Leather ‘vessels’ debut

TRACE, a series of leather vessels by designer Talia Luvaton, is set to debut at Milan Design Week on April 20, with the work presented at SaloneSatellite. (yankodesign.com) Luvaton’s studio says the pieces translate “human movement into form,” using observational drawings of the body as the starting point for sculptural containers made from leather. The studio lists the presentation dates as April 21 through April 26 in Hall 5, Booth E-13 at SaloneSatellite. (luvatonstudio.com, luvatonstudio.com) The vessels are made from vegetable-tanned leather that is shaped by hand with wet-forming and custom molds, according to the project description published ahead of the fair. Yanko Design reported that pressure, moisture, and time are the main variables in the process, which means each piece forms a little differently. (yankodesign.com) Wet-forming is a craft method that softens leather with water so it can be stretched and set over a shape, then stiffens again as it dries. In TRACE, that process is used to make vessels whose surfaces look pulled, pinched, and held in tension, rather than cut into flat geometric panels. (yankodesign.com) The timing puts the launch inside Milan’s biggest design week, which the City of Milan says runs from April 20 to April 26, 2026. The trade-fair core, Salone del Mobile.Milano, opens one day later at Fiera Milano Rho and runs from April 21 to April 26. (comune.milano.it, salonemilano.it) SaloneSatellite is the part of the fair dedicated to younger designers and experimental work, which helps explain why a small-batch material study like TRACE is showing there instead of in a large furniture pavilion. Luvaton’s studio identifies TRACE as a Milan Design Week 2026 project presented specifically at SaloneSatellite. (luvatonstudio.com, luvatonstudio.com) The broader Milan program is large enough that individual debuts compete with hundreds of other launches across the city. Designboom’s 2026 guide says Milan Design Week runs from April 20 to April 26, while the official Salone presentation says the fair itself will host the 64th edition from April 21 to April 26. (designboom.com, salonemilano.it) In that setting, TRACE is being framed less as a conventional product launch than as a material exercise: leather used not for upholstery or bags, but for hollow forms that hold a body-derived silhouette. The debut begins April 20, and the studio’s booth presentation follows from April 21 in Milan. (yankodesign.com, luvatonstudio.com)