Milan Design Week 2026 takes place across the city from April 20 to 26, with Salone del Mobile.Milano held at Fiera Milano Rho from April 21 to 26, while Fuorisalone unfolds in parallel through exhibitions and installations spread throughout Milan. During this period, the city extends beyond the fair, with presentations moving into palazzos, courtyards, retail spaces, and temporary structures. These settings shape how each project is encountered, placing design within existing architecture.

EVENTS

DSCENE rounds up a selection of projects presented during Milan Design Week, focusing on installations and spatial presentations across the city. The week unfolds through a sequence of interiors and reworked locations, where objects are placed within defined settings that guide how they are read. What emerges is a set of distinct environments, each built with a clear intent, showing how design operates through presentation as much as through the object itself.

Reloaded by Diesel Living and Iris Ceramica

Diesel and Iris Ceramica mark ten years of collaboration with Reloaded: Diesel Living with Iris Ceramica, a new chapter that pushes their shared research into ceramic surfaces. The project introduces a collection that moves across large slabs and smaller formats, shaped through a more direct and contemporary visual language. The direction reflects an ongoing exchange between design and technology, where Iris Ceramica’s production capabilities support Diesel’s approach to surface as a form of expression.

The collection develops through two color-block compositions that combine large-scale slab production with conventional ceramic formats, building layered surfaces defined by texture and contrast. DYS Design Your Slabs technology allows each configuration to shift, giving space for variation and individual composition. Developed under the creative direction of Glenn Martens in collaboration with Controvento, the project introduces pieces such as Distressed Rug, which reworks Persian-inspired motifs through a worn, time-marked surface, and Acid Majolica, which distorts traditional Portuguese patterns into a sharper, more contemporary form.

Lightful by Bottega Veneta and Kwangho Lee

Bottega Veneta collaborates with Kwangho Lee on Lightful, a site-specific installation presented at the house’s Via Sant’Andrea store, with additional activations across Milan. The project centers on a suspended woven structure, developed through Lee’s ongoing material research and reworked using Bottega Veneta leather fettucce. Produced in black and green tones selected by Creative Director Louise Trotter, the light sculptures introduce illumination into the artist’s process, shaping organic forms through the interaction of woven material, light, and shadow.

Lightful marks the third collaboration between Bottega Veneta and Lee under Trotter’s direction, following earlier projects that included the Summer 2026 show space and the exhibition Weaving the World The Language of Intrecciato in Seoul. The development of the installation brought Lee to the brand’s atelier in Montebello Vicentino, where the house’s leather craftsmanship continues to define its identity. His practice draws from traditional weaving, basketry, and chilbo enamelling, extending across materials such as metal, marble, and found elements. Within this context, Lightful positions weaving as both a technique and a point of contact, aligning Lee’s experimental approach with Bottega Veneta’s long-standing focus on how material is shaped and built.

Objets Nomades by Louis Vuitton at Palazzo Serbelloni

Louis Vuitton presents its latest Objets Nomades collection inside Palazzo Serbelloni, placing new works alongside historic trunks within a sequence of rooms that trace a clear line from Art Deco to contemporary design. The exhibition opens with a reference to Pierre Legrain, whose work sets the tone for the entire presentation. Archival material, including early trunks, signed illustrations, and travel objects from the house’s heritage collection, appears within a scenography that recalls a 1920s train carriage.

Each room builds a distinct environment through color, material, and scale. A large Tikal rug anchors a sequence of interiors that move through drawing, dining, and library settings, bringing together pieces from past and current Objets Nomades collections. Furniture, textiles, and objects extend into dedicated spaces that highlight both archival references and recent collaborations, including works linked to Charlotte Perriand and contemporary designers such as Marc Newson, Patrick Jouin, and Cristian Mohaded. In parallel, the Via Montenapoleone store presents key trunk pieces, including the stained-glass Malle Courrier Lozine Maison de Famille and the reimagined Malle Lit, reinforcing the house’s ongoing focus on mobility, construction, and precision across both historic and current formats.

Reference Library by Apartamento and Jil Sander

Apartamento and Jil Sander present Reference Library as a focused reflection on reading, collecting, and the quiet impact of books. The exhibition gathers 60 titles selected by a wide range of contributors, including writers, designers, artists, and filmmakers, each offering a personal point of reference. These choices move beyond recommendation and form a layered network of influence, where individual taste builds a broader cultural map. Installed inside the Jil Sander showroom in central Milan, the project frames the book as a physical object that carries memory, association, and intention.

The installation, designed by studioutte, structures the space through rows of chrome lecterns under focused reading lights, with mirrored surfaces extending the visual field. Visitors enter in timed intervals and receive white gloves, a detail that shifts the act of handling each book into something deliberate. The books remain in place, available to read within the space, while the gloves stay with each visitor as a trace of the experience. Simone Bellotti, Creative Director of Jil Sander, references The Baron in the Trees by Italo Calvino, pointing to its central character’s distance as a way to see more clearly, while Marco Velardi, co-founder of Apartamento, frames the collaboration as a shared position on objects that hold meaning through use, attention, and time.

