Material experiments debut in Milan
Design projects at Milan include TRACE, which translates observational body drawings into fluid leather vessels debuting April 20, and a Hemp Chair built from hemp fabric and a pineapple‑leaf fiber composite shown at the Isola Design Festival as part of a ‘No Space for Waste’ program. Both pieces emphasize material experimentation and sustainability as focal themes for this year’s shows ( ).
Milan Design Week 2026 is opening with designers pushing plant fibers and leather into sculptural furniture and vessels instead of treating them as fixed materials. (salonemilano.it; yankodesign.com) The main fair, Salone del Mobile.Milano, runs April 21 to April 26 at Fiera Milano Rho, while installations and satellite shows spread across the city in the same week. Salone says the 2026 edition is its 64th. (salonemilano.it; salonemilano.it) One of the projects arriving first is TRACE, a series of leather vessels described by Yanko Design as making its world debut on April 20. The pieces start with observational drawings of the human body and turn those lines into three-dimensional containers. (yankodesign.com) TRACE uses leather in a way that keeps the material rigid enough to stand while still showing folds and curves from the original sketches. Yanko Design described the result as forms that hold “the memory” of the body drawings that shaped them. (yankodesign.com) A second project, Hemp Chair by Veronica Olariu, is scheduled for the Isola Design Festival during Milan Design Week 2026. Designboom and Isola say it will appear in “No Space for Waste,” a program focused on objects made from discarded or low-impact materials. (designboom.com; isola.design) The chair is built from hemp-composite shells, a pineapple-leaf fiber core, slender wood supports, and a tensioned rope system that balances the seat in place. Designboom says the structure leaves that counterweight system visible instead of hiding it inside the frame. (designboom.com; isola.design) Isola has spent the past several years positioning itself around bio-materials, circular design, and experimental production, and its 2026 festival marks the platform’s 10th year in Milan. Its project listings for this season describe a research focus on sustainability, bio-materials, and new technologies. (isola.design; isola.design) Salone is also framing 2026 around material and process, not only finished products. Its practical guide says this year’s fair will devote space to sustainability, craftsmanship, collectible design, and a public program curated by Annalisa Rosso. (salonemilano.it) Together, the two projects show how Milan’s design week is treating material choice as part of the object’s meaning: leather carries the trace of a hand-drawn body, and agricultural fibers become a load-bearing chair. The public test starts in Milan on April 20 and April 21, when the city’s exhibitions begin opening. (yankodesign.com; salonemilano.it; designboom.com)
