Jil Sander’s bookish install

Jil Sander is turning its Milan headquarters into a reading room for Design Week, replacing the usual fashion spectacle with a public installation built around books. (wwd.com) The project, called “Reference Library,” opens April 20 and runs through April 24 at the brand’s showroom on Via Luca Beltrami in central Milan. It was conceived with Apartamento, the Barcelona-founded interiors magazine, and staged during Milan Design Week 2026. (breradesignweek.it) The installation gathers 60 books selected by 60 contributors across fashion, design, art, architecture, film and music, including Simone Bellotti, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Celine Song, Lykke Li, Ronan Bouroullec and Jasper Morrison. Visitors will be able to consult the books inside the showroom. (fuorisalone.it) Milan Design Week has become a major stage for fashion houses, with labels using Fuorisalone and related events to show furniture, objects and branded environments alongside clothing. Monocle reported on April 19 that luxury groups’ presence at the week has continued to grow and evolve beyond the fairgrounds. (monocle.com) Bellotti told WWD he wanted a quieter format than a runway show, describing the project as a place for reading and reflection rather than another fast-moving event. That puts Jil Sander inside a broader shift toward exhibitions, talks and installations that frame brands as cultural hosts as well as sellers of clothes. (wwd.com) The room itself was designed by Milan architecture studio studioutte, with chrome lecterns or reading lamps arranged in rows and a mirrored wall reflecting the space back at visitors. Event listings describe the setup as a controlled, gallery-like environment rather than a lounge or shop floor. (breradesignweek.it) Several previews said the installation treats the books as objects that need care, with white gloves provided for handling and attendance limited in some time slots. The emphasis is on slow, physical reading at a week otherwise crowded with launches, parties and showroom traffic. (hypebeast.com) Jil Sander is not the only label using Milan’s design calendar this way, but “Reference Library” is unusually literal about the idea: the brand is asking visitors to stop, read and stay awhile inside its own headquarters. In a week built on movement, Jil Sander’s pitch is stillness. (wwd.com)