Trends from Milan Design Week 2025

Milan Design Week isn’t simply about fleeting trends or passing fancies. It’s a celebration of thoughtful storytelling, where every object, finish, and silhouette is carefully crafted to reveal something deeper and more meaningful. This year, the world’s design capital transformed into a sensory journey, seamlessly blending emotion with innovation in ways that felt both deeply personal and universally inspiring.

Our Head of Design, Kate McGlone, represented Winnings in Milan this year. “Someone recently asked me what trends stood out at Milan Design Week 2025. I paused at the word ‘trends’ because, to me, it didn’t quite capture the essence of what was presented. Instead, I’d call them elements—a more thoughtful and evocative term that reflects the intent and inspiration behind the work. Milan Design Week is never about trends for the sake of fashion; it’s a showcase where, if there’s considered storytelling behind the form of an object or installation, it earns its place somewhere—in someone’s home.”

Throughout the event, designers and creators from across the globe showcased their visions, offering a glimpse into the future of design. The experience was rich with layers of creativity and craftsmanship, inviting visitors to engage with each piece on a profound level.

“That’s the beauty of design: it’s subjective, and there’s no one-size-fits-all. This is precisely why Milan Design Week continues to capture the imagination of designers from around the world.”

We’ve curated a snapshot of the standout elements and emerging themes that are set to shape the future of design — and the way we live in our homes — in 2025 and beyond. From cutting-edge materials to innovative forms, these highlights reflect a new era where design is not just about aesthetics but about meaningful connections and sustainable choices.

Tactile Softness: The Rise of Nabuk

When it comes to upholstery, particularly sofas and armchairs, Nabuk leather commands admiration. This delicate, suede-like leather isn’t designed for everyday wear in busy family spaces, yet its softness and rich texture deliver a truly sublime sensory experience. Nabuk feels like a warm hug or a favourite blanket—comforting, luxurious, and visually captivating.

In Lucy Kieran’s Leonardo for Molinari Design, Nabuk is showcased as both inviting and sophisticated, perfectly blending tactile warmth with refined elegance. The material continues the ongoing conversation in interior design, where comfort and ease have become essential, non-negotiable qualities in our living spaces.


Product: Leonardo by Lucy Kieran
Brand: Molinari Design

Colour Play: Mint, Mustard & Vivid Purple

A bold trio of colours made a striking return this year in Milan. Mint green, mustard yellow, and vivid purple punctuated the city’s design scene, often appearing together or paired with neutral bases. Far from overwhelming, these hues brought layered emotion and vibrancy to spaces, each contributing a distinct role in shaping mood and narrative.

Falper’s Opus Collection perfectly exemplifies this approach. Crafted from artisanal glass bricks, each piece plays with transparency and light, creating a dynamic interplay that captures attention without overpowering. Designed by Massimo Castagna, the collection is a unique expression of form, enhanced by meticulous detail and the use of noble materials. Through this collection, Falper demonstrates how colour can inject personality and energy while maintaining balance and sophistication.


Product: Opus Collection
Brand: Falper

Gloss & Glow: High-Shine Surfaces

High-gloss finishes, which gained momentum last year, continue to be a standout choice. Especially notable in Milan’s Brera district, glossy surfaces in rich mustard and green hues offered a balanced mix of calm and character. Their reflective quality creates depth and a subtle elegance, particularly when paired with more natural, organic textures.

These sophisticated finishes bring a polished touch to modern joinery, grounding contemporary designs with understated refinement.


Brand: Falper

Walnut Warmth: Timber’s Timeless Appeal

Walnut continues to be a favourite for good reason. As always, timber served as a grounding force—particularly walnut, which reigned supreme across both furniture and joinery. Its rich, warm tones add depth and timelessness, creating a quiet luxury that complements the more expressive colour and finish stories of 2025. Studio Böttger’s Pala Bedroom for Case Studies perfectly illustrates how walnut brings comfort and sophistication to interiors.


Product: Pala Bedroom by Studio Böttger
Brand: Case Furniture

Purposeful Craft: Celebrating the Join

Milan reminded us that beauty often lies in the details — the quiet strength of a perfect joint, the soul within structure. This renewed focus on the artistry of joints, especially in wood and stone, was clear in De La Espada’s Twenty-Five Coffee Tables. Every connection feels meaningful and purposeful, from the way a timber leg meets its marble top to the seamless joins that maintain the integrity of the materials without disruption.

Inspired by the phases of the moon, these versatile tables feature a soft, organic pebble shape and a gently rounded edge that invites touch. The craftsmanship is evident in the beautiful joinery where contrasting materials meet, celebrating both form and function. In a fast-paced world, these pieces serve as a gentle reminder that each detail has been thoughtfully considered. Through their structure, they tell stories, adding soul to everyday living.


Product: Twenty-Five Coffee Tables
Brand: De La Espada

Soft Forms & Sculptural Silhouettes: Design that Embraces

Curves continued their quiet dominance this year, reinforcing the appeal of organic, bodily forms that feel here to stay. There’s something inherently comforting about softness in design — it invites ease and gently slows the eye. These rounded shapes also create an ideal backdrop for bold material choices, achieving a thoughtful balance within carefully crafted spaces.

Luca Nichetto’s Azores for De La Espada embodies this approach perfectly. This modular system offers a sculptural presence paired with architectural clarity, adapting effortlessly to different spaces, scales, and the rhythms of everyday living. Azores brings warmth and approachability to interiors through its elegant, human-centred design.


Product: Azores by Luca Nichetto
Brand: De La Espada

Rug Rebellion: Geometry Beneath Your Feet

Rugs made a bold comeback this year, moving away from the subtle neutrals that dominated recent seasons. Vivid geometric patterns brought living spaces to life, adding energy and playfulness underfoot. No longer just background elements, rugs became the focal point of any room. The Ribbon Riders collection by Karpeta, designed by Aylin Langreuter, perfectly captures this shift, turning floors into expressive statements.


Product: Ribbon Riders by Aylin Langreuter
Brand: Karpeta

Illuminated Narratives: Lighting with Soul

Lighting this year moved beyond mere function to become a form of pure storytelling. A poetic exploration of materials and shapes unfolded, with each piece conveying emotion, memory, or atmosphere. Subtle nods to the past emerged through Art Deco influences, reinterpreted to suit a contemporary eye and sensibility. The chandelier, once a symbol of grandeur and tradition, has been boldly reimagined. Now it holds its place confidently in both modern and classic interiors. Whether sculptural or minimalist, suspended or clustered, lighting in Milan was less about illumination and more about identity, telling stories through glass, metal, and the spaces between.


Product: In The Air by Douglas Mont
Brand: DCWeditions

While these products are not yet available in stores, they offer a vivid glimpse into the inspiring direction design is heading. Each thoughtfully crafted element weaves into the complex story of how we live, experience, and connect with our homes—shaping spaces that are sensory-rich, meaningful, and deeply personal in every detail. As design continues to evolve beyond aesthetics, it invites us all to consider how the spaces we inhabit reflect who we are and how we want to feel.

Stay tuned as these elements begin to shape the future of home living, inspiring new ways to create comfort, connection, and beauty in everyday life.

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