As part of Fuorisalone 2026, Brera Design District celebrates its 17th edition with a rich calendar of events. Here’s a preview of what to expect
With Fuorisalone back in town, the streets of Brera Design District once again transform. For its 17th edition, Brera Design Week confirms the district as one of the key hubs of Milan Design Week, where showrooms, historic courtyards, palaces, and exhibition spaces become the stage for hundreds of initiatives. With 217 permanent showrooms, including 9 new openings, alongside over 190 temporary exhibitors, the program features more than 300 events.
This year’s theme, “Be the Project”, invites reflection on design as a dynamic process—a journey of insights, relationships, and transformations. Companies, designers, cultural institutions, and showrooms interpret this theme through installations, exhibitions, and events, creating a continuous dialogue between materials, research, and experimentation.
Debuting in 2026 is Fuorisalone Passport, a digital platform developed by Studiolabo to make visiting the district easier and more interactive. With a single registration and personal QR code, visitors can access a curated selection of events and move through the district more fluidly.
Even the visual identity of the district offers a fresh perspective on the city. Milanese illustrator Chiara Ghigliazza chose the tram—a city icon—as a privileged lens on urban life.
Highlights
glo for art – glo™
At Palazzo Moscova, an installation by Numero Cromatico features a large interactive portal symbolizing connection and belonging, inviting visitors to inhabit the space. Light, color, sound, words, touch, and scent create an evolving landscape where every gesture shapes the artwork.
Palazzo Moscova, Via Moscova, 18
The Nature of Time – Grand Seiko
Grand Seiko presents installations inspired by its “The Nature of Time” philosophy, exploring the deep connection between time and nature in Japanese culture, reflected in the craftsmanship and design of Grand Seiko watches. The project involves Japanese artists Atsushi Shindo, Shingo Abe, and Takakuni Kawahara.
Galleria Il Castello, Via Brera, 16
Albori – Stark
An installation interpreting the theme “Be the Project”, staging the creative process as a journey: from listening to external stimuli to the moment the idea emerges, and finally to composition, when form becomes space. Visitors experience the three phases through sound, light, and materials.
Sala dei Pilastri, Castello Sforzesco, Piazza Castello
Drifting Lights – Preciosa Lighting
An immersive installation by Michael Vasku and Andreas Klug in a 30 m² space, with sixty suspended crystal panels pierced by micro air bubbles. A 3D light mapping creates fluid, evocative chromatic transitions.
TEMPESTA Art Gallery, Foro Buonaparte, 68
La Casa di Marmo – Margraf
In collaboration with architect Hannes Peer, this installation explores the dialogue between material and design, highlighting Santafiora® stone, a new company-exclusive that showcases the expressive potential of marble in contemporary architecture.
Spazio Cernaia, Via Cernaia, 1
Serotonin – American Express + Sara Ricciardi Studio
In the Loggiato of Pinacoteca di Brera, Sara Ricciardi’s immersive installation explores the universal link between beauty and happiness, translating the science of the “happiness hormone” into a sensorial environment with inflatable forms that gently expand and contract.
Palazzo di Brera, Via Brera, 28
Blooming Imperfections – Relationships in Progress
Blooming Imperfections – Relationships in Progress is a project that, during Milan Design Week, transforms Portanuova into a space for reflecting on the value of relationships. Artist and designer Andrea Olivari presents installations across the district, accompanied by audio narratives by Gabriele Agostinelli and digital content accessible via QR codes.
Material Language & Longevity – Laufen
The showroom becomes a curatorial space where material research, technology, and design culture converge. In collaboration with Konstantin Grcic, it presents an installation-manifesto on structural longevity, complemented by a new chapter with Kartell.
LAUFEN Space Milano, Via Manzoni, 23
Renowned designers
ArchiThoughts-ArchiTouchs – Arpa®
The third episode of this project, curated by Federica Sala, takes place at FENIX Scenario and involves six international architecture studios — Marion Mailander, Parasite 2.0, RedDuo Studio, STORAGEMILANO, Studio GGSV, and ZIMMER — in an exhibition blending ideas, materials, and staging by (AB)NORMAL.
FENIX® Scenario, Via Quintino Sella, 1
CRAFTING FORWARD – Valcucine
Curated by Zanellato/Bortotto, this project explores the intersection of industrial innovation and contemporary craftsmanship. Surfaces, materials, and light translate the concept into a spatial journey, presenting the kitchen as an evolving ecosystem where personalization and design culture take center stage.
Valcucine Milano Brera, Corso Giuseppe Garibaldi, 99
Teatro della Vita – Kerakoll
Nathalie Du Pasquier and George Sowden transform Kerakoll Brera Studio into an immersive installation that reinterprets urban space and the imaginary city from their 1984 work, using color as an architectural and narrative language.
Via Solferino, 16
Tell Me – Orografie
Part of the Emersivi platform, this design “confessional” at the Chiesa di Santa Maria Incoronata square pairs young designers under 35 with nine senior designers — Gianni Cinti, Francesco Faccin, Tiziano Guardini, Giulio Iacchetti, Francesca Lanzavecchia, Martinelli Venezia, Lorenzo Palmeri, Matteo Ragni, and Elena Salmistraro — for one-on-one mentorship and dialogue.
