The fourth edition of Fuorisalone Award, the winners

The fourth edition of the Fuorisalone Award has just come to an end. The award honoured the most significant contents and installations of the Milan Design Week. Increasingly aspired by companies and designers, the Fuorisalone Award is confirmed to be dynamic and innovative, oriented towards creativity and ideas capable of temporarily transforming the face and atmosphere of Milan.
The aim of the award is to promote unique installations, content, projects, and activities of interest to both the public (Fuorisalone Award) and the international community (Special Mentions), with a total of 6 award-winning projects.
The Special Mentions (voted by the Technical Committee composed of Paolo Ferrarini, Valentina Ventrelli, Francesco Mainardi, Judith van Vliet , Laura May Todd , Lidi Grimaldi, ED Stocker , Khadija Al Bastaki) emphasised contents of relevance to the world of project and design that were qualitatively innovative and rich in meaning.
The 6 winning projects below.

FUORISALONE AWARD 2025
Marc-Antoine Barrois with Mission Aldebaran
Salone dei Tessuti - Via San Gregorio, 29, Milan @ Porta Venezia Design District
 Parisian designer Marc-Antoine Barrois, on the occasion of Milan Design Week 2025 and its debut at the Salone, presented his new fragrance ALDEBARAN through a large-scale installation designed by French designer Antoine Bouillot. Inspired by the fragrance, the installation combines olfactory art and experiential design to engage visitors in an interpretation of optimism and hope in difficult times.
MISSION ALDEBARAN is a dreamlike environment where light pierces the darkness, a tribute to the star that gives the fragrance its name and to the strength of optimism that resists adversity.

MISSION ALDEBARAN



Photo courtesy of Riccardo Bertani

MISSION ALDEBARAN

SUSTAINABILITY MENTION
MUJI MUJI 5.5 by MUJI
Via Tommaso da Cazzaniga angolo Corso Garibaldi 89A, Milan @ Brera Design District
The designers of studio 5∙5 have created a manifesto house for MUJI that, inspired by Japanese architecture, offers a creative, evolutionary and efficient solution that takes into account the desire for tranquillity in the metropolitan bustle. Every element of this modular structure reflects a synergy between comfort, ingenuity and environmental responsibility: bio-based materials, a rainwater recovery system, recycled fabric insulation, and a white roof to reduce heat islands. This installation is an invitation to reconnect with the essential.


Photo courtesy of Riccardo Bertani

MUJI MUJI 5.5

TECHNOLOGY MENTION
Google presents Making the Invisible Visible by Google
Garage 21 - Via Archimede, 26, Milan @ Porta Venezia Design District
Set up inside Garage 21, the exhibition was co-created by Ivy Ross (Chief Design Officer of Consumer Devices at Google) and her design team, in collaboration with artist Lachlan Turczan, known for his work with light, water and perception. This year's presentation continues Google's series dedicated to exploring design at the Fuorisalone in Milan, following A Space for Being (2019), Shaped by Water (2023) and Making Sense of Colour (2024). Making the Invisible Visible is perhaps the most poetic, as it invites visitors to experience first-hand the processes behind artistic and technological creation. An installation that explores how abstract ideas take on a physical dimension.

Making the Invisible Visible


Photo courtesy of Riccardo Bertani

COMMUNICATION MENTION
KIA OPPOSITES UNITED: ECLIPSE OF PERCEPTIONS by KIA
Museo della Permanente - Via Turati, 34, Milan
Opposites United: Eclipse of Perceptions is the third edition of the Kia project, in collaboration with ZERO, which brings some of the most interesting artists on the international scene to Milan.
The exhibition presented works by A.A. Murakami and Philippe Parreno, who investigate our relationship with time and participatory practices. The Live Programme featured five debates, a symposium and twelve musical performances, with an intellectual and creative slant that placed exchange and reciprocity as core values.
Eclipse of Perceptions, is a metaphor that recalls both the dialectical process between thesis and antithesis, and a rare cosmic event that has always carried profound meanings for humanity. Just as the encounter between the sun and the moon redefines our perception of the universe, the confrontation between artists, musicians and thinkers has also given rise to visions capable of uniting apparently distant concepts, generating new ideas and possibilities.


Photo courtesy of Riccardo Bertani

Opposites United: Eclipse of Perceptions

SPECIAL MENTION MEDIA PARTNERS by Design Tellers, C41, Architecture Hunter, STIR, Archiproducts, IFDM, L'Essenziale, ART E DOSSIER, Door, Artribune, Exibart, My Art Guides, ArtsLife, LUCE
Staging Modernity - Cassina / Formafantasma
Teatro Lirico Giorgio Gaber - Via Larga 14, Milan @ DDDesign
On the occasion of the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the production of the Le Corbusier®, Pierre Jeanneret®, Charlotte Perriand® Collection edited by Cassina, Formafantasma created an art installation and a play inside the Giorgio Gaber Opera House, paying homage to the company's avant-garde production. 
This thoughtful and provocative intervention questions the dissonance between modernist ideals and the contemporary world, inviting the visitor to reflect on an evolving vision that breaks away from the industrial and rational to embrace a natural and wild ecology.


