Milan Design Week 2026 | A Dispatch from Matisse

For Matisse, Milan remains an important annual touchpoint, not simply for discovering new collections, but for understanding where global design culture is heading and how these evolving conversations translate into the way we live.

This year, several themes emerged clearly. Rounded forms and softened architectural edges appeared repeatedly across kitchens, bathrooms, upholstery, and joinery. Outdoor collections continued to evolve beyond purely functional entertaining pieces into fully resolved living environments. Rich colour, expressive textiles, layered materials, and handcrafted detailing felt more important than ever.

Above all, there was a renewed celebration of craftsmanship. Many of the most memorable presentations focused less on minimal restraint and more on texture, artistry, movement, and material depth.

One of the most significant moments of the fair was the return of B&B Italia to Salone del Mobile after a 25-year hiatus. The return coincided with the brand’s 60th anniversary celebrations, creating a particularly important moment for one of Italy’s most influential furniture houses.

Rather than simply presenting products, B&B Italia approached Milan Design Week as a broader cultural statement, reinforcing the brand’s enduring role in shaping contemporary living.

The installations balanced legacy with innovation, combining iconic pieces with new introductions that reflected the increasingly warm and tactile direction of contemporary interiors.

For Matisse, the anniversary felt particularly meaningful. Nearly 40 years of design curation at Matisse has always aligned closely with the enduring values represented by B&B Italia: longevity, timelessness, innovation, and deeply considered design.

One of the clearest visual shifts across Milan this year was the rise of rounded forms within kitchens, bathrooms, and architectural joinery.

Arclinea’s new Kora kitchen by Antonio Citterio captured this beautifully. Defined by curved corners and sculptural transitions between materials, Kora explored a softer interpretation of kitchen architecture through travertine, stainless steel, and timber.

The collection felt simultaneously monumental and welcoming, balancing technical precision with a more emotional and domestic atmosphere.

The use of rounded edges extended well beyond Arclinea. Vanities, islands, cabinetry systems, and interior architectural details across the fair embraced softer geometries and more fluid movement through space.

Among the most memorable presentations of the week was Edra.

For Matisse founder Alan Bertenshaw, Edra stood out as one of the strongest and most emotionally engaging experiences of the fair, particularly the launch of the new Anywhere sofa by Francesco Binfaré.

The Anywhere sofa introduces a movable structure that allows users to alter the inclination of the backrests and adjust seat depth fluidly through simple movements. The result is a seating system that continuously adapts to different ways of relaxing, gathering, and living.

More than simply innovative, the sofa felt genuinely transformative in person. The movement of the backrests created a sense of softness and responsiveness rarely seen in modular seating.

Alongside Anywhere, the new Dilly Floor Lamp by Jacopo Foggini reinforced Edra’s ongoing exploration of sculptural form and material experimentation. Crafted from hand-worked polycarbonate, the lamp appears almost ethereal, shifting between transparency, reflection, and movement.

Outside the fair itself, the Edra party became one of the highlights of Milan Design Week, reflecting the sense of theatre, celebration, and cultural energy that surrounded the brand throughout the week.

Cassina’s presentation this year embraced softness, colour, and tactility.

The standout piece for Matisse was the new Ardys armchair and sofa by Patricia Urquiola, which combined generous proportions with rich textile layering and sculptural comfort.

Across the wider Cassina installation, there was a noticeable move toward warmer and more expressive interiors. Rather than stark minimalism, the spaces felt layered, inviting, and deeply material.

This emphasis on colour and craftsmanship emerged repeatedly throughout Milan, particularly within upholstery and textile-driven brands.

Moroso delivered one of the most visually striking conceptual presentations of the week.

Rich textiles, expressive colour combinations, and immersive spatial storytelling created installations that felt almost cinematic in atmosphere.

The exhibition reinforced a broader trend emerging across Milan: interiors are becoming more emotional, layered, and sensory. Texture, colour depth, and material tactility are increasingly central to contemporary luxury.

For Matisse, the Moroso installations highlighted how strongly the industry is moving toward interiors that feel collected, artistic, and deeply personal rather than minimal for minimalism’s sake.

One of the biggest surprises of Milan Design Week 2026 was the extraordinary impact of Gessi. The Haute Culture installation presented an immersive vision of luxury bathroom design that felt theatrical, glamorous, and highly emotional. Rather than presenting tapware as purely functional objects, Gessi framed the bathroom as a complete sensory environment. The transition from wellness as being traditional stark and minimal, to opulent was fascinating. For Alan, the level of detail, atmosphere, and refinement within the Gessi presentation was deeply impressive.

The wider movement toward elevated bathroom experiences was evident throughout Milan this year, with sculptural fittings, layered materials, and natural stone appearing repeatedly across multiple brands.

Another major theme throughout Milan was the continued evolution of outdoor living, particularly B&B Italia Outdoor.

Outdoor collections are no longer treated as secondary or seasonal additions to a home. Instead, brands are increasingly designing outdoor environments with the same level of detail, sophistication, and emotional consideration as interior spaces.

Across the fair, outdoor furniture felt softer, more architectural, and more deeply integrated into broader lifestyle concepts. There was a strong emphasis on creating seamless transitions between indoor and outdoor living.

This shift aligns strongly with the New Zealand lifestyle and continues to resonate with the direction of many collections represented by Matisse.

Milan Design Week 2026 reinforced a clear movement toward warmth, tactility, craftsmanship, and emotional living.

The dominance of sculptural softness, rounded forms, expressive colour, and deeply considered materiality suggests a future where interiors prioritise atmosphere and feeling just as much as functionality.

For Matisse, the week reaffirmed the importance of thoughtful design curation and enduring craftsmanship. As many of these collections become available for preorder in New Zealand, we look forward to sharing more of the ideas, materials, and innovations shaping the future of contemporary living.