minute read
Milan is so on trend and relevant at the moment having over the last ten years reinvented itself as the go to city, it is Europe’s hottest destination rooted in style and design. But it is more than just a city relying on its looks and glamour. Earlier this year in front of a global stage, it hosted alongside Cortina D’Ampezzo the Olympics and Paralympics with enormous success.
It is now home to some of finest global hotel brands, private members clubs, Michelin star restaurants, international schools and exceptional university campuses. In 2025 Via Montenapoleone, was named the world’s most expensive and exclusive shopping street, overtaking Old Bond Street in London, Fifth Avenue in New York and Rue Saint-Honoré in Paris, one of the first and very few European cities to top this list in over 30 years.
The Wall Street Journal, earlier this year reported that Milan’s real estate market as one of the fastest growing in the world, helped by a favourable tax regime allowing new residents
to pay a flat annual tax on income earned abroad, attracting a strong International market. Combined with the legacy of Expo 2015, which modernised infrastructure and repositioned the city globally, Milan has become far more than Italy’s business hub; it is now a lifestyle destination.
But the enduring appeal lies in Milan’s unique ability to balance heritage with forward momentum. Whether drawn by business opportunity, cultural richness or lifestyle, people are not just visiting Milan, they are choosing to invest in it, live in it and become part of its ongoing reinvention.
Each spring, Milan transforms into a global stage for design, the city’s most authentic engine. The annual Salone del Mobile, the largest of its kind, is less an event and more a global migration. Designers, architects, brands and buyers converge not just for furniture, but for ideas, to celebrate innovation, craftsmanship and aesthetic excellence. It reinforces Milan as the intellectual and creative capital of design in a way no marketing campaign could.
This year, Milan pulsed with energy; exciting and utterly exhilarating. That atmosphere was captured perfectly in my favourite part of Fuori Salone: Brera. The historic heart of the city draws some of the world’s finest furniture designers, alongside waves of international buyers, visitors, and students, all eager to discover the latest ideas, fill notebooks with inspiration and collect a few coveted keepsakes along the way. For me, it is fifth gear for the six days I am here; there is no time to slow down but to see and digest as much as possible.
From Brera, the city flows effortlessly into Moscova, Il Quadrilatero della Moda, 5Vie, Porta Venezia, Piazza Gae Aulenti, and Porta Monforte. Each district has its own distinct character, yet central Milan remains wonderfully walkable, allowing these neighbourhoods to merge seamlessly into one another. When visiting Il Salone del Mobile, choices inevitably must be made. No matter how carefully you plan before arriving, it is almost impossible to see everything on your list.
Milan hosted its 64th edition of Salone del Mobile with its theme “A Matter of Salone” which refers to physical substance and what really matters in design. The theme explored four elements that define this relationship
· Wood - representing a living material
· Petal - symbolising material innovation
· Stone - constituting simplicity
· Sponge - signifying transformation
With over 316,000 visitors at the exhibition alone, (not including the hundreds of thousands that came just for Fuori Salone) Milan was certainly lively.
This year saw the return of the much-anticipated Euro Cucina 2026, alongside Technology for the kitchen. With over one hundred exhibitors, it highlighted the kitchens importance as the nucleus of the home, a place that reduces complexities, a place for gatherings and conversation, that blends cooking, living, and social interaction into one cohesive environment. No longer confined by walls or traditional layouts, the modern kitchen flows effortlessly into dining and living areas, reflecting a shift toward open-plan living and more fluid lifestyles.
The kitchen has evolved into the true centre of the home, where design, technology, and lifestyle seamlessly converge. Appliances are now fully integrated, intelligent, and discreet, while surfaces collaborate. Digital systems go beyond functionality, anticipating user needs to create a more effortless, personalised experience.
No longer defined by a single purpose, the modern kitchen supports a range of activities from cooking, entertaining, remote working and social connection. Open, flexible layouts reflect the demand for spaces that adapt to contemporary living, enhancing both efficiency and interaction. I feel that “open space living” is here to stay.
