milano design week 2025: inspiration in every piazza

milano design week 2025: inspiration in every piazza

Each year, Milano Design Week is a highlight on the calendar – a chance to step into a city transformed by art, design, and light. This year was no exception. A few days in early spring sunshine were spent weaving through piazzas, each one offering its own burst of creativity and perspective.

Among the standouts: Es Devlin’s “Library of Light” in the Brera District, a luminous reminder of how design can be both poetic and monumental. Lavazza’s “Source of Pleasure” perched at the top of Via Alessandro Manzoni delivered an experience that was as indulgent as it was thought-provoking.

One of the most inspiring destinations was Capsule Plaza. Inside, collaborations such as Humanrace and USM Modular Furniture’s “Have a Good Day” and Stone Island Sound presents “Friendly Pressure STUDIO ONE” filled the space with atmosphere and intent. The custom sound system here was unlike anything else – immersive, precise, and powerful – and the listening chamber was so absorbing it would have been easy to stay all day.

From there, we crossed to a satellite venue for PAN x Nike’s “The Suspended Hour” at Via Maiocchi 8 – a mesmerising take on club culture, reframed as a sacred space of light, sound, and community.

As always, Milano left its mark: installations that challenged, uplifted, and surprised; moments of pause and moments of exhilaration. Each visit to Design Week reminds us that inspiration is everywhere – in the streets, in the squares, and in the conversations between art and city.