Milan 2026 - the details

This is the third segment with my report from Milan Design Week. In the first one we talked about an overview with some criticism that the design week now is mainly for the 1 %. In the second one we talked about “the glitch” and dreams. Now we will dig in and look at shapes and colours.

Chunky

The list here is in no particular order, so this chunky aesthetics is not necessarily the most “important” one. But chunky easy chairs and dining chairs were everywhere. Above here is Kelly Wearstler for H&M.

Here Alivar. I actually noted that these kind of sledge runners were pretty common too.

Here at Zilio.

Chunky, textilie and almost a but 70s.

Even at Salone Satellite. Here Norwegian studio Kogl.

And Cassina.

Of course also at Tacchini.

But even wooden chairs feel a bit chunky. This at Zanat.

Nikkari

Michael Anastassiades

Sancal

Tacchini

Tok Studio

Emadlajevardi

But even dining chairs feel chunkier then ever.

Blå Station.

Tacchini

Luis Gimeno Design

Sofas

On the same note as chunky easy chairs – so are the sofas. Bigger and bigger and bigger.

I think this was the biggest sofa… Acerbis. Who needs a living room when you can have a sofa??

Colour

Everyone is talking about the colours from Milan. It is of course important for any business to get their hands on the right colour combination. At first it felt pretty difficult to pinpoint colours that were used. Perhaps because so many variations were ok. And slightly “un-innovative”… We have seen butter yellow for a few years and that was still seen.

My colour expert friend Alina said the colours were exactly the ones she talked about in 2021 (for 2023). It is a strange time gap. Are they already coming back – or did they not really push through then?

The colours Alina talked about then would be in my words: ochre, celadon, lilac, denim blue, nude and perhaps burgundy.

Looking at my pictures now I would say that the colours that stood out to me are a little bit stronger. The ochre needs a bit of punch. Perhaps a yellowish mustard? The burgundy also need more push. A bit of plum and raspberry?

Above two pictures from Moroso and B&B Italia. You can absolutely work purely with yellows.

But the most talked about colour installation was the one at Cassina. Combinations of yellows and burgundys with a colder white.

Nice colour combinations at Convey.

Yellows and burgundy at Artemest.

Dimore studio

Liberty’s

Kelly Wearstler for H&M

White aluminum and a pop red colour with yellow text at Flos.

Softer yellow and a darker red at CC Tapis

And almost everything at Nilufar Depot was red hues and yellow.

Here at Louis Vuitton

Two pictures above from Hermes installation.

But we also saw burgundy with celadon. Here at Alcova.

Burgundy, a bit of yellow and celadon at Bolon.

Celadon at Elle Deco exhibition

Celadon at Louis Vuitton.

Mutina

Kelly Wearstler for H&M again.

Kartell

Soft light

Moving on to lighting. I will write a separate lighting report for a Swedish magazine so this is just touching the surface. But I saw a lot of lights with a soft surface.