At the inaugural Salone Raritas, Xavier Lust presented forms that seemed to defy gravity, defined by unexpected influences.
During Milan Design Week 2026, the debut of Salone Raritas, Salone del Mobile’s new platform for collectible design, became a stage for material exploration. Here, glass, stone, wood and metal were shaped into pieces that exist equally as sculpture and as furniture.
Among the exhibitors, Brussels-based designer Xavier Lust stood apart. His metal works are unmistakable, expressed by a visible tension and defined by curves that reveal his distinctive approach.
Trained as an interior architect and working as a furniture designer, Xavier moves fluidly between disciplines. Each piece finds its balance in beauty, technique and function.
“Nature embodies the most perfect forms, those that time, constraint and necessity have perfected,” says Xavier. “My work stems from this observation: understanding how matter reacts to forces, how it transforms, and how, through this interaction, forms of essential clarity emerge.”
At Salone Raritas, Xavier introduced the Pi side table, its form echoing the mathematical symbol. Cast in bronze and finished in a range of patinas, Pi recalls the weight of antiquity while remaining firmly contemporary. The table shifts with the light and the viewer’s perspective.
Equally experimental in silhouette, the Archiduchaise took bold historic references into the modern era. Inspired by the elegant fashions of the Enlightenment, juxtaposed with stark lines of contemporary sculpture, the chair almost dares you to take a seat. The mirror-polished aluminium brings a cold beauty, yet the wide train commands respect.
Where the Archiduchaise appears to sink, his Smoke table rises. This 3D-printed piece plays with gravity and suspension, its form rising like a column of smoke.
Also showcased at Salone Raritas, the Alchemist bar introduces a sense of theatre. Concealed compartments and interlocking mechanisms transform its function, making it both practical and celebratory. For Xavier, technical complexity matters only when it deepens the experience. The golden patina draws you in, but the true intrigue lies in the bar’s unfolding design.
Xavier’s presentation at Salone Raritas reveals a dialogue between art and function. Here, material experimentation and a sense of drama define the language of contemporary design.