This shift was reinforced through materiality. A palette of premium finishes; marble, granite, stone, corian, leather, limestone, and brushed metals signal luxury and durability, while the reintroduction of natural wood brings warmth and authenticity. Together, these elements position the kitchen not just as a functional space, but as a statement of modern living.
Notable events I attended
Insieme
Held at the iconic Piscina Cozzi, a monumental indoor swimming pool designed by architect Luigi Lorenzo Secchi in 1934, Insieme stood out as one of the most thoughtful presentations at Il Salone del Mobile. At the time of its construction, Piscina Cozzi was the largest indoor pool in Europe, distinguished by its dramatic double-pitch structure and vast barrel-vaulted ceiling. Curated by Sabato De Sarno, the exhibition brought together twelve Italian artisans in a deeply reflective exploration of craftsmanship, labour, and time. Rather than celebrating industrial production, the presentation honoured the human hand, allowing each artisan to create singular sculptural works defined by patience and skill where the artisan is not producing for mass but for beauty.
The exhibition was a meditation of Italian excellence and Italian craftmanship, a culture rooted in meticulous mindfulness, enduring tradition, and the preservation of knowledge. Through Insieme, De Sarno highlighted the value of creation not for mass consumption, but for artistic expression and lasting cultural significance.
In Sarno’s words “I wanted to give space back to those who build beauty every day, without being seen”
Salone Raritas
Salone Raritas made its debut at Rho this year, curated by Annalisa Rosso, Editorial, Cultural Director and advisor at Il Salone del Mobile as well as Director of Euroluce. She is without a doubt one of the most knowledgeable minds in Italian design having been the editor in chief of Icon design and Director of the Domus website.
A first for Il Salone del Mobile, the Salone Raritas event was dedicated to exquisite, limited edition, collectable design pieces and exceptional craftmanship with favoured and standout exhibitors being Mercado Moderno with its mid-century Brazilian design and Neutra’s collection by British studio Zaha Hadid Architects. Salone Raritas matters, collectible design matters, it was a brilliant interpretation of a matter of Il Salone.
Triennale di Milano
Built in the early 1930’s by Giovanni Muzio the building sits in one of the largest parks in Central Milan, Parco Sempione. The main hall takes you on a journey dating back to the Golden era of Italian design. The post-war boom “miracolo economico”, the Dolce Vita impact of the 1960’s to the experimental period of the 1960’s and 70’s. Globally known brands from the Vespa (all Italian teenagers aspired to have one – I remember my grandfather having one well into his late 60’s), to the Arco Lamp by Castiglione. Of course, numerous pieces were exhibited by celebrated designers - Gio Ponti, Ettore Sottsass, Gaetano Pesce and Gae Aulenti.
A highlight of my visit was the Charles and Ray Eames exhibition, a journey from meeting to creating their beloved home, built in 1949, it is a landmark of mid-20th century modern architecture. There were numerous models of proposed houses, a walkthrough of a replica and an immersive experience to design your own Eames house.
Viabizzuno
A constellation of floating cubes converging and separating to frame each piece like a work of art, Viabizzuno is certainly a true masterclass in lighting design. Founded by Mario Nanni, the elite architectural lighting brand exhibited at the laboratorio della luce in San Marco and is renowned for its original approach to lighting, creating sophisticated solutions that seamlessly integrate architecture with both indoor and outdoor spaces. This year, I was especially excited to see my friend Barbarella Marchesi launch her new lighting piece for Viabizzuno — Disco Volante (“flying saucer”) to enormous success. www.barbarellamarchesi.it
Barbarella established her studio in 2012 merging sartorial sensibility, international vision, and the finest Italian craftsmanship and with a distinguished background in fashion she translates her sophisticated and highly personal style into the world of interior design.
