Yohji + Aesop lamp uniform

Aesop used Milan Design Week to launch its first lamps — and put Y’s Yohji Yamamoto on staff uniforms at the same installation. (hypebeast.com) (dezeen.com) The project is called The Factory of Light, and it runs April 21-26 at Chiesa del Carmine in Milan’s Brera district. Aesop says the installation is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (shop.aesop.com) (dezeen.com) At the center is Aposē, Aesop’s first lighting design, shown as a table lamp, pendant and floor lamp. Dezeen reported the lamps are made from glass and brass, produced in Italy and Germany with Flos, and issued in a limited edition of 500 on pre-sale during the week. (dezeen.com) The Yohji piece is not retail merch for visitors but a working uniform for ushers and employees. Hypebeast described it as a minimal black jacket in subtly wrinkled fabric with a waist patch pocket and a hidden left-side pocket, worn throughout the exhibition. (hypebeast.com) That pairing puts fashion inside a design fair in a literal way: the object launch is the lamp, while the people presenting it are dressed by a fashion label. Aesop’s lamp installation also doubles as a brand environment, with four rooms and a display table built from 16,000 Aesop fragrance bottles. (dezeen.com) (hypebeast.com) Milan Design Week has been moving this way for at least several seasons. WWD’s 2025 guide described the event as a week when fashion and beauty brands use Milan for collaborations, product launches and activations, not only furniture debuts. (wwd.com) Aesop has also been building a repeat presence there. Italian trade coverage said 2026 marks the brand’s third consecutive year at Salone del Mobile in Milan. (beautybiz.it) Y’s is a fitting partner for a uniform brief because Yohji Yamamoto’s label has long framed itself around functional daily clothing. On the brand’s official site, Y’s says it was founded in 1972 as Yamamoto’s first brand and describes its approach as “functional” everyday wear. (yohjiyamamoto.co.jp) Aesop’s installation was designed by Australian architect Rodney Eggleston of March Studio, another sign that the project sits between retail, architecture and product design. By the time visitors see the black jackets, they are already inside a church cloister turned into a branded lighting exhibition. (dezeen.com) So the cleanest way to read this launch is as a three-part package: limited-edition lamps, a temporary Milan experience, and a Yohji-designed staff uniform that makes the rollout itself part of the product story. (dezeen.com) (hypebeast.com)