Part of the many showcases amidst the frenzied and extravagant programme for Milan Design Week are projects by stalwarts of the mobility design industry. Celebrating the multifarious relevance of design that goes beyond the home, automobile brands highlight their human-centric, innovative and futuristic tenets. These projects add diversity to the other vibrant installations, exhibitions and sculptural displays that foreground the latest and best offerings of luxury design, furnishings and homeware brands at the world’s largest showcase event for international design.

Over the years, automobile design has increasingly sought a platform at Milan Design Week to collaborate on projects that promote a brand’s vision and commitment to sustainability or innovative technologies and launch new products. These collaborations are usually intricate affairs that spotlight the intrinsic relationship between design and mobility. This year’s programme sees the return of brands such as Lexus and Audi, and the launch of new collections and projects by the likes of FIAT. Spotlighting the range of innovation, creative output and the fruitful merging of human and technology, STIR presents some of the most striking exhibits by car brands at this year’s preeminent design festival in Italy’s design capital.

1. Lexus explores the potential of technology and human-centred design with A-Un

Returning to Milan Design Week, Lexus teams up with Japanese designers SIX and STUDEO for an interactive installation, A-Un, at Superstudio Piu’s Daylight Space. The installation takes inspiration from the Black Butterfly, a dual-interface control device used in Lexus’ LF-ZC concept car. A vast interactive screen in the distinctive shape of the Black Butterfly forms the structure for the display. It was meticulously crafted by hand with woven threads made from about 35km of bamboo fibre. The screen animates itself in response to visitors’ heartbeat, drawing on the Japanese concept of A-Un no Kokyū (harmonised breath) or the synchronous movement of two bodies.

Apart from the immersive design that hopes to underscore the seamless connection between people, society and the world through an abstracted experience, Lexus also unveiled Discover Together, an interactive collection produced by next-generation designers in a legacy project from the Lexus Design Award at the design fair. "At Milan Design Week, we seek to express the convergence of technology and humanity, exploring moments in which they intersect," stated Simon Humphries, Lexus’ chief branding officer, in an official release. Highlighting the importance of Lexus’ mission to push boundaries in innovation and design with the project, he stated, "Through 'Discover Together', we have collaborated with three visionary creative units who explore the interplay between individuals with society through the lens of the Black Butterfly, offering new perspectives.”

2. Audi collaborates with DRIFT for Drift Us, embodying our dynamic dialogue with nature

Dutch artists Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta of DRIFT collaborated with Audi for a surreal project at this year’s celebrated design week. Taking inspiration from natural phenomena and its convergence with technology—an ongoing fascination for the multidisciplinary artists—Drift Us took over the courtyard of the Portrait Milano Hotel, highlighting DRIFT and Audi’s shared vision to inspire change and progress through movement. An integral part of the interactive installation was enormous bulb-like sculptures that moved as visitors wound their way through the space.

Symbolic of the calming wave set into motion as wind whooshes through a grassy field, the work hoped to serve as a reminder of how people can be a vital force in affecting and influencing the world around them. “In our highly complex and demanding world, flexibility and adaptability are key to being frontrunners in technological and, at the same time, human-centred innovation. In the House of Progress, you are invited to become a force of change,” Gordijn and Nauta shared about their collaboration in an official release.

3. Kia teams up with AA Murakami to spark conversations on contemporary creativity

Set in the neoclassical spaces of Museo della Permanente in Milan, Kia’s showcase Opposites United: Eclipse of Perceptions focuses on fostering cultural exchange and creative exploration, in line with the luxury brand’s future goals. Partnering with renowned international artists, Philippe Parreno and A.A. Murakami, the brand invites visitors to engage with the ideas and symbols that shape creativity today. Murakami’s contributions to the exhibition are two immersive displays: The Cave and Beyond the Horizon.