Prada Frames In Sight

Prada continues its annual Prada Frames symposium, curated by Formafantasma, with the fifth edition titled In Sight. The initiative positions itself around research and dialogue, focusing on ideas instead of product, and bringing together perspectives from design, culture, and society. This year’s theme examines image-making as a central condition of contemporary life, where representation often replaces direct experience. The symposium treats the image as a force that operates across cultural, political, and material dimensions, raising questions about authorship, truth, and the systems that shape visibility.

Through a series of lectures and conversations, the program addresses how images circulate, how they influence perception, and how they rely on infrastructures tied to resource extraction, energy use, and labor. The setting at Santa Maria delle Grazie places the discussions within a historical architectural context, with sessions held in the Sacrestia, attributed to Donato Bramante and decorated with sixteenth-century works by Domenico Morone and Francesco Morone. Guided visits extend the experience beyond the talks, while a final evening program combines selected discussions with a music performance, opening the symposium to a wider audience.

Ralph Lauren Home Presentation

Ralph Lauren activates its Via della Spiga flagship through an immersive presentation of its Fall 2026 Home collection, transforming the space through a nautical setting that references the atmosphere of a yacht. The façade and interiors shift into a coastal environment, extending into Ralph’s Bar, where materials, color, and spatial details build a continuous experience shaped around sport and lifestyle. At the same time, Ralph Lauren confirms the opening of its first standalone Home store in Milan on Via della Spiga, set for Fall 2026.

The presentation unfolds through two environments, Saddlebrook and Sterling Square, moving between a countryside residence and a city penthouse. Each setting introduces a distinct approach to interiors, from layered compositions built through material and texture to more structured spaces informed by Art Deco references. Introduced in 1983, Ralph Lauren Home positioned interiors within a broader vision of living, and this installation continues that direction by shaping a unified experience that connects fashion with the way people live.

The Paper Log: Shell and Core by Issey Miyake and Ensamble Studio

Issey Miyake presents The Paper Log: Shell and Core at its Milan store, a project conceived by Satoshi Kondo in collaboration with Ensamble Studio. The installation develops from compressed rolls of pleated paper, originally used in the garment-making process, and reconsiders them as a material with further potential. These cylindrical forms, shaped through the mechanics of pleating, become the starting point for a study that shifts them from industrial byproduct into objects and structures with new presence.

The installation unfolds through two parallel directions. Shell introduces sculptural pieces formed by peeling and shaping the paper into fixed, suspended compositions, while Core presents functional prototypes including seating and tables developed through treatments that alter the material’s density and surface. Throughout the space, these contrasting approaches are arranged to emphasize the tension between softness and structure, holding traces of the material’s origin while allowing it to take on a new role within a spatial and architectural context.

Loro Piana Studies Chapter I: On the Plaid

Loro Piana presents Studies, Chapter I: On the Plaid at its Cortile della Seta headquarters, focusing on the plaid as a defining object within the house’s interior vocabulary. The project traces its role back to the mid-1980s, when plaids and scarves marked its earliest finished products. From the start, the plaid served as a space for experimentation, where material research and weaving techniques developed through precision and control. Studies introduces a long-term framework built through individual chapters, each examining a single object or function through the lens of process.

The installation unfolds as a passage structured around twenty-four plaids, each treated as a standalone study. Variations in construction, pattern, and finish map out a wide range of technical approaches within one category. Fiber and yarn appear alongside the finished works, grounding each piece in their material origin while making the production process visible. Techniques such as embroidery, appliqué, handloom weaving, needle punching, patchwork, and screen printing shape each result, working across materials including Vicuña, Baby Cashmere, Cashmere, The Gift of Kings®, Royal Lightness®, linen, Wish wool, and Pecora Nera wool. Archival motifs return in updated compositions, while each plaid is produced on request, placing the object within a system of precision, variation, and controlled individuality.

Corolle Lamps by Dior Maison

Dior Maison introduces the Corolle lamps designed by Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance, presented within Palazzo Landriani in the Brera district. The collection draws from the Corolle line of the 1947 New Look by Christian Dior, translating its defining silhouette into a series of nomadic lighting pieces. Set within a historic interior, the installation places the lamps within a context that connects design heritage with contemporary production.

The scenography references the gardens of Villa Les Rhumbs in Granville, reinterpreted through an environment shaped by Korakot Aromdee and Vasana Saima. This setting introduces a layered visual framework where organic and graphic elements interact with the objects on display. The installation frames the lamps within a constructed landscape that emphasizes their form and presence.

Tomato Chair by Chloé and Poltronova

Chloé, under the direction of Chemena Kamali, revisits the Tomato chair in collaboration with Poltronova, bringing back a design originally created in 1970 by Christian Adam. The project returns to a moment defined by experimentation and cultural shift, where the chair proposed a different relationship between body and object through its soft, rounded structure. Its form rejects rigid geometry, instead shaping a presence that feels instinctive and grounded in physical experience.

