Art in Stores, featuring artwork by Andrew J. Greene, Balenciaga’s presentation during Salone del Mobile Milano, 2024. Photos: courtesy Balenciaga
Balenciaga
Continuing its Art in Stores program, Balenciaga staged new works by American artist Andrew J. Greene throughout its location on Via Montenapoleone in Milan. Mixing the artist’s ongoing sculptural investigations into commodity culture with the brand’s celebrated trompe-l’oeil products, the presentation featured sculptures of, among other things, a red rose, a globe, and a glossed-leather potato chip bag, all on motorized stainless-steel stanchions.
On the Rocks, Bottega Veneta’s presentation during Salone del Mobile Milano, 2024. Photos: courtesy Bottega Veneta
Bottega Veneta
As part of a partnership with Cassina and Fondation Le Corbusier, Bottega Veneta utilized Palazzo San Fedele, Milan, to present On the Rocks, a large-scale installation under the creative direction of Matthieu Blazy. Taking as a starting point Le Corbusier’s iconic LC14 Tabouret Cabanon, which was inspired by wooden whiskey boxes that he found on the rocks in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France, Blazy worked with Cassina to fabricate new editions that have been encased in Bottega Veneta’s signature woven leatherwork.
Photos: courtesy Dedon
Dedon
As an outdoor furniture brand, Dedon embraces and magnifies the beauty of the natural world. For its Salone del Mobile presentation this year, Beyond Boundaries: Innovation Inspired by Nature, Dedon cross-pollinated the simplicity of “barefoot” living and the luxury of sophisticated design. The presentation simultaneously looked back to celebrate the fifteenth anniversary of the Seashell collection and introduced the new Mu collection by Toan Nguyen, in addition to other novel designs and fibers.
HABITUS, Foscarini’s presentation during Salone del Mobile Milano, 2024. Photos: courtesy Foscarini
Foscarini
Foscarini presented HABITUS, an experimental project with the artist and designer Andrea Anastasio working alongside Arun Jothi and Natalie Frost of Amal, a Rome- and Mumbai-based company specializing in the research, development, and creation of embroidery made by hand for the world of haute couture. With HABITUS, Foscarini granted itself the opportunity to explore the world of lighting in different directions, with unrestrained creativity and without heeding the limits imposed by serial production. The result was an exhibition of luminous objects composed of materials such as glass beads, paillettes, plexiglass, and strips of laser-cut PET.
Gucci Design Ancora, Gucci’s presentation during Salone del Mobile Milano, 2024. Photos: courtesyGucci
Gucci
Staged at the Gucci flagship store on Via Montenapoleone, Gucci Design Ancora was a special project created in partnership between Sabato De Sarno, Gucci’s creative director, and curator Michela Pelizzari. The exhibition highlighted five works by giants of Italian design—including “Storet” by Nanda Vigo for Acerbis and “Le Mura” by Mario Bellini for Tacchini—reedited and customized in Rosso Ancora, the red hue chosen by De Sarno for the brand’s newest chapter. The customized space for the presentation was designed by Spanish architect Guillermo Santomà.
Fold and Crease, Issey Miyake × We Make Carpets presentation during Salone del Mobile Milano, 2024. Photos: courtesy Issey Miyake
Issey Miyake × We Make Carpets
During Milan Design Week, Issey Miyake collaborated with the Dutch collective We Make Carpets. The Miyake store became home to the project Fold and Crease, which showcased a series of striking installations. These were “carpets” woven with everyday objects—skewers and pins—rather than fabric. The materials of Issey Miyake clothing and textiles inspired the members of We Make Carpets to craft these intricate patterns, with topographies of pleats, fold, waves, and creases unsettling viewers’ expectations of materials while reflecting the age-old artistry of weaving.
Photos: courtesy Ligne Roset
Ligne Roset
Celebrated French architect and designer Pierre Guariche took center stage in Ligne Roset’s Salone 2024 project. While Guariche is famous for his lighting fixtures, the presentation of reissues gave equal footing to his work in seats and cabinetry, originally produced in the 1950s and ’60s.
Loewe Lamps, Loewe’s presentation during Salone del Mobile Milano, 2024. Photos: courtesy Loewe
Loewe
This year, Loewe commissioned twenty-four artists to create one-of-a-kind lamps. This special collection, Loewe Lamps, was on view in the Palazzo Citterio. The participating artists hail from around the world, and each has a longstanding relationship with the fashion house. Their works ranged in form (floor, table, and suspended) and material (glass, ceramics, leather, and more). Artist Hafu Matsumoto wove bamboo into a lamp, for example, while Alvaro Barrington formed one in the shape of a storefront with metal shutters. As a collection, these enchanting light fixtures drew from Loewe’s tradition of craftsmanship and reimagined the lamp form.
Loro Piana’s presentation during Salone del Mobile Milano, 2024. Photos: courtesy Loro Piana
Loro Piana
Marking its 100th anniversary, Loro Piana presented an installation honoring the architect and designer Cini Boeri. Featuring a selection of Boeri’s most iconic pieces, upholstered in the brand’s own textiles, the presentation of domestic-scale furniture was organized in collaboration with Archivio Cini Boeri.
Prada Frames, Prada’s presentation during Salone del Mobile Milano, 2024. Photos: courtesy Prada
Prada
Each of the past three years, Prada has hosted a symposium, Prada Frames, in conjunction with Salone del Mobile. The most recent iteration, Being Home, explored the relationship between the natural environment and design. Curated by the design and research studio Formafantasma, the symposium brought together scholars and professionals across disciplines, including academic Jack Halberstam and actress Isabella Rossellini. The Neo-Renaissance Bagatti Valsecchi Museum served as a creative backdrop for discussions on what it means to care for one’s home: both personal and collective, built and organic.
Saint Laurent’s presentation during Salone del Mobile Milano, 2024. Photos: courtesy Saint Laurent
Saint Laurent
For Milan Design Week, Saint Laurent Rive Droite collaborated with Gio Ponti Archives and the Fundación Anala y Armando Planchart on the reissue of twelve plates. Curated by creative director Anthony Vaccarello, the exhibition showcased an exceptional plate collection at the Chiostri di San Simpliciano. The collection paid homage to the original collaboration between Gio Ponti and the Florentine manufacturer Ginori 1735 for the Villa Planchart, Venezuela. In 1957, Ponti designed a set of porcelain tableware decorated with symbols and motifs of the villa.
Photo: courtesy Salvatori
Salvatori
This year, Salvatori collaborated with architect and designer Patricia Urquiola to launch the brand’s first bathroom collection. Inspired by the intimate moment of solitary reflection that accompanies daybreak, The Small Hours explored the concept of the bathroom as a sophisticated yet calming haven. It featured wall-hung, countertop, and freestanding washbasins, accompanied by backsplash and by shelves incorporating steel, wood, and natural stone, along with idiosyncratic shower trays and round bathtubs. The leitmotif of the collection was the cylindrical shape, which is used to impose architectural rigor and bring harmony to the various elements.
Zegna’s presentation during Salone del Mobile Milano, 2024. Photos: courtesy Zegna
Zegna
The result of a collaboration between Italian luxury brand Zegna and Rizzoli, with creative direction by Laura Decaminada and text by Chidozie Obasi, this elaborate book, Born in Oasi Zegna, evokes the richness of sensations that have come to define Zegna. Centering Oasi Zegna, the free-access natural territory established by the brand’s founder and maintained by his descendants in the Italian Alps, the book avoids biography and chronology, instead utilizing vivid imagery and poetic texts to celebrate this unique ecosystem.
