Furniture Exhibition in Milan: Bridging Old and New Designs
Milan Design Week Dips into Nostalgia and Innovation. The design world in Milan, echoing the city's grand past, keeps reminiscing through re-releases of legendary pieces, anniversaries, and celebrations of iconic Italian designers (like Gio Ponti, Gae Aulenti, Vico Magistretti...). The city's rich architectural background is a walk through history, with Renaissance palazzos, neoclassical buildings, century-old houses, and bars, Art Deco structures, and modern towers.
This year, the new Molteni & C flagship designed by Vincent Van Duysen boasts seven floors within Palazzo Molteni with pieces from the 2025 collection that pay tribute to the diverse architectural scene of Milan. Meanwhile, the latest Andree collection by Minotti, featuring Hannes Peer's coffee tables and end tables, recalls the Milanese buildings adorned with glazed tiles in the 1970s.
The wave of nostalgia at Salone del Mobile seems to intensify each year, with Milan recalling its imaginative past. An illustrious example is the Arlecchino train revival in the Central Station in 2025. Originally conceptualized by Gio Ponti and Giulio Minoletti in the 1950s, and recently restored by the Fondazione FS Italiane, the train once ensured a tangible connection between Milan and Venice.
A Mashup of Past and Present. Milan Design Week 2025 celebrated a vibrant interplay between nostalgia, historical references, and contemporary innovation. This imaginative dialogue highlights how traditional elements serve as the driving force for contemporary design. The Arlecchino train's revival, the Molteni & C and Minotti collections, and Louis Vuitton’s Objets Nomades collection showcase this theme. They all evoke Milanese nostalgia while adopting contemporary aesthetics.
More Nuances. The week-long event saw pop-ups housed in historical Milanese buildings, putting architectural heritage in the spotlight and connecting design innovation with historical context. Emphasis on artisanal traditions and philosophical and material reinterpretations gave higher significance to the value of tradition. Gucci’s "Bamboo Encounters" exemplified this approach, revisiting traditional materials via a futuristic lens, symbolizing the transformation of historic elements in contemporary design.
In essence, Milan Design Week 2025 highlighted the necessity of nostalgia and historical references as stepping-stones for creative innovation. The revived Arlecchino train and the collections by Molteni & C and Minotti showcase designers delving into nostalgic memories and traditional craftsmanship, giving life to fresh and emotionally captivating designs. This fusion of past and present fosters a more profound design conversation and reinforces Milan's reputation as a global hub where tradition and modernity intertwine and inspire each other.
- The Arlecchino train's revival, the Molteni & C and Minotti collections, and Louis Vuitton’s Objets Nomades collection during Milan Design Week 2025 all embodied a blend of Milanese nostalgia with contemporary aesthetics, showcasing the significance of historical references in driving contemporary interior-design.
- Gucci’s "Bamboo Encounters" exhibition during Milan Design Week 2025 exemplified the event's focus on traditional craftsmanship and philosophical reinterpretations, demonstrating how the fusion of past and present in lifestyle and home-and-garden designs fosters a deeper, more meaningful conversation about design, emphasizing the importance of tradition as a foundation for innovation.
