How do you actually experience Milan Design Week without losing your mind?

It's the question we hear most often as Milan Design Week approaches. And for good reason. Navigating the beautiful chaos that transforms Milan each April requires insider knowledge especially when you're trying to balance inspiration with building professional relationships. So we asked our local members to help us curate the only guide you'll need to navigate MDW25. Quality over quantity, always.

Truth is, Milan in April becomes overwhelming by design. With the main Salone fair and literally hundreds of Fuorisalone events scattered across the city, even seasoned creative professionals find themselves stretched thin.

So we did what we do best: curate. Drawing on our network's collective knowledge and our own design week favorites built over the years, we've mapped out the experiences that consistently deliver. Places where you'll not only see exceptional work but also connect with the people shaping creative culture. Find here the map.

This isn't a comprehensive guide—it's deliberately incomplete. Consider it your insider's path through the maze, leaving room for those serendipitous discoveries that make Milan magical.

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SPEAK, MEMORY - CASA CABANA April 9-11 Casa Cabana, Via Bigli 19, Brera

One of Milan Design Week's most anticipated debuts, this exhibition marks Cabana's first curated show and celebrates the launch of their "Atlas of Craftsmanship." Deborah Needleman brings together seven creative minds who've crafted new works using materials from LVMH Métiers d'Art. Set against Casa Cabana's Renzo Mongiardino-designed interiors, the ceramics, leatherwork, sculpture, and woodwork create a dialogue with the Italian master's aesthetic legacy.

Speak, Memory at Casa Cabana ES DEVLIN: LIBRARY OF LIGHT April 7-21 Cortile d'Onore, Pinacoteca di Brera, Via Brera 28

London-based artist and stage designer ES Devlin transforms the 17th-century courtyard of the Brera complex with a monumental kinetic installation. Created for Euroluce's return to Salone del Mobile, the 18-meter diameter spectacle features an imaginary rotating library illuminated with over 2,000 books. Devlin's work at the intersection of art, technology, and performance creates a mesmerizing dialogue between light and literature in one of Milan's most significant cultural spaces.

Apartamento by Artemest

April 8-13, Press Preview April 7 Via Gaetano Donizetti 48, 20122 Milano Among our favorites each year, Artemest invites six internationally recognized interior design studios to transform a Palazzo, showcasing exceptional furniture, lighting, and art from Artemest's finest craftsmen and artists. More is more.

L'Appartamento by Artemest, La Sala da Pranzo di Romanek Design Studio

Molteni

Press Preview April 6, 10-6 PM

General Admission April 7-13

Palazzo Molteni, Via Alessandro Manzoni, 9

The 5 floor palazzo Molteni shows their newly reinterpreted designs from the 70ies and 80ies. Across the street at Museo Pezzoli there is part two of the exhibition. "Letters to Milan" form a beautiful backdrop with a collection of Gio Ponti Objects.

LOEWE Teapot Exhibition April 7-13 Palazzo Citterio, Via Brera 12, 20121 Milano A collection of unique teapots designed by 25 prominent artists, designers, and architects, including Simone Fattal's woven leather handles and David Chipperfield's glazed cobalt creation.

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YVES SALOMON EDITIONS

Collection by Dimorestudio April 8-12 Teatro Arsenale, Via Cesare Correnti 11, Milano Dimorestudio brings their distinctive aesthetic vision to a special collection for Yves Salomon, housed in the atmospheric setting of Teatro Arsenale.

DROPCITY

Open Daily

Via Giovanni Battista Sammartini, 60

The centre for Architecture and Design hosts a program with panel talks, workshops and free experimentation. During Milan Design Week the exhibition ‘Prison Times: Spatial Dynamics of Penal Environments’ is on show. The project interrogates the contemporary state of incarceration, exploring the causes and consequences of penal structures.

Dimore & Loro Piana: "La Notte di Quiete"

Opening Cocktail April 7, from 7.30 PM

General Admission April 8-13 Via della Moscova 33, 20121 Milano

Also among our favorites each year: Dimorestudio's shows.

This year, the studio will appear in several spots, including Phillips Auction, Fondazione Sozzani and Teatro Arsenale. With Loro Piana they realized an immersive installation exploring the boundary between reality and cinematic fiction, showcasing furniture upholstered in Loro Piana interiors fabrics.