The re-edition remains close to the original while introducing updated production methods, presented as a limited made-to-order series. Crafted in naturally tanned leather, the chair appears in four tones that clarify its sculptural shape through surface and material. Within Chloé’s broader direction, the project extends beyond fashion into a spatial and domestic context, where objects reflect a way of living defined by ease and a direct connection to form.

Size Matters by La DoubleJ

La DoubleJ transforms its Via Sant’Andrea flagship with Size Matters, an installation that explores scale through a surreal, immersive setting. Inspired by Les Valeurs Personnelles, the space reworks familiar domestic objects into oversized forms, shifting perception through proportion. Central to the installation are large-scale homeware sculptures crafted by Luca Bertozzi, translating everyday pieces into exaggerated forms that redefine their presence within the store. The intervention extends to the storefront, developed in collaboration with Max Siedentopf.

The installation coincides with the launch of the Al Fresco collection, marking the brand’s expansion into outdoor living. The new line introduces pieces designed for exterior settings, including poufs, folding tables, and porcelain elements drawn from the Fiesole collection. Within the transformed space, these objects sit within a broader environment, while visitors can take a set of pins and a mini magazine tied to the Mini Maxi concept.

ALPI Wood Surfaces by Piero Lissoni and Yabu Pushelberg

ALPI continues its research into wood surfaces through new collections developed with Piero Lissoni and Yabu Pushelberg. The project brings together two distinct approaches, one grounded in structure, the other more atmospheric and expressive. At the Salone, Lissoni’s stand unfolds through a sequence of spaces that present variations in rhythm and composition, while the downtown showroom introduces a more immersive setting shaped by contrasting visual directions.

The new collections treat veneer as a surface capable of transformation. Yabu Pushelberg’s Aurora and Birch explore color and pattern through layered tones, while Lissoni’s Xilo Acacia and Microline focus on structure and tonal depth through controlled treatments. The presentation extends to the Sensory Landscape exhibition at Palazzo Bovara, where ALPI contributes to a sequence of rooms designed to engage spatial perception through the interaction between natural and constructed elements.

CASA NM3 Modular Domestic Landscape

NM3 presents CASA NM3 at its Via Carlo Farini space, shaping a domestic installation structured through four rooms. Movable partitions define the layout, referencing the historic Velvet and Silk Café by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich, where textiles replaced solid walls to organize space. This approach introduces a flexible environment where architecture remains implied, allowing each zone to shift through use and perception. Within this framework, NM3 furniture forms a quiet interior, where objects maintain a balance.

The installation also introduces updated versions of the NM25 and NM26 systems, now developed with doors and drawers and conceived as fully modular structures. Kitchens, desks, and additional elements extend this system, expanding its use across different areas of the home while maintaining a consistent formal language. Rugs by cc-tapis define each space on the floor, while partner contributions introduce personal objects that add another layer to the setting. CASA NM3 frames furniture as a functional base for daily life, where design supports routine through a clear and adaptable approach to construction. Read more on ArchiSCENE for a closer look at the project.

Valentino Beauty Pop-Up with Tabboo!

Valentino Beauty collaborates with Tabboo! on an immersive pop-up installed in Porta Nuova, where the artist’s graphic language defines the entire space. Located at Spazio Capelli between Piazza Gae Aulenti and Corso Como, the installation introduces a setting shaped through color, pattern, and surface, translating Tabboo!’s visual identity into a temporary environment. The project centers on the presentation of Born in Roma Purple Melancholia, a fragrance duo that frames melancholy as a source of creative energy.

Inside the space, Valentino Beauty structures a sequence built around scent and atmosphere, where the visual intervention guides the experience. Dedicated stations focus on the composition of the fragrances, presenting their olfactory structure through a direct and sensory approach. The installation positions the product within a constructed environment that connects visual expression with scent, shaping a temporary setting defined by contrast, intensity, and a controlled use of color.

The Factory of Light by Aēsop

Aēsop returns with The Factory of Light, an installation set within Santa Maria del Carmine that explores light through material, craft, and spatial experience. Designed by Rodney Eggleston of March Studio, the project unfolds as a sequence that connects the brand’s approach to design with its latest creation, Aposē, a series of lamps introduced here for the first time. The installation begins with a familiar gesture at the basin before leading visitors through a concealed passage into a constructed environment shaped by translucent surfaces and reused materials drawn from restoration sites across Milan.

Inside, the experience moves through four rooms that trace the making of the lamp, from metal shaping and glass blowing to casting and final assembly. Each stage brings attention to the physical processes behind the object, culminating in a final space where thousands of salvaged fragrance bottles form a reflective surface that captures and diffuses light across the historic interior. The Aposē lamps appear within this setting as the result of these processes, introducing a new object grounded in craft and production.

Secret Garden Flower Kiosk by Amouage

Amouage presents the Secret Garden Flower Kiosk on Via Manzoni, introducing a temporary installation that combines scent with a floral setting in the city. The space brings together fragrance and visual elements, drawing on the imagery of a flower market shaped through contributions by CJ Hendry. A large sculptural caterpillar anchors the scene, adding a distinct visual element to the installation. The kiosk also introduces Love Hibiscus, a new addition to the Secret Garden collection, available in Italy during the activation. Visitors can collect scented flowers or explore the fragrance through samples offered on site.

