The rhythms and paces at which Milan operates experience a shift every April. The city transforms from a network of streets, piazzas and gallerias into a vibrant, energetic city-wide exhibition. Navigating sculptures and installations, heritage spaces and contemporary art galleries, the harmonies between the tangibility of the artefacts and the palpable energy of the year's most anticipated design week bring the city alive. These harmonies of the material and immaterial are foregrounded in the effervescent programming of the 5vie design district and its expansive showcase for Milan Design Week 2025. At the heart of Italy’s design capital, the diverse displays, projects, performances and installations are concentrated in three distinct locations with multiple small showcases interspersed in between. More than 100 exhibitors will take over the historic spaces of Palazzo Correnti, SIAM and the prestigious Cavallerizze for 5vie’s 12th iteration as part of the Milan Design Week. The organisers for 5vie, with support from sponsors Artisia, a 3D-printed pasta company, and Ruggeri, orchestrate the different projects around the poetic notion of invisible harmonies in design, asking visitors to mull over how we interact with the material world.

The theme for the design district this year, ‘armonie invisibili’, picks up from the last edition, which looked at design as an orchestra. While the design week's 2024 iteration saw 5Vie delve into the universal language of design and how it balances concerns of culture, sustainability, respect, tolerance and mutual love, this year, the projects focus on how objects and symbols come together to entice and delight users. Drawing on classical philosophical theory, the showcase picks up on strands of what is beautiful in the realm of contemporary design, in what could also be interpreted as a balance (and enquiry of the relationship) between environmental responsibility and aesthetics, function and poetry or materiality and intent. For 5vie, design becomes “a bridge between worlds, a tool for seeing beyond, for perceiving the subtle web that connects matter, space and spirit.”

It is a spirit that reverberates within the design object, creating a consonance of voices to balance materials, volumes and proportions. As the theme highlights, this harmony—not mere symmetry—is often invisible, only manifesting as a feeling of something visceral that the showcase hopes to bring to the fore. From special commissions that seek to materialise intangible emotions, urging visitors to gather together in joy and conviviality, to installations and design projects that harp on harmonising congruent strands of technology, art or sustainability with design, 5vie offers surprising and thought-provoking encounters with the design world. As media partners with the district, STIR presents a list of must-see shows that caught our attention at the tail end of the famed design week.

1. Bar Altra Vista by Anotherview

Expanding on their installation for the last edition of Milan Design Week, art collective Anotherview has constructed a traditional Italian bar within an abandoned stable in Le Cavallerizze. Evoking the warm ambience of a traditional bar sprinkled with the work of various Italian designers and artists—including Duilio Forte's project Lupus in Fabula and street artist Sorte—the project has been conceived by Anotherview along with Andrea Mancuso of Analogia Project, Forte, Simone Fanciullacci, Matteo Di Ciommo, Benedetta Mori Ubaldini, Andrea Zambelli, Costantino Gucci and Tonino Negri.

The spatial design by Forte takes the shape of a whale’s belly with a distinctive structure made of wooden beams. During the day, the space becomes host to various gatherings and presentations, and in the evenings, it is set to transform into an intimate space for private events featuring ‘Tavola Calda’, a curated series of dining experiences by Aldo Ritrovato in collaboration with Montefiori Milano.

2. Prendete e Mangiate (Take and Eat), curated by Carolina Levi

As part of this year’s 5vie Productions—projects exclusively commissioned by the district for each new edition of the design week—Carolina Levi, film producer and curator, presents Prendete & Mangiate. Set up in one of the rooms in the exhibition space at Via Cesare Correnti, the project is centred around the notion of the table as a meeting space. The installation features vases, ceramics and glassware by various artists and makers who respond to the theme of gathering and conviviality through their pieces. Comprising ceramics juxtaposed with glass and organic forms combined with rigid materials, the artefacts create a poetic interplay of form and function, while the walls are adorned with textile artworks and paintings.

3. Mud Trapping by Legado Artesano Castilla-La Mancha

Spanish brand Legado Artesano Castilla-La Mancha presents a sculptural work in ceramic at 5vie’s exhibition at Le Cavallerizze. Crafted from over 1550 pieces of clay and enamel by the artisan collectives of Castilla-La Mancha, Mud Trapping underscores the value of contemporary craftsmanship through the long-lasting tradition of pottery and ceramics in the region.

4. Abject: Inhabit the Poché by Misha Kahn

American designer Misha Kahn has presented a special performance art piece for the annual design event. Another one of 5vie’s specially commissioned projects, Kahn will launch Abject, a house and housewares brand, through Abject: Inhabit the Poché. Kahn’s design practice is centred on the idea of non-fixity, celebrating a certain spontaneity that translates into a theatrical design language for his furniture. Carrying this idea forward, his signature IZK chairs become performers in an animated spectacle for the immersive installation. Through a play of light and shadow, the chairs come to life, and that which is known is brought into question. Playful yet serious, absurd yet meticulous, the project is emblematic of Kahn’s universe of joy and disorder.

5. Unseen Objects and SO-Colored by we+

With a bent for research-driven projects, contemporary design studio we+ highlights the possibilities of experimentation in developing a collaborative, sustainable world. For this year’s showcase, the Japanese designers are presenting two collections, Unseen Objects and SO-Colored. Unseen Objects is a debut series of vases created in collaboration with Heiwa Gokin, a foundry based in Takaoka city. Highlighting and subverting traditional methods of casting, the artefacts’ forms and textures are a poetic response to what is often overlooked when it comes to contemporary design.

Their second series on display, SO-Colored, is an ongoing research project that investigates the potential of natural micro-algae. Vibrant reds, yellows and blues are derived from organic matter and blended with resins to create a unique material used to craft different objects.

6. Terre e Trame: A Radical Dialogue Between Ceramics and Knitwear by Mani Studio

With Terre e Trame, Mani Studio showcases the endless potential of ceramics. Combining the rigidity of clay with the fluidity of knitwear, the works on display reinterpret conventional artistic forms. Knitwear becomes a structural element for the pieces, while the use of experimental glazes and unconventional techniques brings forth new visual and tactile languages in the ceramics. On view will be vases, lamps, rugs and tapestries that blur the distinctions between the two materials and challenge our perspectives on them.

7. All the things we do in bed by Marimekko and Laila Gohar

Finnish textiles, clothing, and home furnishings company Marimekko has teamed up with visual artist Laila Gohar for a playful installation, All the things we do in bed,  in the heart of Milan. A grand-sized bed is placed in the foyer of Teatro Litta, inviting visitors to pause, take a seat and immerse themselves in Marimekko’s joyful aesthetic. It figures the bedroom not only as a space for comfort but for bold design.

8. Yves Salomon Editions in collaboration with Dimorestudio

Yves Salomon Editions, which is the fashion designer’s foray into interior design, has collaborated with Milan-based design duo Dimorestudio to debut a collection inspired by Italian artist Carlo Bugatti. Celebrating the inaugural chapter of a long-term partnership, the collection features furniture that draws on an art nouveau aesthetic, interpreted for the contemporary world. The pieces on display are a sneak peek into a larger collection that will be unveiled in Paris during the upcoming Art Basel.

Keep up with STIR’s coverage of Milan Design Week 2025, where we spotlight the most compelling exhibitions, presentations and installations from top studios, designers and brands. Dive into the highlights of Euroluce 2025 and explore all the design districts—Fuorisalone, 5Vie, Brera, Isola, Durini and beyond—alongside the faceted programme of Salone del Mobile.Milano this year.