Photo courtesy of Riccardo Bertani

Staging Modernity

SPECIAL MENTION DESIGN SCHOOLS by Northeastern University (NU), Politecnico di Milano, IED (all international sites)
Lexus | A - Un – Lexus
Superstudio Più | Superdesign Show - via Tortona 27, Milan
‘A-Un’ is an interactive installation that intuitively connects with the viewer, combining the principles of the Black Butterfly with the traditional Japanese concept of Aun no kokyo - breathing in harmony. Developed by Lexus in collaboration with Tokyo-based creative agency SIX and design studio STUDIO, the installation introduces a new dimension of fluid communication between humans and mobility, capturing the spirit of mutual understanding through perfectly synchronised interactions.
Lexus' presence at Milan Design Week also included “Discover Together”, a project by emerging creative talents from Bascule Inc. in Japan, Northeastern University in the United States and the Lexus Designer Team in Japan.


Photo courtesy of Riccardo Bertani

Lexus I A-Un

THE JURY
The jury of the Fuorisalone Award, which decreed the winners of the special mentions, is composed of eight leading figures in the design industry:

>> Francesco Mainardi - Design Strategist, co-founder Mr.Lawrence studio
Designer specialised in strategy and management, he founded in Milan, together with Annalisa Rosso, the Mr.Lawrence studio that deals with consultancy in the world of contemporary design and brand positioning. The studio operates internationally promoting connections, balancing creativity and design, research and industry, provoking novel dialogues and defining new perspectives. He has been a guest professor at several universities and schools. Since 2015, he has been teaching Design Strategy at the Istituto Marangoni in Milan as part of the Design Management Master's course.

>> Judith van Vliet - Color designer, podcaster and founder of The Color Authority
Founder of The Color Authority, she hosts the popular colour-focused podcast of the same name. She has been the president of the Color Marketing Group, Senior Color Designer at Avient ColorWorks and Creative Director of ColorForward. She has helped shape the colour narratives of major brands, using her deep understanding of the psychological impact of colour. Through his podcast and various platforms, she imparts valuable insights into harnessing the transformative power of colour in branding, design and personal expression.

>> Laura May Todd - Freelance journalist
Canadian-born, and based in Milan since 2017, she is a journalist specialised in design, culture, travel and lifestyle, with a particular focus on the design industry in Italy. Milan editor of Wallpaper Magazine, her work has been published in authoritative publications such as: The New York Times Style Magazine, Elle Décor, Architectural Digest, as well as World of Interiors, Domus, and Cereal. November 2024 saw the release of her latest book, ‘Italian Interiors: Rooms With a View’, published by Phaidon Press.

>> Lidi Grimaldi - Brand Expert
CEO of Interbrand, she combines advanced analytics and creative strategic thinking to generate highly innovative, business-focused branding solutions for companies across different industries. 
She lectures at universities and business schools. She has been quoted by media such as the New York Times, Il Sole 24 Ore, Corriere Economia and many others. She was nominated by Forbes Italy among the 100 Top Italian Managers in 2021 and in the Female Creative Leader ranking in 2020.

>> Ed Stocker - Editor at large, Monocle magazine 
Europe editor at large of Monocle, based in Milan. Previously he worked as an editor from Buenos Aires and New York. He works for Monocle Radio from all over Europe and covers the Milan Design Week with accurate reports. In 2024, he moderated a panel discussion on the future of artificial intelligence at the Salone.Milano. And he has written about design and architecture in countries including the USA, Mexico and Ghana. He also moderated the book launch in Athens of Noguchi's Objects of Common Interest. He was a jury member of ECAL's MAS Design for Luxury & Craftsmanship.

>> Khadija Al Bastaki - Senior Vice President of Dubai Design District (d3), part of TECOM Group
Senior Vice President of Dubai Design District (d3), a global commercial hub for design and art part of TECOM Group PJSC. She joined the d3 leadership team in 2019, launching a series of strategic cultural and commercial initiatives to amplify local and international talent and brands, attracting foreign investment and contributing to the creative economy of Dubai and the UAE. She has won numerous awards and honours including Arabian Business' 50 Inspiring Women Leaders 2024, Forbes Middle East's Fashion Innovators 2024 and Forbes Middle East's Top 100 Most Powerful Businesswomen 2024.

>> Paolo Ferrarini - Journalist and Curator
He teaches the course ‘Fashion and Industrial Design’ at the University of Bologna (Rimini campus) and ‘Sociocultural Scenarios’ at the Accademia Costume & Moda in Rome and Milan. He holds the position of European Editor for Cool Hunting and collaborates with numerous magazines including Interni, Vogue and The Good Life. In parallel, he contributes to the realisation of cultural projects for international Italian companies. Since 2018, he has been curator and host of Parola Progetto, a podcast that hosts the protagonists of contemporary design and culture.

>> Valentina Ventrelli - Contemporary aesthetics expert
She analyses, develops and elaborates contemporary aesthetics for strategic purposes. Specialised in trend generation and methodology, she participated in the foundation of Future Concept Lab, of which she directed the fashion and design division for more than 20 years. In 2020, she created StudiOvale, with which she dedicates herself to the consulting and realisation of projects in various sectors, offering branding, design direction, concept design, and creative coordination services.

THE AWARDS
The Fuorisalone Awards are designed by the Studiolabo team and created by Andrea Gallo with Pollodesign Factory, a Milan-based design company. They are a stylisation of the traditional pin that characterises the activities of Fuorisalone.it for the last 20 years. A tribute to what has always represented the official map through which to orient oneself among installations, exhibitions, parties and discussion panels during the most important week for the design industry.

Official Website