Astier de Villatte and John Derian Exhibition

Astier de Villatte marks its long-standing collaboration with John Derian through an exhibition presented at its Milan gallery on Via dell’Orso. Celebrating fifteen years of working together, the project brings together around one hundred unique pieces created by Derian, spanning plates, dishes, and vases. The display extends across the gallery space with works positioned as both wall-mounted compositions and sculptural objects.

The exhibition originates from an experimental moment in the Paris atelier, where layered imagery placed onto a single ceramic surface produced an unexpected result that informed the direction of the project. From this starting point, two approaches emerge across the works. One introduces dense, irregular compositions built through assembled cut-outs, while the other follows a more structured arrangement guided by visual relationships and recurring motifs.

In Conversation With by Byredo and Jean-Guillaume Mathiaut

Byredo presents In Conversation With in collaboration with Jean-Guillaume Mathiaut, developing a dialogue between scent and material through an installation set within the Chiostro Cappuccio. The project builds on a two-year exchange that connects the structure of fragrance with the physical presence of wood, approached by Mathiaut as a surface marked by time and use. Working primarily with fallen oak, the installation reflects his connection to the forests of Fontainebleau.

The spatial narrative unfolds through a structure organized around cardinal points, extending into a sequence of moments that introduce personal and collective references. Set within the cloister of Santa Maria Maddalena al Cerchio, the installation holds a balance between what remains and what is introduced, allowing scent and crafted elements to coexist within the existing architecture. The project positions this exchange as a shared ground between Byredo’s approach to fragrance and Mathiaut’s focus on material, where both operate through a sustained attention to process and transformation.

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Gosha Rubchinskiy presents PERESVET as a continuation of his focus on youth, sport, and the idea of uniform. The project develops through a direct examination of athletic form. This approach defines the collection from the outset, shaping garments through reduction and control.

AD CAMPAIGNS

PERESVET builds on the essentials of a sports wardrobe, concentrating on garments such as sweatshirts, fleece pullovers, knitwear, and outerwear. These items form the foundation of the collection, reworked through a process that strips them back to their core elements. Construction remains clean and precise, allowing each garment to hold its shape without additional detail.

The silhouettes extend outward through generous proportions. This balance defines how the garments sit on the body, where size does not disrupt structure. Soft materials gain direction through cut and proportion, giving each piece a defined outline. The collection forms a system of clothing shaped by form and function, where each element contributes to a cohesive visual language.

Rubchinskiy revisits familiar athletic codes and adjusts them through this process. The collection retains recognizable references to sportswear, yet shifts their emphasis through proportion and construction. Oversized silhouettes avoid exaggeration, instead presenting a measured expansion that supports the overall structure. Materials follow the same logic, where softness is guided by shape rather than left undefined.

The image series accompanying PERESVET extends this direction through a focus on gesture and posture. Within this visual context, a bouquet of flowers appears as a secondary element that introduces contrast. The flowers bring a softer element into the frame, set against the controlled structure of the garments.

PERESVET presents a series of garments shaped through a direct approach, where each decision serves the overall structure. The collection is now available through the brand’s website.

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MUBI confirms that La Grazia, written and directed by Academy and BAFTA Award-winning filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino, will stream exclusively in the UK and Ireland from May 8, 2026. The film opened the 2025 Venice Film Festival, where Toni Servillo received the Coppa Volpi for Best Actor, and later screened at the 2025 BFI London Film Festival.

MOVIES

Sorrentino builds La Grazia around Mariano De Santis, a fictional outgoing President of Italy portrayed by Servillo. As his term comes to an end, De Santis confronts a series of decisions that span both public duty and private life. His position places him in situations that require judgment shaped by personal values and political responsibility. The narrative follows his attempt to navigate these pressures while maintaining a connection to those closest to him, including his daughter Dorotea, played by Anna Ferzetti.

The film examines themes that guide De Santis through this period. Love, doubt, and responsibility define his outlook, shaping how he approaches his role and the decisions that accompany it. Sorrentino presents De Santis as a figure driven by reflection, where doubt informs his understanding of power and governance.

Fatherhood plays a central role in the narrative, shaping De Santis’s relationship with his children and his view of the present. As he moves toward the end of his tenure, he looks to the next generation for perspective, choosing to trust their understanding of a changing world. This dynamic introduces a shift in authority, where experience meets a willingness to adapt. The relationship between De Santis and Dorotea provides a point of continuity within the film, grounding the story in personal exchange alongside political responsibility.

The film also engages with ethical questions that define De Santis’s position. He must decide whether to grant clemency to individuals convicted of murder and whether to sign legislation related to euthanasia. These dilemmas place him in situations where legal, moral, and personal considerations intersect.

Sorrentino describes La Grazia as a film shaped by key forces that define its central character. Love informs De Santis’s relationships and his connection to memory. Doubt guides his understanding of political responsibility and the limits of certainty. Responsibility defines his role as a leader and as a father.

