A cashmere quilted bedding set by The Row.
Photo: François Halard
At Milan Design Week, Fashion Brands Make Bold Moves
From Saint Laurent reissuing Charlotte Perriand rarities to The Row’s stealthy foray into homewares, these fashion-forward moments stood out
Fashion brands are showing up in full force at Milan Design Week to engage with increasingly design-savvy customers. Sartorial sensibilities indeed seemed to steer Fuorisalone—the citywide events outside Salone del Mobile—far more than in years past. Whether presenting home collections in imaginative settings, collaborating with the estates of midcentury luminaries to reissue never-before-seen prototypes, or hosting engaging discussions about timely design-related topics, fashion houses are continuing to explore increasingly inventive ways to engage Milan’s design enthusiasts.
Galerie was on the scene—below are our favorite fashion highlights:
“La Banquette de la Résidence de l’Ambassadeur du Japon à Paris” (1967) by Charlotte Perriand, newly reissued by Saint Laurent. Photo: Courtesy of Saint Laurent
1. Saint Laurent Revives Charlotte Perriand Rarities
Yves Saint Laurent collected Charlotte Perriand’s furniture; his husband, Pierre Bergé, supported important retrospectives of her work. The house’s artistic director Anthony Vaccarello recently delved into the French midcentury master’s archives to carefully reproduce four exceptional furnishings—some of which only existed as sketches or prototypes—that became one of Milan Design Week’s most talked-about debuts.
The rare reissues include La Banquette de la Résidence de l’Ambassadeur du Japon à Paris (1967), a low-slung sofa whose gracefully curving rosewood base appears to float. The same material clads La Bibliothèque Rio de Janeiro (1962), a monolithic bookcase made for her husband, Jacques Martin, to display art alongside books stored behind alternating woven cane doors. The exquisitely detailed La Table Mille-Feuilles (1963) comprises ten superimposed layers of dark and light wood; Perriand kept a miniature maquette on her desk but never realized the product at a human scale. Perhaps most striking is Le Fauteuil Visiteur Indochine (1943), an elegant armchair with a traditional Thai cushion that, until now, only existed as a drawing because the actual piece was lost. Each piece will be available for purchase on a made-to-order basis.
Cashmere throw by The Row. Photo: François Halard
Cashmere throws by The Row. Photo: François Halard
2. The Row’s Stealthy Entry Into Homewares
The Row rarely makes too much noise, no doubt arising from Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen’s discreet proclivities. The same applies to the closely watched label’s surprise foray into homewares, which transformed a storybook apartment at Palazzo Belgioioso into a pared-back venue—sparsely furnished rooms, whitewashed plaster walls—for a luxurious collection of solid throws and wool bedding.
Available in understated ivory, black, and mink hues, the blankets were handwoven by Indian artisans using the world’s finest cashmere, brushed by hand from the bellies of Kashmir Valley baby goats; they were elegantly draped on giant clothing rails custom designed by Julian Schnabel. A cashmere quilted bedding set, carefully hand-stitched with small squares, gracefully furnished a raised tatami mat bed flanked by two Maison Baguès wrought iron chairs from the label’s archives. The Olsens spent several years developing the collection with the utmost attention to detail, iterating numerous times until each product achieved the precise heft and suppleness they had in mind. True to form, the only trace of a monogram is subtly embroidered onto the corner.
Entrance to “La Prima Notte di Quiete” by Loro Piana and Dimore Studio. Photo: Courtesy of Loro Piana.
“La Prima Notte di Quiete” by Loro Piana and Dimore Studio. Photo: Courtesy of Loro Piana
3. Loro Piana and Dimore Studio’s Cinematic Splendor
Dimore Studio’s frequently debonair takeover of a history-laden space on Via Solferino always surprises and delights, but the famously low-key Britt Moran and Emiliano Salci dialed up the drama this year thanks to a partnership with Loro Piana. The dapper duo transformed the Italian cashmere purveyor’s soaring Cortile della Seta courtyard into a vintage cinema—red velvet curtains, leopard-spotted carpet, brass appliqués—where the dramatic La Prima Notte di Quiete unfolded across four action-packed minutes.
Thanks to the Milanese studio’s ultra-refined touch, the scenography was a sight to behold. La Prima Notte di Quiete recreated a fully furnished residence inspired by a 1970s and ‘80s-era apartment, each of its five rooms decorated with exquisite furniture in warm tones and natural materials like wool and cashmere. Among the highlights: new pieces Dimore Studio conceived for Loro Piana Interiors such as the Valsesia oval table, defined by a lacquered wooden top and a tubular steel element connecting its legs. Classic Dimoremilano pieces, such as the Snooker sofa and Corner modular sofa, armchair, and pouf, were all upholstered in Loro Piana Interiors fabrics. The show was also an occasion for Loro Piana to debut a handcrafted porcelain tableware collection, called Punti a Maglia, whose patterns of threads gracefully chase, knot, and intertwine.
Entrance to “Gucci | Bamboo Encounters” at Chiostri di San Simpliciano. Photo: Courtesy of Gucci
A basket by Dima Srouji at “Gucci | Bamboo Encounters.” Photo: Courtesy of Gucci
4. Gucci Brings Its Bamboo Legacy to the Fore
Bamboo has been key to Gucci’s craftsmanship since the mid-1940s, when the Italian house began employing the sustainable wood for the handles of handbags. As leather was scarce due to World War II, founder Guccio Gucci figured the lightweight, durable, and pliable material could work as a substitute. The house’s artisans eventually created handles by bending bamboo stalks with fire and applying multiple coats of lacquer, instantly creating a new It bag flaunted by the likes of Ingrid Bergman and Elizabeth Taylor. Shoes, umbrellas, canes, and even plates followed, enshrining bamboo as one of the house’s most celebrated and distinctive design codes.
