Contemporary Craftsmanship

Away from large-scale installations and special effects, one of the most meaningful stories of Milan Design Week 2026 was told through materials and manual skills. Craftsmanship emerged as one of the most vital languages of contemporary research, bringing different cultures, places and visions into dialogue. Ceramics, glass, wood, textiles and traditional techniques returned to centre stage thanks to designers, artists and master craftspeople who reinterpreted ancient techniques through a contemporary perspective. Here are ten projects we liked.

ONOFRIO ACONE - AURORAE

Collezione Aurorae di Onofrio Acone

Presented by MoscaPartners Variations, the new ceramic vases by designer and sculptor Onofrio Acone (Salerno, 1977) celebrate the colours and light of the Amalfi Coast. Solia, Doria and Aurea, part of the Aurorae collection, are handmade using the ancient coil-building technique and stand out for their monumental forms, textured surfaces and intensely coloured glazes. The project combines traditional craftsmanship with contemporary research, transforming ceramics into a story of landscapes, memory and Mediterranean culture.

UGO LA PIETRA × LA FUCINA DI EFESTO - CASE APERTE

Case Aperte di Ugo La Pietra 

Among the projects presented by Doppia Firma 2026, Case Aperte was created through the meeting between Ugo La Pietra and master blacksmith Alessandro Rametta of La Fucina di Efesto. The installation consists of seven small architectural structures made of copper and iron, reinterpreting the theme of the home, which has always been central to the Milanese designer’s research. Halfway between objects and sculptures, the structures hold candles, books and flowers, transforming an ancient metalworking technique into a contemporary reflection on the relationship between living, memory and shared space.

LORENA D'ILIO × SAHRAI MILANO - THE DEEPER CAPSULE COLLECTION

The Deeper Capsule Collection di Lorena D’Ilio × Sahrai Milano

Presented at the Sahrai showroom on Via Manzoni, The Deeper Capsule Collection was created through the meeting between Lorena D’Ilio’s artistic research and the Milanese brand’s manufacturing tradition. The rugs originate from collages made with recovered fabrics and photographs, which were then translated into handmade textile works. Through images inspired by oceans, landscapes and natural environments, the collection invites us to reflect on the fragility of contemporary ecosystems and the relationship between humans and nature, transforming the rug into a narrative surface as well as a decorative one.

ROBERTO SIRONI – FUTURE MEMORIES

Future Memories di Roberto Sironi

Presented by Rossana Orlandi during Milan Design Week 2026, Future Memories was created through a collaboration between Roberto Sironi and the historic Japanese woodworking company SANSUI. The collection uses wooden beams recovered from the demolition of traditional Japanese rural houses, transforming them into tables, bookcases and sculptural objects. Each element preserves the marks of time and its own history, while the combination with polished steel surfaces creates a dialogue between memory and contemporary design, natural materials and design intervention. More than an exercise in reuse, the project reflects on the cultural value of materials and the possibility of extending their life through new uses.

THE ROMANCE OF FRAGILITY – DELVIS (UN)LIMITED

The Romance of Fragility – Delvis (Un)Limited

Curated by Valentina Ciuffi, The Romance of Fragility brought together the work of Johan Pertl, Maria Tyakina, Tino Seubert, Familiar Form, Inderjeet Sandhu and Serim Kwack around one of the oldest and most fascinating materials in European craftsmanship: glass. From reinterpretations of the Czech crystal tradition to experiments with assembly techniques and works that preserve traces and memories of everyday life, the project revealed the rich variety of languages and techniques that shape the use of this material today.

MADE IN FORNACE - PANTA REI

Panta Rei di Made In Fornace

Inside Milan’s historic Fornace Curti, Elena Pelosi and Luca Lanzoni, founders of Made In Fornace, continue a research project that brings together ceramics, design and craftsmanship. The Panta Rei collection includes tables and vases made entirely from reclaimed clay, worked to create surfaces rich in shades and layers of colour. Greens, whites, hazelnut tones, ochre and burnt sienna emerge naturally from the oxides used, creating unique pieces in which the material takes centre stage.

AtMa - SUR+PLUS

SUR+PLUS di Atma

With SUR+PLUS - a project we saw at Villa Pestarini as part of ALCOVA - the Japanese studio AtMa, founded by Makoto Suzuki and Ayumi Koyama, works with materials excluded from standard production cycles. Stone, wood and other industrial waste materials are recovered and assembled without hiding their differences, signs of use or original characteristics. Through a system of visible joints, these fragments are transformed into furniture and structures, showing how even what is considered waste can generate new design possibilities.

WHEN APRICOTS BLOSSOM - UZBEKISTAN

When Apricots Blossom della Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation

The exhibition by the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation at Palazzo Citterio brought together manufacturing traditions, landscape and contemporary research, taking inspiration from the history of the Aral Sea and the theme of resilience. When Apricots Blossom brought together designers from different backgrounds and cultures around Uzbekistan’s craft traditions. From Fernando Laposse’s natural materials to Marcin Rusak’s research into materials, as well as Nifemi Marcus-Bello’s minimalism, Glithero’s graphic language and Raw Edges’ experimental approach, the project showed how local techniques and knowledge can become a field for contemporary interpretation.

HERITAGE REIMAGINED - SOBAN

Heritage Reimagined - Soban 

Heritage Reimagined - Soban at the ADI Design Museum offered an interesting perspective on Korean material culture. Promoted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Design Foundation, the exhibition took the Soban - the traditional portable table used for meals - as its starting point, reinterpreting it as a way of understanding Seoul’s contemporary lifestyle. The exhibition brought craftsmanship, design and new ways of living into dialogue, showing how a traditional object can continue to generate meaning in the present.

INSIEME

INSIEME, Glass Italia © AgneseBedini_DSLstudio

Among the projects that best expressed the value of contemporary making was INSIEME, curated by Sabato De Sarno at Piscina Cozzi. More than an exhibition of objects, it was a tribute to the people, gestures and knowledge that make manufacturing possible. Twelve examples of Italian excellence, organised around six families of materials—glass, ceramics, metal, stone, wood and textiles—created a reflection on manual work as a cultural act before being a productive one. The exhibition featured historic companies and specialised manufacturers, including Glas Italia and Venini for glass, Fornace Brioni and Solimene for ceramics, Bottega Vazzoler and De Castelli for metal, Artieri 1895 and Henraux for stone, F.lli Levaggi and Bonacina for wood, and Rubelli and Amini for textiles