Milan Design Week 2026: Salone del Mobile

At the center of Milan Design Week is Salone del Mobile, the world's premier furniture and design fair, held annually at the Fiera Milano fairgrounds. Over six days in April 2026, the event brought together 1,900 brands from 32 countries and welcomed more than 300,000 visitors from around the world.

With so much to see, Co-Founder of THE KINDCRAFT, Lauren Lancy, and Contributor Fiona Coleman focused on two areas of the show; SaloneSatellite, an exhibition of young, innovative designers, and Salone Raritas, a new showcase dedicated to craft, special editions and antiques.

SaloneSatellite

SaloneSatellite is an exhibition of emerging talent under the age of 35 held annually during Salone del Mobile since 1998. With a focus on ecological intelligence and material research, the exhibition blends traditional craftsmanship with technological innovation.

The SaloneSatellite Awards celebrates innovative projects chosen by an international jury. This year's first prize award went to Danish studio RUSSO BETAK for a 3D-printed lighting collection made from sheets of oyster, mussel, and scallop shells collected from restaurants. Second prize was awarded to IOUS Studio from The Netherlands for their 3D-printed ceramic tiles, and the third prize winner was Jungerkuhn from Germany for Soft-Touch porcelain vases. SaloneSatellite Special Mentions were given to Aiko Design from Chile for Númina Lamp and Chinese designer Yixian Wang who transformed Foggy from crocheted fiberglass fabric into glass through kiln firing.

Luvaton Studio, founded in 2021 by Talia Luvaton, specializes in the ancient technique of wet-forming vegetable-tanned leather into sculptural vessels. "Each piece is a dialogue between the rigid and the fluid, celebrating the raw, tactile nature of the material while pushing it toward architectural forms," writes designer and artisan Talia Luvaton, who launched the TRACE collection in Milan. The collection was inspired by drawings of the body in movement and the vessels were hand-shaped by balancing tension and softness of the material's response to pressure and moisture.

Japanese designer Aya Kawabata presented The Inverted Earth: Fugue for Windows at SaloneSatellite, showcasing textile works that merged traditional Japanese craftsmanship with contemporary design and cross-cultural influences. Drawing inspiration from musical composition, Kawabata’s intricate woven panels explored rhythm, structure, and material depth through experimental textile techniques developed across Japan, Europe, India, Egypt, and the United States. The collection highlighted collaborations with Egyptian artisans practicing the endangered Khayamiya appliqué tradition, reflecting Kawabata’s ongoing dialogue between heritage craft and modern innovation.  

Featuring live weaving demonstrations, the exhibition of Tibetan rugs explored how traditional craft knowledge can inform contemporary design centering on the renowned Gyantse carpet tradition of the Tibetan Plateau. Through research, artist-weaver collaborations, and the Róng Design Library award, it highlighted sustainable material practices, living craft traditions, and the role of handicraft as a dynamic source of innovation, cultural exchange, and contemporary design.

Salone Raritas

Making its debut at Salone del Mobile Milano, Salone Raritas brought together limited edition pieces, antiques, and exceptional craftsmanship in response to a growing desire for interiors shaped by rarity, cultural depth, and individuality. Curated by Annalisa Rosso and designed by FormaFantasma, the exhibition was held in a glowing architectural framework featuring art from different geographies, disciplines, and eras. Together, the pieces revealed unexpected connections between contemporary design, historical objects, and artisanal products.

Founded in Stoke-on-Trent by Emily Johnson, a fifth-generation descendant of the famed Johnson Brothers pottery family, 1882 Ltd. is reimagining British ceramics through collaborations with leading contemporary artists and designers. For Salone 2026, the company presents The Potteries—a collection of handcrafted and limited-edition works by creatives including Max Lamb, Bethan Laura Wood, and Bruce McLean, blending centuries-old ceramic traditions with experimental design and master craftsmanship.

At Salone Raritas, Serafini presented an exploration of marble craftsmanship while creating a dialogue between Italian and Indian design sensibilities. The presentation emphasized cultural exchange, material experimentation, and the enduring emotional resonance of handcrafted objects.

A graduate of the Design Academy of Eindhoven, now based in Rotterdam, designer Sabine Marcelis works across product, installation, and spatial design with a focus on materiality. Her studio presented a very pink Plume Fountain at Salone Raritas which was made of polished cast resin and silicone oil.

Matera is a new brand by Studio Stefan Scholten that debuted collectible stone objects for contemporary interiors during Milan Design Week. Crafted from marble and natural stone, each limited-edition piece merges traditional craftsmanship with a refined contemporary sensibility, individually signed and numbered as functional works of art. The pieces were made in collaboration with an international roster of designers and artists including Ronan Bouroullec, Joep van Lieshout, Stefan Scholten, Job Smeets, Clara von Zweigbergk, Teruhiro Yanagihara, Julie Richoz, Richard Hutten, Maho Motoyama, and Bernard Heesen.