The production brings together multiple partners, with La Grazia produced by The Apartment, a Fremantle company, and Numero 10, in association with PiperFilm. Producers include Annamaria Morelli and Paolo Sorrentino, alongside Andrea Scrosati for Fremantle and Massimiliano Orfei, Luisa Borella, and Davide Novelli for PiperFilm.

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DESIGN

Her work directly shapes how Maxon’s tools are positioned, understood, and adopted across the global creative industry.

Motion as Narrative System

While many motion designers focus on execution, Gu operates at the level of narrative system, approaching motion not as a decorative layer, but as a system that structures perception, orchestrates emotional pacing, and translates abstract ideas into temporal experience.

With a background in marketing and formal training in Motion Media Design, her practice operates through a dual framework: the logic of audience communication and the intuition of emotional storytelling. Rather than pursuing visual novelty, she treats motion as a form of compression, distilling complex cultural, emotional, and technological narratives into concise yet resonant sequences. This results in a body of work defined not by a fixed visual style, but by structural intentionality, where timing, transformation, and transitions function as components within a larger system of meaning.

Across Advertising, Entertainment, and Creative Technology

Gu’s methodology is developed through work spanning advertising, entertainment, and creative technology, where motion operates under different constraints yet retains its structural role.
At Black Math, she contributed to public-facing campaigns including work for the Boston Government, where motion needed to balance clarity and engagement, functioning as a tool for immediate communication across broad audiences.

At Imaginary Forces, an Emmy-winning studio known for shaping the language of title design, she worked on main title sequences for global platforms such as Netflix. In this context, motion design operates at the intersection of storytelling and branding, establishing tone, pacing, and audience expectations before the shows begin. This experience informs her later work in structuring audience perception at scale.

From Narrative System to Brand Execution

At Maxon, Gu’s role extends beyond production into brand-level communication strategy. As the company’s only motion designer, she leads the development of motion-driven brand narratives that translate technical product capabilities into user-centered meaning across international markets.

Her work on the Maxon One Brand Expression Film exemplifies this integration. Rather than presenting software through functional demonstration, the project constructs a narrative system that positions Maxon as an enabler of creative agency within an evolving technological landscape. By aligning product messaging with user experience, the film connects technical functionality to practical and emotional relevance for its audience.

The project received international recognition, including features from Rebrand Gallery, Motionographer, Brands in Motion, Abduzeedo, and Inspiration Grid, reaching a combined audience of over 325K creative professionals, as well as inclusion at the National Association of Broadcasters Show and selection by Behance. These recognitions signal more than visual distinction: the project has been referenced within the design community as a model for motion-led brand communication, demonstrating how creative technology companies can shift from product-centered messaging to narrative-driven brand systems.

Independent Work as Narrative Inquiry

Gu’s independent work does not sit apart from her commercial practice. It tests the same methodology at its limits. Her project The Fruit of My Woman, based on a story by Han Kang, explores themes of marriage, identity, and quiet forms of control. Structured as an observational diary, the work traces a gradual transformation in which the protagonist loses her sense of self, becoming increasingly entangled with a plant, both nurturing it and being diminished by it.

Rather than resolving the narrative, the project sustains a state of perceptual tension. Motion operates here as a temporal structure that accumulates unease, mirroring the protagonist’s loss of agency. This reflects Gu’s broader approach: using motion not to illustrate narrative, but to construct experiential conditions through which meaning emerges.

The project received international recognition, including two Red Dot Awards selected from approximately 20k global entries, Gold at the MUSE Creative Awards from over 13k submissions. It has been permanently archived by Stash Magazine and recognized among the year’s best works. Rather than standing apart from her commercial achievements, these distinctions reinforce her position as a motion designer whose work operates across both industry and cultural contexts, validating a unified practice that bridges technological communication and narrative inquiry.

Extending Motion Beyond Projects

Beyond design production, Gu contributes to the field through public speaking and knowledge sharing. She publishes process-based content on YouTube, accumulating over 1.6 million impressions, and has been invited to speak at Half Rez, the largest motion design conference in the central United States, as well as at institutions such as Savannah College of Art and Design and the University of Houston. These invitations reflect not general visibility, but recognition that she has a distinct perspective worth presenting.

As digital media continues to evolve under the influence of artificial intelligence, Gu situates motion design within a broader conceptual shift, from tool-driven production toward system-driven thinking. Her practice asserts a clear hierarchy: intention precedes efficiency, and storytelling precedes technique. In an era of increasing automation, the challenge is no longer generating motion, but constructing meaning within it.

Across both commercial and independent work, Gu consistently uses motion to bridge technology, storytelling, and cultural meaning. Her practice moves motion design from a production tool toward a structured system for communication. By operating at this intersection, and by shaping how global creative tools are understood, she represents a distinct voice within the motion design industry.

Words by Editor Eli Porter.

