Each April, Milan becomes the world’s design playground and fashion’s perennial crossovers shape the city once more, with standout installations and experiences across the week.
WORDS Gina Dionisio PHOTOS Supplied, Alberto Strada (Marni x Cucchi)
Every April, Milan becomes a global stage for design, with immersive experiences, new launches, installations, talks and exhibitions taking place across the city.
Milan Design Week, which comprises Salone del Mobile.Milano – the official trade fair and one of the most important design events in the world – and a citywide programme of independent showcases, offers some of the most exciting and interactive brand collaborations. And this year is no different.
Here’s a selection of cool fashion-based collaborations that caught our attention across MDW ’26, from interesting brand mash-ups and thought-provoking experiences to standout installations.
Bottega Veneta x Kwangho Lee
For Milan Design Week 2026, Bottega Veneta has collaborated with Korean artist Kwangho Lee to create Lightful – a site-specific light installation at the Via Sant’Andrea store, alongside activations at Anna Flower on Corso Magenta and at Micamera on Via Medardo Rosso.
The project combines a suspended woven form characteristic of Lee’s practice with new light sculptures crafted from Bottega Veneta leather ‘fettucce’. In bespoke shades of black and green chosen by creative director Louise Trotter, these organic shapes engage with Lee’s ongoing exploration of textures, surfaces and forms. bottegaveneta.com | @_kwangho_lee
MCM x Vetsak
MCM and Vetsak are united by a shared vision of luxury contemporary living, with a limited-edition capsule collection that celebrates mobility, versatility and elevated comfort.
Merging MCM’s heritage of luxury travel and Vetsak’s modular seating, the three-piece collection – a noodle, a beanbag and an island – is on show at MCM’s 50th-anniversary experience, Disco on Mars, held at the Rotonda del Pellegrini.
Designed by Atelier Biagetti, the immersive sci-fi showcase reimagines MCM’s future through three levels of speculative, futuristic design that merge fashion, sound, performance and architecture. mcmworldwide.com | vetsak.com
Marni x Cucchi
Marni and Pasticceria Cucchi have come together to celebrate two distinctly Italian social rituals – a morning espresso or cappuccino enjoyed ‘al bancone’, and the simple pleasure of aperitivo.
The iconic Milanese café has been reimagined by RedDuo Studio. Fusing the identities of both brands, the studio has created a shared visual vocabulary through materials, colour and serveware. Here, red and green alternate and overlap in retro-inspired polka-dot and striped patterns, evoking the memory and history of the pasticceria while reflecting Marni’s sophisticated irony.
The reimagined café is open to the public until 15 July 2026. Guests can enjoy live music during aperitivo hours, with a menu curated by Martini, and purchase limited-edition pieces, such as cappuccino cups, to take the Marni x Cucchi experience home. marni.com | pasticceriacucchi.it
Issey Miyake x Ensamble Studio
The Paper Log: Shell and Core, an exploratory project conceived by Satoshi Kondo of Miyake Design Studio and developed by the project team at Issey Miyake, in collaboration with Spanish architecture office Ensamble Studio, is currently on display at the store in Milan.
The installation comprises two complementary series of works derived from reappropriating the Paper Log – a by-product of the house’s pleated garments.
Shell, by Ensamble Studio, features a series of crisp paper objects that appear frozen in time. They were made by sculpting with sheets peeled from the Paper Log and treating the paper with hardening agents to crystallise every pleat, wrinkle and crease. Core, created by the in-house project team, consists of furniture prototypes – a stool, chair and table – treated to explore the materiality of the Paper Log.
The installation will be on display at the store until 5 May 2026. isseymiyake.com | ensamble.info
Jil Sander x Apartamento
Reference Library is a collaborative exhibition by Jil Sander and Apartamento magazine, comprising more than 60 books from around the world – each chosen by a writer, designer, artist, architect, filmmaker or critical thinker.
Together, the curated collection forms a portrait of perspectives, rather than a reading list.
Designed by Milanese architecture studio studioutte, the installation at the Jil Sander showroom in central Milan features chrome lecterns in rows, each lit by a warm beam, with reflections cast back by a mirrored wall. Visitors are encouraged to register for one of 60 hourly slots, enter the library, and pick up, open and read the books in any order. Upon entering, each visitor is handed white gloves (which they keep) – a small ritual intended to change how carefully each book is handled. jilsander.com | apartamentomagazine.com
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