appartamento by Artemest showcased Piero Manara’s Lizzy Ostrich cabinet, featuring a belly that houses a cocktail set, and the 5Vie festival welcomed visitors with a giant mobile fish sculpture created by Sagarminaga Atelier from straw fibers. –Annabelle Dufraigne, AD FrancePiero Manara’s Lizzy Ostrich at L’Appartamento by Artemest opens to reveal a bright red drinks cabinet. Photo: Fratelli BoffiCoveting CubismLemon’s A Room with a View collection channels the romance of Italian villas, where past and present meet. Photo: Inge PrinsThe cube is in. All around Milan Design Week, furniture took thick, blocky forms. In Apollo, Studioutte’s monochromatic presentation, the up-and-coming design duo took cues from minimalist master Jean-Michel Frank, creating a poplar-paneled boiserie surround for their sleek, cubist dining furniture. Knoll also reissued slick, glass, and steel box-tables by ’80s design icon Joe D’Urso. Around town, boxy chairs—think arms that rise to the height of the back—were everywhere, from Lemon’s Alcova presentation as a loose tribute to Josef Hoffmann, to Fendi Casa, where one chair was assembled from wood scraps by Lewis Kemmenoe, to artist Garance Valle’s debut furniture collection in collaboration with Monde Singular. And at the always-experimental Drop City, architect Sam Chermayeff pushed the idea furthest with a show of literal boxes that include everything from Sabine Marcelis’ iconic resin candy cube to shipping crates. –Hannah Martin, AD USAt Fendi Casa, a steel and leather armchair by Lewis Kemmenoe featuring paneling assembled from wood scraps. Photograhy courtesy of FendiAsymmetric curvesDesigned by Monica Armani, Lago’s Chapeau table featuring an off-centered, curved cantilevered top. Photography courtesy of LagoCurves have been in charge for the past five years. What we hadn’t noticed so obviously, until now, is a growing love for the irregular, asymmetrical curve. Tribù, for example, has launched two outdoor sofas in sinuous lines, while Lago expresses its pursuit of dynamism through the Chapeau table, the result of a collaboration that began in 2024 with Monica Armani.Italian designer Roberto Lazzeroni’s Meridies outdoor table for Expormim. Photo: Maria MiraExpormim is embracing the trend with its Mediterranean-inspired outdoor furniture. “Meridies is a summer dream come true,” shares a brand rep. “Inspired by Expormim’s signature material, rattan, but crafted from FSC-certified sapele wood, Meridies is a journey back in time to our childhood—when after spending the morning at the beach, we’d return home and look for a shady spot to nap while waiting for the Levant breeze to cool down the afternoon.” This evocative memory takes the shape of natural elements like petals, seeds, or leaves, allowing the designer to delve into a sense of lightness that defines the asymmetrical curve. –Marta Sader and Marina Peñalver, AD SpainBack to natureA floral silhouette takes shape in studio 11(Eleven)’s filigree lamp. Photo: Piergiorgio SorgettiIn a fast-paced world with rapidly advancing technologies that make the impossible possible, some designers and brands this year are reflecting on what has always been there, what is becoming ever more precious: in these fluid times, nature always brings us back to the here and now. Whether in subtle reference or as a grand floral flourish, organically-inspired references overflowed at this year’s Salone. At Alcova, for example, studio 11(Eleven) presented a filigree lamp whose shade imitates a delicate blossom, while studio Touch with Eyes used shimmering shells for its Frutti di Mare collection. For “Bamboo Encounters,” Gucci commissioned artists and designers to reinterpret its iconic material for sculptural furniture and striking art. Bamboo, delicate blossoms, and ornaments also adorn the fabrics of the Hemispheres collection, which Hosoo realized with Dimorestudio. Combining Japanese and Italian styles, the fabrics were presented via the Magnolia collection by Osanna Visconti—a dream-like furniture series made of bronze in which delicate blossoms and stems wind their way onto screens, mirrors, and consoles. –Mailin Sophie Zieser, AD GermanyOsanna Visconti’s pieces featured in Dimorestudio’s latest collaboration with historic Kyoto textile atelier Hosoo, established in 1688. Photo: Silvia Rivoltella