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Nike and Nigo introduce the first release in a series of Air Force 1 designs that trace the artist’s influence across fashion, music, and culture. This initial version of the silhouette connects directly to Nigo’s early work and the LO2 column he created with Jun Takahashi in the early 1990s. The project draws from a period that shaped their shared perspective on design, later leading to the opening of the NOWHERE boutique in Tokyo’s Ura-Harajuku district.

SNEAKERS

The design reflects this history through color and construction. The shoe appears in Sail and Loyal Blue, tones selected to match the original NOWHERE storefront sign. These choices anchor the silhouette in a specific place and time, linking it to the environment where Nigo’s early ideas took form. The Air Force 1 retains a streamlined structure based on the 2001 version, with a narrower toe box and a more athletic fit.

A patent leather upper references the materials Nigo introduced early in his career, aligning the shoe with his established visual language. LO2 graphics appear on the foxing and sock liner, connecting the design to its original context through direct visual cues. Nigo Air branding marks the shoe as part of this collaboration, while the packaging extends the concept beyond the product itself.

Nigo reflects on the significance of the Air Force 1 within this process. “As far as I know, the Air Force 1 is one of only a few silhouettes in the world that can truly be called a classic,” he says. “I never imagined in my dreams that one day I would be able to express my own style through the Air Force 1.”

The footwear release is accompanied by apparel that extends the LO2 reference. A coaches jacket and T-shirt draw from designs produced in 1993, revisiting elements that defined Nigo’s early output. These pieces maintain the same color direction and visual language as the shoe, creating a consistent set that reflects the period they reference. Nigo notes that the collection connects with different audiences in distinct ways, where the designs may feel new to some and familiar to others.

Future releases within the Nike x Nigo project will expand on this approach, drawing from Nigo’s personal network and history. The collaboration will develop across multiple locations and seasons, extending the initial concept into a broader sequence of designs.

The Nike x Nigo LO2 Air Force 1 and accompanying apparel will launch on May 1 at the Design Museum in London, aligned with the opening of the exhibition “NIGO From Japan With Love.” A wider release will follow on May 2 through humanmade.jp and Undercover Aoyama.

View Gallery 11 images

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Prada introduces its Days of Summer 2026 campaign with a concept that shifts the setting of a seasonal escape, photographed by David Sims. Bella Hadid leads the release alongside Damson Idris, Louis Partridge, and Liu Wen, forming a cast placed within constructed environments described as “metropolitan islands.” Sand stretches across elevated surfaces while figures appear suspended above the city.

SPRING SUMMER 2026

The collection follows the same logic as the setting, where urban structure meets beachwear codes. Tailored pieces sit next to swim elements, creating looks that shift between occasion and undress. Bermuda shorts carry volume, printed linen introduces texture, and leather tote bags add density against lighter garments. Canvas mini dresses and accessories including sunglasses, baseball caps, and bucket bags extend this mix, keeping each look tied to both the city and the sand. In the images, this mix reads clearly through styling: a structured black skirt paired with a simple swim top and a woven tote placed directly on sand, or a fitted navy T-shirt and denim set against a rooftop covered in sand, where the city skyline remains fully visible behind.

The campaign unfolds through Prada’s idea of “urban beaches,” with Bella Hadid, Damson Idris, Louis Partridge, and Liu Wen placed on individual metropolitan islands. Prada describes these settings as contradictory spaces within the city, echoing the collection’s meeting of metropolitan tailoring and swimwear. Each figure interacts with the sand in a direct, physical way, lying, leaning, or reclining, which keeps the focus on the body in relation to the surface.

Prada develops the campaign through these repeated contrasts, using elevation and separation to define each scene. The sand appears thick and sculpted, forming soft, uneven textures that contrast with the rigid lines of surrounding buildings, visible in the background as brick facades, water towers, and rooftop edges. The campaign stays focused on controlled compositions, where the environment dictates how the clothing reads.

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Tommy Hilfiger introduces the Tommy Hilfiger x Cadillac Formula 1 Team Miami fanwear capsule, a new release tied to the Miami Grand Prix. The drop marks the start of a broader city-inspired series that draws from key Formula 1 races and translates their atmosphere into wearable pieces.

CAPSULE COLLECTIONS

The Miami release focuses on the connection between the sport and the city. Tommy Hilfiger positions Miami as the starting point for this series, referencing its role within the current Formula 1 calendar. He notes the energy surrounding the Grand Prix and frames the capsule as a way for fans to engage with both the team and the location through clothing.

The lineup includes graphic T-shirts, hoodies, and caps built around relaxed silhouettes. Stylized palm trees, skyline motifs, and Formula 1 cars appear across the pieces, forming a consistent graphic direction. A pink colorway runs through the collection, linking the garments to the city’s visual identity.

Cassidy Towriss, Chief Brand Advisor for the Cadillac Formula 1 Team, connects the release to the team’s first home race. She frames the capsule as a way to engage fans while marking the Miami Grand Prix through clothing. The collection reflects key elements associated with the team, including references to its cars, drivers, and overall identity.

The Miami capsule sits within the wider Tommy Hilfiger x Cadillac Formula 1 Team fanwear range, extending the team’s identity into a focused set of everyday pieces. The lineup includes co-branded styles and references to the official team kit, with driver caps, T-shirts, and polos built using moisture-wicking materials and precise construction.

