The 5 new things at Salone del Mobile 2026: collectible, forgotten architecture, a newsstand, a film and… Rem Koolhaas

The 64th edition of Salone del Mobile.Milano, taking place from April 21 to 26, 2026, opens with a statement of intent. After years of a major presence across Milan and star-studded collaborations (including the “last times” of David Lynch and Bob Wilson), this year the fair has no major international celebrities to unveil. But anyone who thinks the novelty of this edition is that there is nothing new would be mistaken. It begins with a small but significant shift: at the heart of the furniture system, space is being made for collectible design.

“Amid a geopolitical and economic phase marked by deep discontinuities and new polarities, Salone del Mobile.Milano responds by positioning itself as a fixed point in an unstable time,” says Maria Porro, President of the event. “A place where industry meets, ideas take shape and the future is designed.”

“Demand for uniqueness and identity is growing in the market,” explains Annalisa Rosso, Editorial Director and Cultural Events Advisor of Salone del Mobile, identifying a trend toward collectible design not only among general audiences but also among brands and clients. About time, one might say: Alcova has been a Design Week hit for years. The Salone has finally decided to put forward its own counterproposal, attempting to make the trade fair system — the epicenter of the Italian furniture industry — coexist with a new exhibition space dedicated to limited editions, antiques and high creative craftsmanship.

Salone Raritas. Curated icons, unique objects, and outsider pieces, launching inside Halls 9 and 11 at Rho Fiera, will be designed by Formafantasma and will host 25 exhibitors presenting one-of-a-kind pieces. Among them are Nilufar, the historic Milanese gallery devoted to collectible design; Bianco67, an Italian company specializing in marble working, collaborating with Parasite 2.0; and Sabine Marcelis, presenting a special project with Dubai gallery Collectional. 

Maria Porro, president of Salone del Mobile.Milano

“From the outside it will look like a huge lantern among the other stands,” says Formafantasma’s Andrea Trimarchi, referring to a temporary space that “will not be a white cube” nor “a trade fair booth filled with spotlights.”

This marks a turning point for Salone del Mobile, bringing what Fuorisalone audiences love into the spaces of Rho Fiera, while also playing a slightly more elitist game than usual, moving away from serial production design toward a formula closer to contemporary art. Italian design tradition is all well and good, but Raritas truly feels like a breath of fresh air in a world where people now seem to get excited only about reissues of past pieces by designers long dead (or nearly so). And hasn’t luxury become a mass vector in the era of it-bags and Instagram?

In 2026, Salone del Mobile will also become a film. Screened at Anteo Palazzo del Cinema on April 16, during Milan Art Week, Lost & Roll. Romeo’s Design Week by Gianluca Vassallo follows a street photographer wandering through Milan during Design Week, portraying designers, craftspeople and workers. In short, it does not simply recount the history of the fair from 1961 to today — it does something far more interesting.

A lecture by Rem Koolhaas and a day-long international forum are the first — but not the only — outcomes of the collaboration between Salone and OMA. Details are still scarce, but we know the project, titled Salone Contract, will take shape in 2027. For now, it is in the research phase. “Understanding what people working with design need” is the current goal, as OMA’s David Gianotten explains, hinting at an ongoing data-gathering platform about the Salone.

Forgotten Architecture is first a platform, and now also a book published by Nero Editions, curated by Bianca Felicori — architect, researcher and Domus contributor — dedicated to rediscovering modern architectures around the world that have been forgotten or remain little known.

In recent years, Felicori’s project has been a real sensation in the architecture world, and this year the Salone is institutionalizing it. Let’s hope it retains its vitality.

The now historic Design Kiosk in Piazza della Scala and a newsstand created in collaboration with K-Way in Piazza del Duomo will serve as Salone’s outposts in the city. In addition to distributing magazines, they will act as starting points for the “forgotten architecture” route. The newsstand will also host a limited-edition capsule collection — developed with K-Way and tied to the Salone del Mobile 2026 campaign.

Opening image: Salone Raritas, Salone del Mobile.Milan 2026. Visual ©Formafantasma