At Milan Design Week 2026, nature took centre stage as muse, material study and as an opportunity for reflection. This was particularly evident among the lighting installations, inviting viewers to slow down and appreciate the soft glow that combines human technology with organic, shaped materials. Light as sculpture – art that transcends function and encourages contemplation.
Nulifar Gallery at Salone Raritas
At Milan Design Week 2026, Nilufar introduced a series of exhibitions for the inaugural Salone Raritas, curated by founder Nina Yashar. Lighting emerged as a quiet focal point among collectible objects and furniture, with works by Maximilian Marchesani and Anna Karlin drawing particular attention.
Weaving branches and feathers collected from the grounds of Palestro Gardens in Milan with modern technology, Maximilian Marchesani evokes a tension between the natural world and industrial intervention. Showcased at Nilufar’s Grand Hotel, as part of Salone del Mobile’s inaugural Salone Raritas, the Ceiling Lamp Famiglia (above, left) is soft, evocative, but quietly defiant.
Affinity in Light by Salviati x Draga & Aurel
Stardust by Pietrachiara
Pietrachiara’s creative focus shifted to lighting for the first time with the debut of the Stardust lamp.
Stardust draws on the material quality of celestial bodies; an aluminium disc is cast around a glass sphere, setting the firmness of metal against the clean, radiant warmth of light.
Illuminated, Stardust casts subtle movement and depth across its surroundings. The piece finds equilibrium between presence and suspension, material and light.
Aposē by Aesop
In a 15th-century church in central Milan, Aesop unveiled The Factory of Light, within which the skincare brand launched its first lighting designs: Aposē, a series including a table lamp, a pendant, and a floor lamp.
Designed to evoke their skincare offerings, Aposē’s starting point was the form of the brand’s famed hand balm tube. Aposē is crafted from glass and brass in collaboration with Flos, and produced in Italy and Germany as a limited edition of 500 pieces. At The Factory of Light, each lamp was set among a field of 16,000 Aesop glass bottles.
Ark Collection by Russe Betak
The 15th edition of the SaloneSatellite award — as part of Salone del Mobile — celebrated the theme New Craftsmanship: A New World. Jury chair Paola Antonelli emphasised that the award was not merely an aesthetic recognition, but represented the ability to identify “an intuition ahead of the market, research ahead of industrial scale.”
Danish studio Russo Betak received the top prize for the Nippon pendant lamp, part of its Ark collection, a meeting of bioengineering and craft. Named for the Danish word meaning ‘sheet’, the collection transforms discarded seashells through 3D printing into a material that is both rigid and fluid.
“We discovered that shells diffuse light in a unique way. We were inspired by classic Danish and Japanese design to reinvent a heritage through new circular materials,” the winners said.
Aura by Snøhetta
Developed in collaboration with renowned Italian lighting manufacturer Viabizzuno, Snøhetta has expanded the Aura collection with a new wall-mounted version.
First introduced during the 2025 Milan Design Week, Aura explores lighting design from a different perspective — beginning with light itself and the way it is shaped in space. Translating the same principles into a new architectural context, the design allows light to engage more directly with vertical surfaces — grazing, reflecting, and revealing texture with subtle clarity.
Light as Medium by Bocci
Canadian studio Bocci unveiled Light as Medium, an exhibition of new and reimagined works by Omer Arbel, curated by David Alhadeff. The Bocci Milan apartment became a gallery, each room devoted to a single installation.
Some installations filled entire rooms with sweeping gestures; others offered more intimate, reflective settings.
Together, these works formed a cohesive whole, with light shaping the atmosphere and becoming a medium in its own right.
Maap by Flos
At Milan Design Week, Flos introduced Maap by Erwan Bouroullec — a luminous, cloud-like form where light radiates from the entire surface, not just a single point.
Designed to be shaped by hand, the lamp is made from an ultralight, fibrous material reminiscent of paper, attached to the light source with magnetic dots. When crumpled, the casing becomes unpredictable, inviting each user to create their own form.
“Maap is the realisation of a long-held desire to create expansive light sources that diffuse illumination across a broad surface,” Erwan explains. “This results in a subtle, immersive glow that surrounds you, spreading softly and evenly.”
This story first appeared in The Design Guide 2026.
