See You at Salone?

The first time I visited Salone del Mobile in Milan back in 2022, I met up with designers, PR folks and design-business owners who were regular attendees and game to share their collective wisdom on how to do the show right. And even then, I’m not sure I could be fully prepared for the mind-blowing immensity of both the show itself, and the impact it has on Milan.

For 2025, Salone del Mobile—the world’s biggest furniture fair—kicks off April 8 and runs until April 13, with more than 2,000 exhibitors from 37 countries showing at Fiera Milano. Wear your comfortable (and stylish—hello, Milan) footwear, as those exhibitors and installations are spread across nearly two million square feet of exhibition space. And even more stats: last year over 370,000 design-loving folks attended, with the organizers projecting even more this year. Be sure to schedule your meetings well, too—depending on where you are on the floor, you’ll need travel time to get from one hall to another for any appointments to visit specific exhibitors on your must-see list.

Euroluce Biennal is back this year, featuring over 300 lighting brands from 25 countries (including Vancouver design stars A-N-D, showcasing a trio of new launches this year).  The show will also feature a first-ever International Forum on Light, a deep dive into lighting design with talks hosted inside the “Forest of Space Arena” by Sou Fujimoto.

Salone itself is your first look at the new designs coming for late 2025 and 2026 (stay tuned for our reporting on what we’ve spotted on the ground—here’s what we tracked last year), as well as major cultural installations both on the fairgrounds and in the city of Milan. On site, French architect Pierre-Yves Rochon’s Villa Héritage will explore the importance of time and heritage; Oscar-winning filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino’s La dolce attesa rethinks and reimagines the idea of waiting; and in Milan, visual artist and theatre director Robert Wilson’s Mother, is a light, art and sound exhibition designed to respond to Michelangelo’s unfinished masterpiece, the Pietà Rondanini.

If you’re spending time in the city—and you should, with exhibits from both Salone del Mobile and Fuorisalone activating literally every corner of Milan with design-centred spaces and pop-ups—be sure to also book a tour of Fondazione Achille Castiglioni, celebrating the namesake Italian designer who gave us the Arco lamp and so many other modern design classics. His daughter will walk you through his archives (meticulous!), his inspiration and so many of his original designs; by the end, you’ll feel your own creative well overflowing.

It’s also not too late to add a few days to your trip, post-show—might I recommend this lovely spot that the design duo Falken Reynolds shared with us last year?

Hope to see you there!