Loro Piana and Dimorestudio: La Notte Di Quiete

Alessi

April 8-13 Biblioteca Ostinata, Via Osti 6, 20122 Milano "Il Tornitore Matto" introduces "The Last Pot," a collection of urns with designs by De Lucchi, Chipperfield, Starck, and Large among others.

Cassina: Staging Modernity April 8-13 Teatro Lirico, Via Larga 14, 20122 Milano Celebrating 60 years of the Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, and Charlotte Perriand Collection with a theatrical installation by Formafantasma.

BITOSSI: Trattoria

April 8-13 Via Santa Marta 19, 20123 Milano Bitossi Home presents a contemporary vision of an Italian trattoria, partnering with designer Sandrine Alouf to reimagine traditional dining experiences.

Villa Bagatti Valsecchi, one of three ALCOVA locations this year

ALCOVA April 7-13 Villa Bagatti Valsecchi, Via Vittorio Emanuele II 48, 20814 Varedo MB The ninth edition of Alcova expands to new locations, showcasing designers through site-specific installations and curated exhibitions.

The former SNIA factory April 7-13 Adjacent to Varedo train station, Varedo An abandoned industrial facility from the Rationalist period, once at the forefront of synthetic fabric innovation, transformed into a showcase for experimental design.

Pasino glasshouses April 7-13 Villa Bagatti Valsecchi grounds, Varedo Ancient greenhouses that once nurtured Europe's largest collection of white orchids, now displaying light-sensitive installations.

Alcovas newest location: The Glasshouse in Varedo with Ghost Orchid by Marcin Rusak Studio

While the big design brands always get most of the attention during MDW25, it is the galleries that surprise and captivate with avantgarde installations and shows.

NILUFAR GALLERY

April 8-13 Via della Spiga 32, 20121 Milano Vintage masterpieces by George Nakashima in dialogue with textiles by Colombian atelier Hechizoo and site-specific installations by contemporary designers.

DILMOS GALLERY

April 7-13 Via S. Marco 1, 20121 Milano "Fragmenti," a series by sculptographer Daniele Papuli, whose paper creations take the form of furniture and objects for the first time.

WELCOME TO THE BLACKOUT – INTERNI VENOSTA AT PHILLIPS April 3-12 Phillips, Via Lanzone 2, Milano Phillips showcases works by Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin while Interni Venosta unveils its third furniture collection, with sound design by Plastic nightclub founder Nicola Guiducci.

The Miu Miu Literary Club April 9-10 Circolo Filologico Milanese, Milano Dedicated to Simone de Beauvoir and Fumiko Enchi, exploring girlhood, love, and sex education through talks and avant-garde performances.

Stone Island Sound's Friendly Pressure April 7-13 Via Achille Maiocchi 7, Milano A custom hi-fi audio system built by London-based sound system studio Friendly Pressure for Stone Island Sound.

Highsnobiety: Not in Milan

Opening Party April 7, 9PM-12AM, Running April 8 - 13 Magma, Via Vezza D'Oglio 14, Milano A night of music and design featuring HIGHSNOBIETY, PUBLIC POSSESSION, and SLAM JAM with DJs Sedef Adasi and Public Possession DJs.

Studio Drift's iconic light installations

Studio Drift X Audi

April 07-13

Portrait Milano Hotel, Corso Venezia 11 (Main entrance)

After a decade, DRIFT returns to Milan Design Week in collaboration with Audi to unveil Drift Us, an experiential installation at the courtyard of Portrait Milano Hotel.

DIESEL April 7-16 Piazza San Babila 1/3, Milano

Diesel returns with an immersive lifestyle experience at their Milan San Babila pop-up space. The installation is a collaboration with lighting specialist Lodes and furniture brand Moroso, showcasing Loro Piana furniture designed by Dimoremilano.

Prada Frames Symposium April 6-8 Milan Central Station, Milano Curated by design studio Formafantasma, exploring the relationship between design, mobility, and the environment.

Prada set their train at Milan's Central Station this year

We've plotted each location on our custom Google Maps guide, allowing you to navigate Milan's design districts efficiently. This isn't about ticking boxes but creating a journey through the most thought-provoking experiences Milan Design Week has to offer.

The locations cluster around key neighborhoods—Brera, San Marco, Isola—enabling you to explore areas deeply rather than constantly traversing the city. Consider each district a full day's experience, allowing time to absorb installations and engage in spontaneous discoveries.