Formula 1 continues to expand its presence beyond racing, moving into fashion and entertainment. Tommy Hilfiger has played a role in this shift, working to position the sport within a wider cultural context. The partnership with the Cadillac Formula 1 Team builds on this direction, linking the brand to a team preparing for its 2026 entry. The Miami Grand Prix represents the team’s fourth race, following earlier appearances in China and Japan, where it secured two-car finishes. The capsule launches on April 22 and will be available through official brand channels, selected Tommy Hilfiger stores, and wholesale partners.

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PUMA releases the All-Pro Nitro 2 Giddey colorway on May 1, first unveiled on court by Josh Giddey, during the NBA season. Chicago Bulls fans and basketball audiences will find the sneaker across multiple retail channels upon release.

SNEAKERS

The All-Pro Nitro 2 arrives in a vivid yellow colorway that draws directly from Australia, where Giddey grew up. The design references the tones of the outback, with a focus on natural color intensity found in wildflowers such as the waratah and golden wattle. This visual direction introduces a clear identity for the shoe, connecting Giddey’s background with PUMA Basketball. The color execution delivers high visibility on court.

Performance features define the structure of the All-Pro Nitro 2. PUMA builds the shoe around its NITRO SQD foam system, which combines two layers to support movement. A softer inner core of NITRO foam absorbs impact and returns energy during play. Around it, a firmer NITROFOAM layer secures lateral stability, allowing players to handle quick directional changes with greater control. This dual-layer setup supports both comfort and responsiveness within a single midsole configuration.

The upper construction uses PWR Print technology to maintain structure without adding weight. This approach creates a thin and lightweight build that supports the foot during high-intensity play. The material application reinforces key areas while keeping the overall feel minimal, aligning with the needs of players who rely on speed and agility.

PUMA also integrates a cord lock-down lacing system in the forefoot. This feature tightens the fit and anchors the foot during lateral movement. The system extends toward the midsole, adding targeted support in areas that experience the most pressure during gameplay. Together with the foam structure and upper design, the lacing setup contributes to a secure and stable on-court experience.

The Puma All-Pro Nitro 2 Josh Giddey will retail for $140 and launch through PUMA.com, the PUMA mobile app, and the PUMA NYC Flagship store. Distribution will also include selected retailers.

Model: Puma All-Pro Nitro 2 Giddey
Colorway: Lemon Meringue/Magic Rose
SKU: 314565 01
Price: 140.00 USD
Release Date: May 1
Available at: Puma and select retailers

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Giorgio Armani expands Armani/Archivio with a second capsule that moves archival material into a physical collection. The release follows the debut of the digital platform last September and introduces 13 looks drawn from collections between 1979 and 1994. The selection includes both men’s and women’s designs, reproduced from original garments and prepared for current distribution.

CAPSULE COLLECTIONS

The capsule focuses on the jacket as a core element. Variations in cut, proportion, and construction define the selection, tracing shifts that occurred across different seasons. Each piece connects to a specific moment within the archive. The collection operates as a focused study of Armani’s approach to tailoring during this period.

References to key archival moments appear throughout the selection. A Fall Winter 1979 jacket drapes across the shoulders, establishing a balance between structure and softness that shaped early collections. The look appeared in a July 1979 Vogue Italia editorial.

Further examples include outdoor work-inspired garments from Spring Summer 1983, a three-piece suit from Fall Winter 1990, and a Fall Winter 1981 jacket informed by ō-yoroi, a form of ceremonial samurai armor.  The capsule also revisits a Spring Summer 1987 off-white collared jacket, which introduces a more relaxed approach within the framework of tailored clothing. Across the selection, the garments trace a progression over fifteen years, moving through different references. Design influences within the collection include references to Japan during the 1980s and work by Russian artist Léon Bakst.

To support the release, Armani worked with Eli Russell Linnetz on a campaign that draws from early visual material associated with the brand. The second Armani/Archivio capsule is available online, selected Giorgio Armani boutiques, and retail partners including Apropos Berlino, Just One Eye Los Angeles, and My Theresa website.

View Gallery 17 images

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For a long time, purple was the color that serious interior designers quietly avoided. Too risky. Too maximalist. Too much. The decade of greige, that long beige-grey reign that made half the homes in the Western world look like upscale hotel lobbies, had no patience for it.

That era is over.

Purple has made a full aesthetic comeback, and it’s arrived with considerably more sophistication than its previous incarnations. This isn’t the mauve of the 1980s or the aubergine feature wall of the early 2000s. The current wave of purple in interiors draws from fashion’s ongoing obsession with the color – from the dusty lilacs and plummy violets of recent runway seasons to the deeper, more complex shades that have been creeping into art world interiors and high-end residential projects alike.

Nowhere is the shift more visible than in upholstered furniture. A purple sofa, once a statement so bold it bordered on provocation, has become something genuinely covetable – a centerpiece around which a considered, confident room can be built.

The challenge, of course, is the building.

