Salone del Mobile is the largest design fair in the world. Every April, Milan becomes the center of gravity for the entire industry — designers, makers, architects, collectors — all arriving with the same question: what does the future of living look like?
When I last attended in 2023, Materie existed only as a dream sketched out somewhere between Aspen and Milan at 30,000 feet. I came home from that trip with a clarity I hadn't expected — about what I wanted to build, what it should stand for, and who I wanted to build it with. That's what Salone does. It puts so much craft, ambition, and vision in one place that the important things become impossible to ignore.
This year, I return to Milan wearing three hats: previewing for my interior design studio, Matter Interiors; sourcing for Materie; and for the first time, guiding clients through the fair for their new home here in Aspen. Each demands a different perspective. I'm looking forward to all of them.
I'll also, finally, be meeting partners I've only ever known across time zones. Ringvide founders Leila Alwaheb and Lukas Dahlén, whose furniture I've carried at Materie since the beginning. And Studio Nudo's Fabiola Laccisaglia.
Here's what the week looks like:
TUESDAY, APRIL 21
As soon as I land in Milan, I hit the ground running. First stop: Tribù, the Belgian outdoor furniture brand known for being the first outdoor company ever to exhibit at Salone del Mobile — their creative, contemporary approach to outdoor living has made them a fixture in the world's most considered luxury homes and resorts.
From there, Promemoria — a Lake Como-based house founded in 1988 by Romeo Sozzi, whose roots go back four generations to craftsmen who built carriages for Italian nobility. Their furniture is defined by rare woods, noble metals, and a philosophy of quiet sophistication that earns its place in a room.
The day ends at Poliform, the Brianza-born brand that has been shaping contemporary living since 1970. Founded as a family artisan business and still family-owned today, Poliform is one of the few brands that does the full home — kitchens, storage, seating, beds — with a coherent design language across all of it.
The evening brings cocktails at Palazzo Parigi followed by the Giobagnaraora Art Edition.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22
Wednesday is my primary day to preview the fairgrounds before my clients arrive. I start the morning at the Swedish Design Pavilion and a morning reception with Ringvide. Meeting them in person after years of partnership is one of the things I'm most looking forward to this week.
From there, the afternoon is a focused run through some of the most important names in Italian furniture:
Gallotti&Radice: Founded in Milan in 1955, Gallotti&Radice was the first company in Italy to pioneer the use of crystal in furniture design. Their work is defined by the marriage of glass with wood, brass, and marble — pieces that feel both weightless and substantial.
Flexform: Born in Brianza in 1959, Flexform has spent over sixty years making some of the most beautifully proportioned upholstered furniture in the world. Their long collaboration with architect Antonio Citterio has produced sofas and armchairs that have become genuine classics of contemporary Italian design.
Minotti: Founded in Meda in 1948 and now in its third generation of family ownership, Minotti is the quiet standard-bearer of Italian luxury — understated, technically precise, and instantly recognizable for its calm and considered design language.
Van Rossum: The Dutch furniture maker whose work is rooted in a love of wood, closeness to nature, and exquisite craftsmanship. A quieter name than the Italian giants, but one I return to consistently.
Henge: An Italian brand with a passion for rare and unconventional materials — stone, metal, leather — used in ways that feel almost architectural. Their pieces command space rather than simply occupying it.
Bocci: The Vancouver-based design research studio founded by Omer Arbel in 2005. Bocci's sculptural glass lighting — each piece handmade through experimental techniques — is among the most original lighting work being produced anywhere in the world right now. At Milan Design Week 2026, Bocci is presenting Light as Medium, an exhibition curated by David Alhadeff of The Future Perfect.
Cassina: One of Italy's most storied furniture houses, Cassina sits at the intersection of modern art and design history — known for its reissues of iconic pieces by Le Corbusier, Charlotte Perriand, and Gio Ponti, alongside a forward-looking contemporary program.
The day closes with drinks at the Four Seasons with designer Rosemary Hallgarten, followed by the Giopato & Coombes cocktail party.
THURSDAY, APRIL 23
Thursday begins at the Baxter Cinema. Baxter is one of Italy's most design-forward leather furniture brands, known for its made-in-Italy philosophy and commitment to beauty as a functional principle.
Showroom visits to follow include Arclinea, one of Italy's leading kitchen designers, and B&B Italia, the brand that has worked with virtually every major designer of the last fifty years — from Mario Bellini to Patricia Urquiola — to produce furniture that holds its own against the best in the world.
Thursday evening, I'll finally meet Fabiola Laccisaglia of Studio Nudo at Sounds of Design — an immersive installation exploring the intersection of sound, space, and material, featuring 15-minute compositions by Neuf Voix. Dinner follows at Beef Bar.
FRIDAY, APRIL 24
Friday opens with a visit to Collection Particulière alongside our partners from Garde Shop, followed by Alcova. Now in its eleventh edition, and one of the most vital platforms in design week for independent and emerging work, Alcova unfolds across two extraordinary Milanese sites: the Baggio Military Hospital and Villa Pestarini. I'm particularly looking forward to the installation by Andrea Claire Studio.
Follow along in real time at @materiehome on Instagram.
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Nicole