Sodano Properties
You can take the man out of property, but you cannot take property out of the man. With so much buzz surrounding the Milan real estate market, I had to experience it for myself. Having worked in the property sector for many years, Sodano Properties has become one of Milan’s go to agencies for luxury real estate. With more than 30 years of experience, the team offers a highly personalised service, sourcing both on and off market opportunities for clients looking to find their ideal home or optimise their real estate portfolio, particularly those with little time to navigate the market themselves. But they are far more than just agents. Through an exceptional network of architects, designers, and trusted construction professionals, they are able to tailor properties to individual needs while guiding clients through every stage of the process. In many ways, they are the perfect one-stop shop. Although I was not personally looking to buy, simply curious to explore what was happening in Milan, I was shown several exceptional off market properties that truly reflected the city’s evolving luxury landscape. For more information on the Milanese and Italian real estate market, visit or contact www.nicolasodanoproperties.com
Loro Piana
At Cortile della Seta, the Milan headquarters of Loro Piana, installations during Milan Design week have become as important as the architecture itself. Last year “La prima notte di Quiete” the first night of peace, gave us a cinematic experience, this year a journey of
craft Studies, Chapter 1 on the plaid.
This was an immersive installation devoted entirely to the plaid, a signature Loro Piana object. A journey through textile experimentation, Loro Piana presented 23 unique plaids that explored combinations of fibres, weaving methods and couture-level craftsmanship, illustrating the brand’s obsession with rare fibres and technical refinement. The scenography unfolded like an archive of studies, revealing how a simple object can embody heritage and contemporary interior culture.
And then there were the after parties - 10 Corso Como celebrating Moncler with a huge inflatable octopus which wrapped itself around the building designed by Andy Hillman, with far too many negroni consumed. Bisazza marking its seventieth anniversary, with a special project conceived by Fabio Novembre, “a sleeping child sculpture covered in mosaic tiles.” The Campari party at Pastificcio Moscova and the wonderful Veuve Clicquot offering "Chasing the Sun" at Mediateca Santa Teresa with an installation by the artist Yinka Ilori and the wonderful Veuve Clicquot bar in its walled garden.
It would be impossible to speak of Milan this year without acknowledging Giorgio Armani, whose passing in September 2025 left behind a silence and space more powerful than ceremony.
During Il Salone del Mobile 2026, the doors of Via Borgonuovo remained closed. Behind them stood the 17th- century Palazzo Orsini, Armani’s long-time headquarters, still, undisturbed. The gesture felt deeply characteristic of Giorgio Armani himself: calm, controlled and absent of spectacle. A quiet mark of respect, entirely in keeping with the language he spent a lifetime perfecting and an unwavering belief in elegance that never needed to announce itself.
At Milan Design Week, where excess and experimentation often compete for attention, Armani had long been a point of gravity. His presence did not demand attention it commanded it, effortlessly bridging the artistic and the exacting, his Salone del Mobile offering was one that I was happy to queue for hours.
In a city that thrives on reinvention and visibility, Giogio Armani occupied a different space entirely. He was not simply a participant in Milan’s cultural identity; he helped define its visual language. His work moved effortlessly between interiors, hospitality, fashion and architecture, always guided by the same principles - clarity, balance, and control.
They called him “the King” because of the certainty of his vision. His influence shaped not only homes and wardrobes, but the atmosphere of contemporary Milan itself. That philosophy, this year remained visible at Armani Casa on Corso Venezia, where interiors were composed with the precision of tailoring. Light is softened, materials are allowed to breathe, and colour is reduced to its quiet essentials, there were even hints of his beloved Dammuso in Pantelleria, nothing appeared accidental, nothing competed for attention.
Milan may have felt at full capacity, yet once again it elegantly proved why it remains a true powerhouse of creativity, reaffirming its status as a global leader in this field. It is a city that never stands still, driven by a constant desire to reinvent itself, focusing on exceptional craftsmanship enriched by originality, technology, and sustainability. For me, the energy of Il Salone del Mobile remains infectious.
Grazie Milano, I look forward to 2027.
MARCO FUGACCIA
SALES DIRECTOR
[email protected]
020 7250 1012
07889 646 048