Corso Garibaldi, 116
INTERNI MATERIAE – Interni
Architect Annabel Karim Kassar transforms the Orto Botanico di Brera into an open-air laboratory where nature and design interact. Her installation reinterprets the lost garden of classical legend, highlighting sustainable materials and integration with the historic landscape.
Via Brera 28 / Via Fiori Oscuri 410
Location to discover
GROHE SPA Aqua Sanctuary – GROHE
For the first time, GROHE stages an immersive SPA experience at Piccolo Teatro Studio Melato, awakening the senses and harmonizing body and mind, inspired by the GROHE SPA philosophy: “Wellbeing through Water.”
Piccolo Teatro Studio Melato, Via Rivoli, 6
Chasing the Sun – Veuve Clicquot + Yinka Ilori
A celebration of joy and optimism through an immersive installation by artist Yinka Ilori, the “Architect of Joy.” Visitors continue the journey at the Clicquot Café, enjoying the Maison’s art de vivre and iconic cuvées.
Mediateca Santa Teresa, Via Moscova, 28
THE PRIVATE LIVES OF OBJECTS – Flexform
At the evocative Chiostri di Sant’Angelo, the outdoor collection is presented alongside the indoor installation at the flagship store on Via della Moscova 33. Visitors discover how objects inhabit space naturally, creating harmonies and new narratives.
FLEXFORM MILANO, Via della Moscova, 33
When Apricots Blossom – Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation
Historic Palazzo Citterio hosts an immersive exhibition exploring Uzbek craftsmanship and the cultural and ecological context of the Aral Sea region, featuring works by 12 international designers.
Palazzo Citterio, Via Brera, 12
Trame di Vita – Alessandro Bini
Alessandro Bini returns to the Chiesa Cristiana Protestante with his 2026 collection Trame di Vita, a textile project combining craftsmanship and contemporary vision through textures and colors designed to interact with the space.
Via Marco de Marchi, 9
Collective design exhibitions
Prototype Island – DesignSingapore Council
An exhibition reimagining Singapore as a prototypical nation in evolution, where design transforms ideas into tangible innovation. Curated by Hunn Wai, with Eian Siew and Maria Cristina Didero as Global Perspectives Advisors.
Foro Buonaparte, 54
Shared Matter – Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia
A collective exhibition featuring six young Swiss designers collaborating with international partners. Installed in the unique architecture of SPAZIOVENTO, it explores how research, materials, and collaboration drive openness, responsibility, and innovation in design.
Via Pinamonte da Vimercate, 4
Arts & Crafts & Design – Doppia Firma, Homo Faber Fellowship, Serapian, Creative Academy
A collaborative showcase bringing together four leading players in Milanese craftsmanship and design: Fondazione Cologni dei Mestieri d’Arte with Living Corriere della Sera, Michelangelo Foundation for Creativity & Craftsmanship with Homo Faber Fellowship, Serapian with The Secrets of Mestieri D’Arte, and Creative Academy with Treasure Island.
Casa degli Artisti, Via Tommaso da Cazzaniga, 89/A
Design Palazzo Austria – ADVANTAGE AUSTRIA
Celebrating its 10th participation with over 30 exhibitors at DESIGN PALAZZO AUSTRIA. The concept, designed by architects Vasku & Klug, showcases established companies and emerging studios in a space dominated by deep blue, symbolizing elegance, trust, and quality—the hallmarks of Austrian design.
Centro Congressi Fondazione Cariplo, Via Romagnosi, 8
Le Design Défilé – French Living in Motion + L’Ameublement français
Curated by the collective French Living in Motion and designed by Jakob+MacFarlane, this exhibition stages 53 creations by 28 French companies in a choreographed journey where movement, sound, and atmosphere merge, blending traditional craftsmanship with contemporary standards.
Via Statuto, 11
Best of Belgium – Fedustria
In a historic palace, Best of Belgium gathers 20 remarkable Belgian design pieces alongside creations by Evolution21, Liz Tables, Henry Dean, and Studio Saudade, celebrating Belgium’s craftsmanship and creativity.
Robertaebasta, Via Fiori Chiari, 16
Fashion
Fashion also returns this year, interacting with design in iconic district spaces. Highlights include Gucci at the Chiostri di San Simpliciano, Hermès at La Pelota, Loro Piana in the Cortile della Seta emphasizing the plaid as a home design element, and Moncler at 10 Corso Como.
Main Sponsor
Valcucine is the main sponsor of Brera Design Week, a leading brand for architects worldwide in the high-end kitchen sector. For over forty years, Valcucine has stood out by prioritizing wellbeing, innovation, sustainability, and timeless durability.
Grand Seiko serves as the Official Timekeeper of the event: a partnership that began in 2023 and will continue through 2028 as part of a communication strategy aimed at conveying to the international audience the brand’s values and its close connection to the world of design.
For a full overview of all confirmed presences in Brera Design District, new openings, and major design brands, download the complete press kit.
