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If you haven’t read our countdown to this year’s Salon from yesterday,read here! Today we’re focusing on Jill’s picks from the week, and tomorrow, we’ll conclude our three-part Milan series with an in-depth look at the best shows from Milan 2026.
Jill’s choices
I did not attend the official fairs for the first time this year, and at the end of the week, I had seen the new furniture that was so small (as the World of Interiors says, the style rule), I wanted to run screaming into B&B Italia. Well, the joke is on me because apparently the Italian brand had one of the best booths I’ve seen in a long time, designed by Formafantasma. Highlights include a reproduction of the 1958 Catilina chair with a narrow frame by Luigi Caccia Dominioni (right), an outdoor seating system by Vincent Van Duysen (left), and a small chic family of outdoor pieces by Jasper Morrison.
On view at the historic Gae Aulenti-designed Tivioli boutique was a show by New York gallery Demisch Danant, which put vintage furniture pieces in conversation with Tivioli’s archive of couture materials, including suede, leather, pony hair, and rare vintage fabrics taken from the brand’s fabric archive.
Design strategist and curator Ambra Medda recently moved from London to Milan, and opened her office last week with an exhibition by Greek designer Leda Athanasopoulou and Chinese artist Yumo Yuan. Among other things, Athanasopoulou showed pottery fired in a kiln fired by olive pits, while Yuan showed the results of the 18th century warp printing technique, where he painted patterns by hand on the silk warp before weaving the weft, creating an invisible effect.
I spent a lovely morning eating eggs and toast made by our friend Philippe Malouin, who hosted a breakfast to launch his new Vite espresso maker from Alessi. In the Vite, there is a clear visual link to Richard Sapper’s 1980 original for the product, but the language of the form is entirely Malouin’s. And, like I said on Instagram, it’s the only product of the week made for people – under $200!
Galleria Luisa Della Piane presented Zaven’s Incipit, a new series made of wood panels covered with layers of epoxy putty. Designed by Marco Zavagno and Enrica Cavarzan, the pieces are made for the entryway, which the two consider the most forgotten space in the home.
Also at the show, Meritalia shared a booth with Memphis and Gufram, creating a fusion of radical Italian design. I thought these new Crease sofas by Faye Toogood, whose frame is meant to resemble the seams of a turned-out sweater, were a great way to soften the goofier edges of Memphis.
I liked the concept of the Side Gallery booth exhibition at the Salone Raritas, which combines up-and-coming designers with historical Japanese design. In the photo on the left, velvet-upholstered furniture by Isamu Kenmochi is paired with polyurethane and metal lamps by LS Gomma; on the right, the Kenmochi Center table is flanked by Kenzo Terumi’s 1962 Zaizu rocking chairs, Thomas Takada’s maple sapling table lamp, and Conie Vallese’s brass wall hooks.
CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP LEFT:
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We’ll be featuring Mutina’s new releases in depth later this month, but I had to give a big shout out to the Italian tile brand’s collaboration with the Josef & Anni Albers Foundation, aptly named Homage to the Square. The tiles, whose vibrant color palettes are inspired by Albers’ paintings, play with variations of matte vs. gloss and tone variation; in addition to the Mutina showroom, they were installed in the offices of Ambra Medda, and we were rightly concerned.
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At Alcova, the Playing House started with a group show featuring a few familiar pieces — including Anna Dawson’s Calle lamps and Caleb Engstrom’s Dry Kiss chair — and others I didn’t know but loved, like this spiky-edged checkerboard table by Romain Basile Petrot.
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Also at Alcova, On the Soft Edge combined Jane Wright’s lace works with Jesse Butterfield’s sculptural metal pieces. The two first met as collaborators in an exhibition at the Max Radford Gallery, and here they continued their exploration of decoration and function, light and weight, and the gendered expectations of material.
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People are losing their minds over this Shaker-inspired train set in polished aluminum by LA-based Joshi/Greene, so much so that I said “Welp, think we’re going to Convey to see the railroad.” Very clever: a continuous line of pegs that snake up, down, and across the wall, with purpose-built accessories to hang from, including a clock, a chair, a vase, and even a desk. The true plan of life.
The Interni Venosta exhibition, which took place in an unprecedented house designed by Osvaldo Borsani, was the talk of Milan, and we have to agree. Overstuffed sofas, dimly lit lamps, and lots of lovely vases and other accessories went well with the 1940s-era interior, complete with the coolest fireplace you’ve ever seen.
I usually take or go to Fornasetti but this new collaboration with cc-tapis, which has uncovered several motifs in the historical area, made me see the mysterious and a little kitschy of the brand. The exhibition, called (META)FISICA, takes its name from a 32-panel screen designed by Piero Fornasetti in 1958 – “a mobile structure that questions the 2nd and 3rd dimensions with trompe l’oeil art devices.” The space, which includes sound installations, is managed by Matter & Space founder Dan Thawley.
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Hannes Peer’s HARDCORE SEM collection was inspired mainly by Louise Nevelson, but references abound to Pierre Chapo, Barbara Hepworth, Leroy Setziol, and more.
The mini-show, curated by Pernille Vest of Openhouse Magazine with support from Mango Home, was themed “obsessions,” and featured a number of our favorite designers, including Farrah Sit and Jorge Kilzi. This is what we mean when we talk about design that supports fashion!