Textile design and recycle: Heimtextil Trends 2025/2026

Textiles speak, and they tell our story. They document social changes and reflect eras. This premise, and the study of textile tradition unravel the research conducted by Alcova. Milan’s design exhibition platform explores trends in the textile industry, textile design, and textile recycle, to be seen at Heimtextil 2025. Valentina Ciuffi and Joseph Grima, the founders of Alcova, developed a pathway, Future Continuous, exploring the evolution of textiles through the ages, and identifying today’s trends.

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Left to right: Olaf Schmidt, Shirley Tale, Valentina Ciuffi and Joseph Grima (photo courtesy Messe Frankfurt/Pietro Sutera)

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India: the new frontier for design events

According to data from CSIL (Center for Light Industry Studies), India is a fast-growing market and is expected to close the year at +6% of real GDP. In 2023 India surpassed China to become the most populous country in the world, with more than 1.4 billion people. The crown may not have intrinsic value, but it symbolizes important things. According to United Nations projections, India’s population will almost certainly continue to grow for several decades, accounting for more than one-sixth of the increase in the world’s working-age population (15-64 years) between now and 2050. Moreover, 51 percent of India’s population will live in urban areas by 2047, something that will cause significant changes in the domestic market.

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imm cologne is taking a break in 2025

Together with the Association of the German Furniture Industry (VDM) and the German Furniture and Kitchen Retailers Association (BVDM), Koelnmesse has decided to skip the imm cologne‘s January 2025 edition. This joint decision came after intense discussions on the furniture industry’s challenging conditions, particularly in Germany. It allows everyone involved to collaborate with Koelnmesse on developing a new, more viable future trade fair format.

The choice is primarily because the German furniture manufacturers are generally in troubled waters, as there is a scarce domestic demand for furniture, and the industry is, therefore, understandably, keeping a close eye on its spending.

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imm cologne entrance

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CIFF Shanghai 2024: furniture, brands and Italian Lifestyle

CIFF Shanghai 2024: great design was on stage in China’s most international city!

The 54th CIFF Shanghai has just ended, leaving all visitors with amazement at the incredible quality achieved by the companies that chose this rooftop to exhibit their products. Many brands furniture, and the Italian Lifestyle lounge to impress visitors. 

The 54th edition of CIFF Shanghai, China’s International Furniture Fair, held annually at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai Hongqiao), has just ended. With the theme “Design Empowerment – Dual Internal – External Drive,” the fair articulated into the thematic areas Design Eden – Contemporary Design Trade Fair, Sofa Pavillon, Smart Sleep Pavillon and Living & Dining Rooms Funiture Pavillon hosted the 5 CIFF WMF, CIFF Upholstery Tech, CIFF Offices & Public Spaces Exhibition, CIFF Urban Outdoor Furniture Exhibition and CIFF Home Textiles & Accessories Lifestyle Exhibition; thus bringing together the entire furniture supply chain under one roof.

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CIFF Shanghai 2024

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Milan Design Events 2025

The Milan Design Week for exhibitors and visitors

People often ask me about Design Week Milan. Both visitors and would-be exhibitors. So, I thought I would write this short guide explaining the essential info about the Milan Design Week and the Milan Design Events, 2025. 

Milan Design Week and Events 2025 Essentials

Dates: April, 6-13, 2025
Tickets: Free for events in town, paid admission to the Salone del Mobile (Milan Furniture Fair)

Size: 10 Districts, over 1000 events

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Milan Design Week 1989

Exhibition by Jacopo Foggini at Milan Design Week 1999. Photo Andreas Otero, courtesy Jacopo Foggini

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Some previews of Milan Design Week 2025

Alcova at Milan Design Week 2025: four locations

Alcova, founded in 2018 by Valentina Ciuffi (Studio Vedèt) and Joseph Grima (Space Caviar), is an itinerant platform that brings together designers, companies, institutions and researchers each year during Milan Design Week to investigate the future of living and making.

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The characteristics of Alcova’s events are the locations. The Alcova team searches for old, abandoned, or otherwise little-used buildings and brings them back to life, even temporarily. The first edition, in Milan in 2028, revitalized an old, abandoned confectionery factory, Cova. Later, Alcova set up exhibitions in an abandoned wing of Milan Military Hospital and in Milan former and abandoned public Slaughterhouse.

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Milan Design Week 2025

Connected Worlds is the theme of the Fuorisalone, an essential part of Milan Design Week 2025, which will take place from 7 to 13 April 2025. Like every year, in conjunction with the Salone del Mobile.Milano, 8-13 April 2025, Milan will host the Fuorisalone, which, together with the Salone, creates the Milan Design Week.

