design

Strategic Brand Positioning Through Immersive Environments

The most successful luxury brands leveraged historic venues to create memorable brand experiences that transcended traditional product displays. Hermès exemplified this approach at La Pelota with an ethereal installation by Charlotte Macaux Perelman, the brand’s artistic co-director for home collections. The suspended luminous structures created a labyrinth effect, strategically positioning the French luxury house as an innovator in spatial design beyond its product offerings.

Gucci’s “Bamboo Encounters” at the 16th-century Cloisters of San Simpliciano demonstrated effective heritage marketing by connecting its iconic 1947 Bamboo bag to contemporary interpretations of the sustainable material. The exhibition, curated by 2050+, featured seven commissioned projects from diverse international designers including Anton Alvarez, Dima Srouji, and Nathalie Du Pasquier. This strategic integration of brand heritage with forward-looking sustainability narratives exemplifies luxury’s current balancing act between tradition and innovation.

Exclusivity Through Access: The Luxury of Limited Availability

According to Living Corriere, this year’s Design Week continued the tradition of providing access to typically restricted venues—a significant driver of exclusivity value in the experience economy. The Sant’Angelo Cloister, where Flexform presented Antonio Citterio’s outdoor collection, created perceived value through both product display and the privilege of accessing a normally private historic space.

Similarly, Australian luxury skincare brand Aēsop demonstrated market differentiation by creating a multisensory installation in the normally inaccessible sacristy of the Church of Carmine. The brand effectively extended its olfactory identity into spatial design, using its Eleos Aromatique hand balm as an architectural finish that emanated woody and herbaceous notes throughout the space.

Investment in Cultural Capital: The Es Devlin Effect

Perhaps the most significant investment in cultural programming came from Salone del Mobile with Es Devlin’s “Library of Light” installation in the Courtyard of Honor at the Pinacoteca di Brera. The 18-meter diameter circular structure, containing over 2,000 volumes on rotating luminous shelves, represents the type of large-scale cultural investment that generates substantial earned media and visitor engagement.

The installation’s sophisticated integration with the historic architecture—functioning as a sundial that illuminates previously unlit portions of the 17th-century courtyard—exemplifies how design week installations have evolved from simple product displays to complex cultural interventions with lasting impact. Living Corriere notes the installation will remain accessible until April 21, 2025, extending the event’s influence beyond the traditional design week calendar.

Market Expansion Through Strategic Showroom Launches

Tacchini’s first Milan showroom opening in Largo Treves 5 demonstrated effective market positioning, creating a residential atmosphere that blurred the line between retail and hospitality environments. The presence of design luminaries like Tobia Scarpa, who supervised the re-edition of his 1975 Africa chair, and Faye Toogood arranging cushions on her Butter sofa, added authentic narrative value to the brand experience.

This “home open to friends” concept signals a shift in how design brands are approaching physical retail in the post-pandemic marketplace—emphasizing personal connection and lifestyle integration over traditional product display.

The Bottom Line

The most successful presentations at this year’s Brera Design District shared a common approach: leveraging the distinct cultural capital of Milan’s historic spaces while creating forward-looking installations that position brands for future market relevance. As luxury continues to shift toward experience over acquisition, these strategic investments in cultural programming and immersive environments provide significant competitive advantage in an increasingly crowded global design marketplace.

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As the world’s creative elite descends upon Milan this April, explore how the 63rd Design Week is transforming Italy’s fashion capital into a laboratory of innovation, creativity, and future-forward thinking.

When Milan’s Fuorisalone opens its doors from April 7-13, it won’t just be showcasing furniture and lighting. What was once primarily a trade show has evolved into a cultural juggernaut where the boundaries between design, art, technology, and entertainment dissolve completely.

The 2025 edition represents a pivotal moment in Milan Design Week’s evolution, with an unprecedented convergence of disciplines reshaping how we think about design’s role in society.

The New Power Players

The 2025 edition marks a significant shift as major cultural figures from outside traditional design circles take center stage. Academy Award-winning director Paolo Sorrentino transforms pavilions 22-24 at Salone del Mobile into a meditative installation titled La dolce attesa, challenging visitors to experience time differently in our hyper-accelerated world.

Meanwhile, legendary theatrical director Bob Wilson unveils Mother at Castello Sforzesco, a multimedia installation engaging with Michelangelo’s unfinished masterpiece. The piece, accompanied by Estonian composer Arvo Pärt’s minimalist compositions, exemplifies the cross-disciplinary approach defining this year’s event.

Market Impact: The Business of Design Week

With over 500,000 visitors expected and an estimated €370 million in economic impact for the city, Milan Design Week has become a powerhouse business opportunity. Major brands are investing record budgets into spectacular installations that double as sophisticated marketing vehicles.

This evolution reflects broader shifts in luxury marketing, where experiential activations increasingly outperform traditional advertising in connecting with next-generation consumers.

The Innovation Map: Navigating Milan’s Design Districts

Brera: The Experience Economy Epicenter

With over 300 events scheduled, Brera has emerged as the district commanding the highest square-foot premiums. British artist Es Devlin’s Library of Light at Pinacoteca di Brera demonstrates why: the immersive installation combines cutting-edge projection mapping with physical architecture, creating what will likely be the most photographed design moment of the week.

At Palazzo Moscova 18, digital artist Michela Picchi partners with Glo For Art on a technicolor installation that represents another crucial trend: the gamification of design exhibitions. Visitors don’t merely observe but interact through augmented reality elements that extend the experience into digital realms.

Tortona: The Commercial Innovation Hub

Once an industrial zone, Tortona has transformed into the commercial heart of Fuorisalone, where product launches dominate. Base Milano’s We Will Design program functions as an incubator for emerging talents, while Superstudio Più’s Superdesign Show offers a platform for 70 international designers focused on sustainable manufacturing techniques.

The district serves as an essential barometer for anyone in consumer-facing design businesses, showcasing tomorrow’s retail innovations today.

5Vie: Heritage Meets Disruption

In Milan’s historic center, 5Vie district curates a thoughtful dialogue between Italy’s artisanal traditions and technological innovation. This year’s focus on order and equilibrium manifests in unexpected venues like the INPS courtyard, where Angela Florio’s Metropolitan Jungle explores biophilic design principles.

For savvy collectors, the district offers treasure hunting opportunities in workshops like Laboratorio Paravicini, whose hand-decorated porcelain represents the kind of high-value artisanal investment that’s increasingly attracting wealth management attention.

Beyond the Center: The Innovation Frontier

The most experimental work appears in peripheral districts like Isola, where the Design is Human exhibition examines how emerging technologies are reshaping craft traditions. At Quartiere Stadera, a network of studio visits organized by Vicini di Strada association provides visitors rare access to next-generation creators before they achieve commercial recognition.

Nina Yashar’s influential Nilufar gallery stakes new territory in Via Lancetti with three exhibitions including Silver Lining, a forward-looking exploration of advanced metalworking techniques curated by architecture collective Fosbury Architecture.

The Business Intelligence Takeaway

For business leaders attending Milan Design Week, the key intelligence extends beyond aesthetic trends. The event functions as a laboratory for observing how physical experiences can be monetized in an increasingly digital marketplace, offering strategic insights applicable across sectors from retail to hospitality.

As boundaries between creative disciplines continue to blur, Milan Design Week isn’t just showcasing objects—it’s previewing how we’ll live, work, and interact in the coming decade. For forward-thinking executives, it’s become an essential field research opportunity into the mechanics of desire and attention in tomorrow’s experience economy.

Source: Corriere