issue #50: Exploration: milan @ mdw25
After the conclusion of Milan Design Week, what remains is a treasure of experiences and discoveries. Encounters that project towards future connections, places that deserve a more in-depth visit, content to re-examine, creatives to keep an eye on. This week gives us a wealth of references: galleries worth monitoring, gastronomic experiences to explore, graphic elements to preserve as inspiration, social media profiles that can enrich our future research. This is the approach adopted by Caleido Diary: a complete exploration of Milan and its surroundings, in search of inspirations that persist beyond the event itself.
[1/9] EXTRAORDINARY PEOPLE: ROBERTO SIRONI
Designer Roberto Sironi creates a sensory and intellectual journey through intricate messages and symbols seemingly etched onto the surface of a rug collection for @cc-tapis. Beyond the exhibition (Hypercode), set up in a large industrial space shrouded in darkness, the immersive installation fostered a dialogue between history and modernity, craftsmanship and technology, memory and reinvention. With this work, Sironi creates a new visual language that speaks to humanity’s persistent need to leave a mark.
“Hypercode” by Roberto Sironi / Ph. @mattiaparodi / Courtesy @cctapis / @ps.creativeagency
“Hypercode” by Roberto Sironi / Ph. @mattiaparodi / Courtesy @cctapis / @ps.creativeagency
[2/9] MUST-VISIT PLACE: PISCINA COZZI
The former public showers of Piscina Cozzi in Milan (Viale Tunisia 35), a 1930s masterpiece by Luigi Lorenzo Secchi, opened to the public for the first time. The location hosted “Two-Fold Silence,” the first solo exhibition by @6am_glass, the design brand created in 2018 by @edoedoedoedoedoedoedo and @palude that works with glass, a material both ancient and highly contemporary. Beyond its creative activity, @6am_glass also serves as a platform for dialogue between various stakeholders (architects and designers, producers and companies) interested in defining a contemporary “glass culture.”
“Two-Fold Silence” by @6am_glass / Ph. @melaniadallegrave / @barbatibertolissi
[3/9] EXCITING SCOUTING BRAND: SOFT WITNESS
Based between New York and Florence, @softwitness is a design studio that explores the space where memory meets function through interior design, collectible furniture, lighting, and objects. Each piece, handcrafted and imbued with sentiment, blends practicality and poetic nuances, celebrating objects as silent witnesses to our daily lives. Founded by American designer @whitneykrieger, @softwitness pieces are produced and developed in collaboration with metalworkers, glassblowers, and skilled craftspeople throughout Italy.
Ph. @austinleis / Ph. @neigeaugustaceleste / @bigmess.co
[4/9] CURATED TEMPORARY: ROMANTIC BRUTALISM
Organised by the @visteria.foundation, founded by publisher and art patron Katarzyna Jordan, and curated by @lafedesss (click here to read the interview), the exhibition “Romantic Brutalism” (Viale di Porta Vercellina 11) marked the centenary of Poland’s artistic debut at the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris. The exhibition presented 23 Polish artists and designers whose works are rooted in the country’s craft heritage.
“Romantic Brutalism” by @visteria.foundation @lafedesss / Ph. @ludovicbalay / @gacreativeconsultants
[5/9] COOL BRAND: DEDAR
@dedarmilano celebrates the weaving work of Anni Albers by bringing visitors inside an icon of modernism, the Torre Velasca designed by Studio BBPR in the 1950s. Albers was one of the most important textile artists of the last century, capable of uniting graphic design, fine arts, and traditional craftsmanship. The four fabrics on display, based on works the artist described as “pictorial weavings,” are faithful to Albers’ style—powerful and hypnotic—and can be used for upholstery, curtains, panels, and textile elements for interiors.
“Weaving Anni Albers” by @dedarmilano / Ph. @ilariaorsini
“Weaving Anni Albers” by @dedarmilano / Ph. @f_bluejacket / with @l.b.m.1911_official
[6/9] KALEIDOSCOPIC IDEAS: PRADA FRAMES
Prada Frames is the symposium launched by Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin of @formafantasma (click here to read the interview), founded on the idea that intellectual inquiry and interdisciplinary dialogue can serve as vectors of progress. With the title “In Transit,” the 2025 edition offers a prismatic view of infrastructure as a dynamic and multifaceted system that enables, limits, and shapes movement, whether of people, goods, data, or energy. The location is exceptional: a waiting room at Milan’s Central Station and aboard the Arlecchino, a train designed by Gio Ponti and recently brought back to life by the FS Italiane Foundation.
“In Transit” by @formafantasma @prada / Courtesy of @prada
“In Transit” by @formafantasma @prada / Courtesy of @prada
“In Transit” by @formafantasma @prada / Ph. @f_bluejacket / with @l.b.m.1911_official
[7/9] MEMORABLE OBJECT: ZAROLAT
@zarolat is a New York-based architecture studio and design collective that represents a community of designers, artists, and makers. On the ground floor of @alcova.milano, @zarolat presented the extraordinary works of multidisciplinary artists and architects, among which we highlight Vessels by @edoardo_cozzani. He is an Italian visual artist, born in Rome, who currently lives and works in Brooklyn. His work focuses on the intersection and manipulation of organic and artificial materials, aiming to blur the line between the natural and the artificial.
“Vessels” by @edoardo_cozzani / Courtesy of @edoardo_cozzani @zarolat / Ph. @matteo.bellomo
“Vessels” by @edoardo_cozzani / Courtesy of @edoardo_cozzani @zarolat
[8/9] UNFORGETTABLE EXHIBITION: DIMORESTUDIO PER LOROPIANA
@dimorestudio directed and staged an immersive installation that explores the boundary between reality and cinematic fiction, through the spaces of an elegant 1970s house, completely imaginary. Visitors are witnesses to a disturbingly realistic scene, without explanations, with a telephone ringing unanswered, an overflowing bathtub, and a dining room floor full of broken porcelain. Titled “La Prima Notte di Quiete” (The First Night of Calm), the installation presents new furniture pieces created by @dimoremilano – the studio’s furniture brand – for Loro Piana Interiors, alongside classics from the studio’s portfolio reimagined with @loropiana fabrics.
“La Prima Notte di Quiete” by @dimorestudio @loropiana / Ph. @andreaferraristudio
“La Prima Notte di Quiete” by @dimorestudio @loropiana / Ph. @andreaferraristudio
[9/9] FINE DINING: NEBBIA
We ask @studiochristinekalia, with whom our creative duo @barbierimagalini spoke as part of Specular Oasis exhibition, to choose a place for a special dinner. Among the various options, she chooses @nebbiamilano (Via Evangelista Torricelli 15), a few steps from the Naviglio Pavese, in a corner of Milan where time seems to have stood still, amidst traditional “case di ringhiera” apartment buildings, old shops, and neighborhood venues. @nebbiamilano offers a seasonal culinary experience, immersed in a minimal yet family-spirited environment, with minimalist walls and comforting furnishings that make you feel like you’re in a living room preparing for Sunday lunch. Among @nebbiamilano‘s signature dishes are the Mora Romagnola pork and the beloved Fegatini (liver pâté) with brioche bread and caramelized onions.
This year’s exploration of Milan Design Week, through the city’s best spots, was done wearing the clothes of @l.b.m.1911_official.
Click here to discover the project.