“Gucci | Bamboo Encounters,” an exhibition curated by experimental studio 2050+ and its founder Ippolito Pestellini Laparelli, delved into bamboo’s legacy within the Italian house’s design history and identity. Set against the breathtaking 16th-century Chiostri di San Simpliciano, the show featured a series of contributions by exploratory designers who reimagined bamboo in bold new ways. Laurids Gallée reinterpreted the material through lustrous resin objects; Nathalie Du Pasquier recontextualized the theme with bamboo panels and silk fabrics. Kite Club, a Dutch design collective comprising Bertjan Pot, Liesbeth Abbenes, and Maurice Scheltens, unveiled a series of bamboo kites. Wartime scarcity may no longer apply, but contemporary issues of sustainability and ethical manufacturing mean bamboo’s appeal is ripe for further exploration.
The Arlecchino train designed by Gio Ponti and Giulio Minoletti, where Prada Frames discussions took place. Photo: Courtesy of Prada
Prada Frames discussions also took place at Padiglione Reale inside Milan’s Central Station Photo: Courtesy of Prada
5. Prada Frames and Formafantasma in Motion
Seeking to buck against Milan Design Week’s hyper-commercial focus and rapid-fire pace, Formafantasma founders Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin continued their annual Prada Frames symposium—a series of panel discussions supported by the Italian house—that unpack a specific theme. Previous editions zeroed in on materials, the exploitation of forests, and the nuances of home, but this year’s focused on how infrastructure shapes our movement.
The discussions didn’t shy away from thorny subjects. One session unpacked the logistics behind global commerce, uncovering how ports, warehouses, and shipping lanes drive economies and impact daily life—top of mind as designers and brands recently rushed to transport their latest offerings to Milan. Another session investigated how local knowledge, from earth-based construction and biomaterials, can offer innovative solutions to global challenges. Each lecture was held at two rarely seen but on-theme locations: aboard the restored Arlecchino train designed by Gio Ponti and Giulio Minoletti in the 1950s, as well as the Padiglione Reale, the historic structure once reserved as a waiting area for Italian royalty and diplomats at Milan’s Central Station.
Teapot by Rosemarie Trockel. Photo: Courtesy of the artist and Loewe
Teapot by Patricia Urquiola. Photo: Courtesy of the artist and Loewe
6. Tea Time With Loewe
In the decade-plus that Jonathan Anderson served as creative director for Loewe, the designer re-established craft as one of the Spanish house’s key cornerstones with closely followed initiatives like the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize. One of his final feats before departing to take the top job at Dior involved enlisting 25 global artists, artisans, and architects to reimagine the teapot—a universally recognized form whose stout build makes for a compelling canvas—at a special presentation at Palazzo Citterio.
While many artists opted for mediums traditionally associated with teapots, including porcelain and ceramic, many took an idiosyncratic approach. Rose Wylie’s faithful riff on British Royal Albert china sets features an exaggerated lid and fluted detailing while Jane Yang D’Haene cosseted her elongated vessel in frayed clay ribbons. Shallow perforations that enable light to pierce through cover the surface of Akio Niisato’s teapot; ridges run across the entire surface of Takayuki Sakiyama’s. One clear standout came from Pritzker Prize–winning architect David Chipperfield, who collaborated on his glazed blue cobalt design with ceramist Paula Ojea of Ojea Studio in Galicia, Spain; he turned to another Galician workshop, Noroeste Obradoiro, for its sculptural copper ring.
Leather baskets by Hermés. Photo: Courtesy of Hermés
Cashmere throws by Amer Musa for Hermés. Photo: Courtesy of Hermés
7. A Chromatic Journey Into the Heart of Hermès Home
In the decade since Hermès debuted homewares in Milan, the French maison’s captivating presentations have become one of the annual festival’s most coveted invites and a must-visit on any design enthusiast’s itinerary. The label scaled up its ambition once again thanks to the vision of home creative directors Charlotte Macaux Perelman and Alex Fabry, who transformed the cavernous La Pelota into an ethereal showcase for Modernist-inspired collections spanning drinking glasses, throws, and blankets.
Presented in suspended white alcoves hovering above glowing auras in a variety of chromatic hues, this year’s presentation verged on the surreal. Tucked within one alcove were a series of designer Tomás Alonso’s lacquered glass side tables evoking the color blocks of Piet Mondrian; a round box in Japanese cedar mounted atop rotates on an eccentric axis. Cashmere throws by Amer Musa evoke both Bauhausian precision and material ingenuity, with one featuring 24-carat gold powder delicately applied to a hand-woven chevron design in a natural ivory color. House-designed pieces, such as cylindrical baskets recalling the tartan patterns traditionally adorning horse blankets, exemplify the house’s commitment to fine craftsmanship. Ditto for a 33-piece Hermès porcelain table set adorned with Art Deco–inspired patterns and a series of lustrous glass vessels with vivid chromatic hues in chequerboard patterns.
Cover: A cashmere quilted bedding set by The Row.
Photo: François Halard
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