Milan Design Week 2024: 9 Design Trends Spotted by AD Editors

Coral orange was the chromatic leitmotif of Milan Design Week 2024—a color that is no longer difficult to match! Designers did not shy away from this daring shade, whether it took the form of a small detail, an object, or an entire three-seater sofa. A bright, sunny, decidedly cheerful hue that no longer frightens, it was embraced by great made-in-Italy brands like Zanotta, Cassina, Poltrona Frau, and Magis. Whether it was in new products, such as the Z24 container by Muller van Severen for Zanotta, or reissues, like Magis’s Puppy or Bobo armchairs by Cini Boeri (cast in a coral color in a designer tribute Loro Piana orchestrated in the Milan showroom), it was clear that this crisp sunset color warms the soul. And now maybe our homes too. —Valentina Raggi, AD Italia

Zanotta’s new Z24 series debuted at Milan Design Week. The line included a sideboard, a bedside table, and two low storage units designed by Muller Van Severen.

Simone Barberis for Zanotta

Twenty years after its debut, Eero Arnio’s Puppy for Magis appeared at Milan Design Week 2024 covered in an unmissable orange “fur.”

Photo courtesy of Magis

Marble Springs Eternal

Inspired by the Testa di Moro ceramics, la Testa di Marmi is a reinterpretation of the icon that has adorned Sicilian balconies for centuries. 001TDM is the result of Berenice Curt’s fascination with the head in all its shapes and artistic expressions, and is seen here exhibited in the Garden of Villa Borsani, Alcova.

Photo courtesy of Berenice Curt Architecture

In the air is a desire for solidity, for concreteness, for materiality—and pieces that carry their own weight, in every sense, are breaking into domestic design. So it’s logical that materials like travertine—and even more so, marble—are playing an important role in this design week.

It starts with the philosophical vision of the architecture and design studio Hannes Peer, which together with the Belgian company Van Den Weghe, a landmark in high-end natural stone processing since 1969, has created The Clearing, an installation of “talking” sculptures that transcend traditional creative boundaries, opening a dialogue on architectural complexity, and encouraging a move beyond conventional functionality. Then it’s on to the durability of functional pieces that immediately give character to rooms, such as the Mistral table designed by Studio Dainelli for Giorgetti with marble tops (Calacatta, Calacatta Viola, Grigio Astratto, Zebrino, Portoro, and three new finishes Dover White, Grigio Orobico, Rosso Levanto), to Salvatori’s covetable tables, Love Me Love Me Not by Michael Anastassiades and Taula by Patricia Urquiola, presented in new sizes and with a new selection of marbles.

Pieces by Antolini, Neutra, Lithos Design, Kreoo, and Molteni&C rounded out the trend. One detail, one piece, the whole: The extraordinary veining of marble is bursting into tomorrow’s furnishings. Elegant complements can also be found in SuonareStella’s sculptural vases for FiammettaV, which echo ancient Roman columns, and on the decorative masks of Testa dei Marmi, which displayed its creations with an installation in the gardens of Villa Borsani in Alcova. —Alessandra Pellegrino, AD Italia

The Mistral table in the version with marble top (there is also one in ash) designed by Dainelli Studio for Giorgetti is a sculptural piece of furniture, capable of combining solidity and lightness, whose legs recall the shape of sails unfurled in the wind.

Photo: Simona Pesarini / © Giorgetti

The collaboration between Hannes Peer and Van Den Weghe has resulted in The Clearing sculptures, which, despite their apparent monolithic nature, reveal a high level of technical expertise and profound craftsmanship, displaying the flexibility of travertine and marble through state-of-the-art finishes.

Photo: Danilo Pasquali