Understanding What Purple Actually Is

Before approaching a room around a purple sofa, it helps to understand that purple is not a single thing. The spectrum runs from pale lavender (almost a neutral in the right context) through mid-toned violet and mauve to the deep, saturated shades of amethyst, plum, and eggplant. Each of these registers differently in a space, interacts differently with light, and calls for a different supporting palette.

A dusty lilac sofa in a sun-filled room reads almost like a soft neutral – it can be treated with similar restraint, paired with whites, warm creams, and natural textures, without the room feeling like a color exercise. A deep plum velvet sofa in the same space is an entirely different proposition. It demands acknowledgment. The room needs to be in conversation with it, not ignoring it.

Before making any decisions about a supporting palette, spend time observing how the specific purple behaves at different times of day. Purple is unusually sensitive to light – it can shift towards blue in cooler morning light and warm towards red or brown in evening incandescence. What reads as a refined amethyst at noon can become something almost burgundy by lamplight.

The Palette Question

There are broadly three approaches to building a palette around a purple sofa, each producing a very different result.

Tonal harmony. Working within the purple family – deeper plums against mid-toned violets, with lilac and dusty rose as bridge colors – creates a room that feels immersive and moody. This approach works particularly well in spaces with limited natural light, where the depth of a tonal purple palette reads as intentional richness rather than darkness. It’s unambiguously maximalist, but maximalism done with discipline has a long and distinguished history in interior design.

Complementary contrast. Purple sits opposite yellow on the color wheel, which means gold, mustard, and warm amber create natural tension and vibrancy when paired with it. This isn’t the easiest combination to pull off subtly – it takes confidence – but when it works, it produces spaces that feel genuinely alive. The key is proportion: let the purple lead and bring in the yellow or gold as accents through cushions, lampshades, picture frames, or decorative objects rather than as competing areas of color.

Neutral grounding. The safest and most versatile approach is to ground a purple sofa in a palette of genuine neutrals – warm whites, natural linens, stone, and aged wood tones. The sofa becomes the clear protagonist in what is otherwise a calm room. This approach has the advantage of adaptability: because the surrounding palette is quiet, the energy of the room can be adjusted over time with relatively small changes to soft furnishings and accessories.

For a comprehensive look at how these approaches translate in practice, this guide to decorating a living room around a purple sofa covers the specific color combinations, texture pairings, and layout considerations worth knowing before you commit.

Material and Texture

Color is only half of what makes a purple sofa work in a room. Texture does at least as much.

Velvet is the obvious choice, and there’s a reason for that – it handles purple with particular elegance, the pile creating a depth and luminosity that flat weaves can’t match. A deep violet velvet sofa carries a richness that reads as genuinely luxurious rather than merely colorful. The risk is that velvet can start to feel heavy in a room that isn’t balanced with lighter, airier elements – linen curtains, rattan or cane accessories, bare wood floors – to offset its weight.

Performance fabrics in purple are worth considering for spaces that get heavier use. The tonal range in high-quality performance weaves has expanded considerably, and a well-chosen fabric can hold a purple beautifully while handling the realities of daily life. The texture tends to be flatter than velvet, which means the sofa reads slightly differently – more graphic, less sensuous – but in the right room that’s not a disadvantage.

Bouclé in purple is a newer development that has been appearing with increasing frequency in design-forward interiors. The texture adds visual complexity that makes the color feel less confrontational – a purple bouclé sofa has a warmth and approachability that velvet doesn’t always offer.

What to Put on the Walls

Wall color is where many people instinctively want to retreat to safety, and with good reason – the walls surround and contextualize everything. A miscalculated wall color can either fight the sofa or swallow it.

White walls are the reliable choice, but the specific white matters. Cold, bright whites with a blue undertone can push purple towards an unpleasant coolness. Warmer whites – those with cream, pink, or yellow undertones – are more sympathetic, adding a glow that works with the sofa rather than against it.

Deeper wall colors, when handled well, can be spectacular. Painting walls in a dark forest green, a deep navy, or even an inky, almost-black creates a backdrop that makes a purple sofa genuinely sing – the sofa appears to come forward in the space, commanding the room rather than competing with it. This approach produces spaces that feel designed in a way that more cautious palettes don’t.

Earthy tones – terracotta, dusty pink, ochre – work well as mid-tones that mediate between the purple and whatever else is in the room. They’re warm, grounding, and surprisingly versatile as backdrops for bolder upholstered pieces.

The Case for Committing

The broader point about decorating around a purple sofa – and around any genuinely bold piece of furniture – is that the rooms that don’t work are usually the ones that hedge. A purple sofa surrounded by apologetic decor, everything else retreating to the safest possible choice, ends up looking like an accident rather than a decision.

The rooms that do work are the ones where the purple sofa has been accepted as the protagonist and everything else has been chosen in relation to it. That requires a degree of commitment that doesn’t come naturally to everyone, but the result – a space that has a genuine point of view – is worth considerably more than a room that plays it safe.

Color confidence is, in the end, a form of design confidence. Purple is simply one of its more visible expressions.

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