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Lasvit at Milan Design Week 2024

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Design Weeks: a brief history

Milan Design Week: the biggest

For about 15 years, in various cities, not necessarily major metropolises, events revolving around design have sprung up, inspired by Milan Design Week, the mother of all design weeks. The Milan Design Week arose spontaneously, from below, as a sum of side events to the Salone del Mobile. Until the late 1980s of the current century, Milan Design Week did not exist. There was Salone del Mobile, the third week of September. September is still summer in Milan, but the weather is warmer and more pleasant than July, so it’s a good moment for outdoor evening events.

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Pallucco at Mattatoio, 1989, Milan Design Week

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Milano Design Week and Fuorisalone 2024: the booths at Salone del Mobile

The Salone del Mobile.Milano is the world’s most important furniture fair and, over the years, has transformed into a lifestyle event of global resonance. It shares excellent success with Fuorisalone, the complex of side events with which it generates the Milan Design Week. Fuorisalone, in fact, goes much further and also involves consumer electronics, watchmaking, fashion, and now AI, as well as furniture, of course.

It is always little talked about, but in fact, much of the fame of the Salone del Mobile.Milano is owed to the care exhibiting companies devote to the displays, which internationally renowned architects often design. The architecture of the stands and fittings in the city thus adds up to the creativity of the exhibitions and products to generate the phenomenon called Milano Design Week, or Fuorisalone, if we speak only of the collateral events in the city.

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CIFF Guangzhou: the contemporary office

The 2024 edition of CIFF Guangzhou took place on March 18 to 21 and March 28 to 31. This was the first truly international edition since the pandemic boomed with the highest number of visitors ever. In the eight days of the exhibition (four for home and outdoor furniture, four for contemporary office design and contract furniture), 363,449 trade professionals visited CIFF Guangzhou, an increase of 22.06 percent over 2019. CIFF is thus confirmed as the world’s largest trade fair for the furniture industry. It also has a great international resonance, thanks to 51,025 visitors from 178 countries.

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Salone del Mobile.Milano 2024

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The Salone del Mobile.Milano 2024 is back from April 16 to 21, in Rho-Fieramilano halls, like every year. But what are the new features of the next edition, the 62nd? Let’s see what we can expect from this event, which promises to be as interesting as ever.

Highlights of the Salone del Mobile.Milano 2024

Salone del Mobile Milano Dates: April 16-21, 2024
Salone del Mobile Milano Location: Rho-Fiera Milano
Opening hours: 9:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m.
Press hours: 8:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m.

Co-located shows
Salone del Mobile.Milano
Eurocucina
FTK Technology for the Kitchen
International Bathroom Exhibition
Furniture Complements
S. Project
Workplace 3.0
SaloneSatellite

salone del mobile milano 2024

Salone del Mobile.Milano, entrance. Photo Alessandro Russotti, courtesy Salone del Mobile.Milano

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Formafantasma at Stockholm Furniture Fair 2024

Guest of Honour at the Stockholm Furniture Fair 2024 is Formafantasma, the Italian design duo. In today’s design scene, the Formafantasma studio stands out as one of the most prolific. In fact, the studio has exhibited his works in galleries and museums worldwide. The research-intensive studio uses design as an agent of social and environmental transformation. Its mission is to demonstrate that design is much more than a tool for conceiving objects; it can change entire systems.

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Formafantasma, photo by Gregorio Gonella, courtesy of Stockholm Furniture Fair

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Elena Salmistraro: Designer of the Year at Ambiente 2024

Elena Salmistraro, a designer from Milan, is the Designer of the Year at Ambiente 2024.
Product designer and artist born and based in Italy, Elena Salmistraro has been permanently on the list of the 100 most important design personalities of AD Italy, Germany, and France, and Marie Claire Maison for years.
In 2022, she won the Frame Design Award as “Best Designer,” and in 2023, Forbes magazine included Elena Salmistraro in its list of 100 successful Italian women.

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Elena Salmistraro (photo from Elena Salmistraro website)

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Mathieu Lehanneur: Designer of the Year at Maison & Objet 2024

Mathieu Lehanneur , who designed the Olympic Torch and the Olympic Cauldron for Paris 2024, is “Designer of the Year” at Maison & Objet 2024. This award honors a prominent personality in the international design scene at each January edition. During Maison & Objet, January 18-22, 2024, Mathieu Lehanneur will create a setting dedicated to his work, Outonomy.

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The Mathieu Lehanneur headquarter. Photo Felipe Ribon, courtesy Maison & Objet

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The Home Decor Market

After the virtuous growth during the Covid emergency, the home decor market is settling. According to market forecasts, from 2024 to 2027, it will grow by more than 4% in value.

Discover Milano HOME, the new trade fair dedicated to the home decor

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