The former features an automaton that interacts with ancient instruments crafted from replicas of ancient animal bones, aiming to juxtapose primal and technological elements and spotlight our enduring creative impulse. Conversely, Beyond the Horizon is a dynamic display where amorphous bubbles are issued by robots hanging from the ceiling. The installation also features an elevated walkway in a smoke-filled room with a thin layer of water covering the floor to amplify the visitor’s experience of the shadowy space.

4. Range Rover and NUOVA present a cinematic experience highlighting the brand’s design legacy

For their first installation at what is arguably the biggest showcase of design and innovation in the world, Range Rover celebrates its design lineage and enduring influence on modern luxury with Futurespective: Connected Worlds. The showcase, presented within Palazzo Belgioioso, an 18th-century building, was conceived in collaboration with California-based design studio NUOVA and includes exclusively designed furniture and soundscapes alongside custom scents by Aeir, NUOVA’s carbon-negative luxury fragrance brand.

The first space of the exhibition features scenography meant to transport visitors to 1970, highlighting one of the brand’s classic car designs from that year, the YVB 151H. Custom furniture and costume designs add to the space’s retro aesthetics, creating a cinematic experience. The second space is the polar opposite of the first, representing Range Rover’s contemporary vision for the brand. Warm wood is replaced with sleek, white panels and vertical mirror pillars. At the centre of this display is the latest fifth‑generation Range Rover Autobiography. “Today, Range Rover still exemplifies modernity, and we continue to evolve its distinctive silhouette, peerless design and brand ecosystem, enhancing its desirability and timelessness. Our time travel experience illustrates how we recognise our past, whilst not being harnessed by it,” shared Jaguar Land Rover’s chief creative officer, Gerry McGovern OBE, in the press release.

5. Maserati debuts new collection in collaboration with Giorgetti, spotlighting meticulous craftsmanship

Classic Italian brand Maserati presented a dialogue between high-end furniture and automotive design in Milan this year. In collaboration with Italian design company Giorgetti, two distinctive interior design showcases highlighted the brands’ shared values of meticulous attention to detail, craftsmanship and timeless elegance. A new collection by Giorgetti, marking the collaboration, takes centre stage, drawing from the dynamic forces of the sea and wind. This includes the Lorelei armchair and the Teti pouf/storage unit.

“At Maserati, we have always had a deep connection with the world of interior design. Both our cars and Giorgetti furniture are more than just functional as they are crafted to evoke emotions, create experiences that linger…We worked with Giorgetti to express their personality and craftsmanship by creating a one-of-a-kind Grecale Giorgetti Edition, as a statement of innovation and refinement that reflects the Trident’s constant experimentation and Giorgetti’s timeless sophistication,” explained Klaus Busse, Maserati’s head of design, in an official statement.

6. FIAT and Kartell debut the Fiat Grande Panda Kartell, celebrating the brands’ enduring collaboration

At Salone del Mobile.Milano, FIAT collaborates with iconic design brand Kartell to commemorate the automotive company’s return to its ‘home segment’. The display highlighted the Fiat Grande Panda Kartell, an in-progress automobile design that embodies the values and stylistic features of both brands. The striking red exterior, along with the inclusion of Kartell’s logo as a central decorative feature for the car, lends the project a distinctive design language that celebrates the legacy of both brands and their enduring collaboration, which is more than 50 years strong. The brilliant red car is complemented by an equally vibrant display booth featuring iconic product designs by Kartell.

"Kartell exemplifies Italian excellence in sustainable, iconic design and shares the same values as FIAT," commented Olivier Francois, FIAT’s CEO and Global Stellantis’ CMO. "Working together drives a culture of continuous innovation, empowering both brands to push boundaries and explore new ideas confidently." Echoing this and underscoring the significance of the show at Salone, Claudio Luti, president of Kartell, shares, “Looking to the future means approaching each day with the drive to take action, to do better and to create emotion and beauty. This is the spirit behind our partnership with FIAT.”

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.