This year again, at Milan Design Week, the relationship between fashion and design proves to be far less occasional than it is often described. It is no longer a parenthesis or a seasonal incursion: it is a stable presence, now embedded in the very idea of the Fuorisalone — and increasingly difficult to separate from it. Today, it would be hard to imagine the week without the maisons that consistently generate the longest queues, creating a level of attraction that often rivals — and sometimes surpasses — that of design itself. As if following a parallel calendar, major names such as Bottega Veneta, Louis Vuitton, and Hermès have helped define a recognizable and highly anticipated system, built on recurring locations and rituals that repeat year after year. This exchange between creative directors and design studios has expanded the audience for design, reaching enthusiasts and curious visitors far beyond industry insiders.

Alongside them, brands like Issey Miyake, Jil Sander, and Prada continue to engage with design in a more direct sense, maintaining an ongoing dialogue with architecture, research, and cultural production. Even more immediate — almost inevitable — is the connection with sportswear brands such as Nike and Asics, where function, technology, and the body are already core design materials.

In between, platforms like Capsule Plaza have made this overlap tangible and lived. At Spazio Maiocchi, these intersections are not just represented but practiced, building over time a community that sees this convergence as natural. As early as 2022, Domus described “exclusive parties, pop-up stores, or true forms of cultural patronage” as the tools through which fashion would consolidate its influence during the Fuorisalone — a reading that still holds true today.

Between temporary libraries, reactivated archives, immersive installations, and retail spaces transformed into controlled exhibition environments, this year’s edition outlines a precise — and surprisingly coherent — map.

Inside the Via Beltrami showroom, visitors step into a library that exists for only a few days. “Reference Library,” created with Apartamento, is a room built around sixty books selected by artists, thinkers, and creatives from different fields, including creative director Simone Bellotti. 

Each title carries a personal trajectory, a memory that moves from one person to another. The installation, designed by studioutte, is essential and warm. White gloves, used to handle the books — which visitors are invited to take away — introduce a suspended dimension, a clear pause from the pace of the week, restoring attention and time to reading as an intentional act.

Even more explicitly tied to the written word is the “Miu Miu Literary Club,” which, in its third edition, focuses on the work of Annie Ernaux and Ama Ata Aidoo. Not coincidentally, Miuccia Prada’s most direct advice to those entering the field remains: “Study, study, study.”

The public library transforms the Circolo Filologico Milanese into a true reading room — a place for staying rather than passing through. The texts become a starting point for reflections on the theme “Politics of Desire,” offering a critical perspective on contemporary female condition. The project unfolds through conversations, lectures, and reading sessions, reinforcing the brand’s engagement with the present.

The Corso Venezia flagship creates continuity between past and present, presenting timeless icons alongside new collection pieces displayed across living environments. Within this setting, the “Borgonuovo” gaming table — inspired by Art Deco — stands out. Large watercolors introduce the spaces, referencing the founder’s legacy and bringing details of his residences back into focus.

Archives and storytelling are at the core of Gucci Memoria, marking the Fuorisalone debut of creative director Demna. At the Cloisters of San Simpliciano, 105 years of history are reinterpreted through a structure made of fragments and connections, where different eras coexist in a continuous sequence.

NikeAir_Lab, developed with Dropcity, builds an open archive around the concept of air and the Air technology pioneered by Frank Rudy. Original prototypes, recent experiments, materials, and machinery make visible a form of research that is often intangible. Visitors can actively engage with this process through workshops, talks, and in-depth sessions.

At Palazzo Serbelloni — now an established venue — Louis Vuitton presents a new iteration of “Objets Nomades,” in dialogue with Art Deco heritage and with Pierre Legrain, author of the maison’s first piece of furniture. 

Between re-editions by Charlotte Perriand and contemporary collaborations — Estudio Campana, Raw Edges, Franck Genser — the objects expand the brand’s domestic universe through materials and craftsmanship that remain true to its codes.

At the Cortile della Seta, Loro Piana constructs a path around twenty-three plaids, each treated as an independent study. Materials, techniques, and constructions unfold in variations that connect fiber, yarn, and final product. More than a collection, it reads as an exploration of the plaid as a synthesis of processes and savoir-faire.

In the Via Palermo space, Hermès presents new furniture, textiles, and home objects within a scenography designed by Charlotte Macaux Perelman and Alexis Fabry. An environment that reimagines the domestic ecosystem through materials, proportions, and details.

In the Quadrilatero district, Kwangho Lee’s installation introduces new weavings within the Via Sant’Andrea boutique, continuing a research path initiated under the creative direction of Louise Trotter.

“The Paper Log,” at the Via Bagutta store, originates from a waste material generated by the pleating process: compressed paper rolls that become the starting point for a research developed with Ensamble Studio. Two approaches — Shell and Core — produce different outcomes, from surfaces fixed in time to prototypes exploring volume and structure. A work on transformation, where the process remains as central as the result.

At its first participation, ASICS presents “Kinetic Playscape,” an immersive path designed by NUOVA at Garage 21. Five environments, each linked to a different condition of the body, invite movement and interaction. 

At the center, the GEL-KINETIC™ 2.0 sneaker becomes a pretext to reflect on movement as both physical and mental energy.

Prada continues its research with “Prada Frames,” the symposium curated by Formafantasma, now in its fifth edition under the title “In Sight.” In the sacristy of Santa Maria delle Grazie, talks and conversations question the role of images between digital infrastructures and material impacts, maintaining a direct link to design.

On Via Ascanio Sforza, Marimekko transforms Osteria Grand Hotel into a hybrid space between installation and restaurant. Its floral prints move across interior and exterior environments, through ceramics, convivial settings, and references to Finnish tradition, creating an experience that blends design and lifestyle.

Opening image: Miu Miu Literary club, Circolo Filologico Milanese, Milan Design Week 2025. Courtesy Miu Miu