Guendalina PerelliMore than 2,000 exhibitors from 37 countries. Industrial manufacturing, sustainable innovation, emotional
intelligence. The 63rd edition Salone del Mobile.Milano launches a new challenge: building worlds fit for the future
The 2025 edition of the Salone, at Fiera Milano, Rho from 8th to 13th April is reinforcing its role as a strategic accelerator of sectoral excellence driving change. Inspired by the visionary approach of Pierre-Yves Rochon, Paolo Sorrentino and Robert Wilson. The first International Forum on Light. Five days of Talks and Round Tables.
The countdown to the 63rd edition of the Salone del Mobile.Milano (8th-13th April, Fiera Milano, Rho)
has begun. Once again it promises to be the industry’s leading international event with more than
2,000 exhibitors (38% from abroad), 148 brands including first-timers and returnees, ranged over
169,000 square metres of totally sold out net exhibition space, including over 32,000 square metres
given over to the eagerly awaited return – following the success of the 2023 edition of The City of Lights
– of the Euroluce Biennial (more than 300 brands, from 25 countries). Not to mention SaloneSatellite,
with 700 designers under 35 and 20 international schools and universities.
These figures summarise the result of intense scouting and promotional activity for an event that,
every year gains the trust of a national and international supply chain that recognises the role of the
Salone as a strategic platform for business, sustainable innovation and internationalisation, thanks
to its ongoing commitment to intercepting an increasingly broad and profiled audience of
professionals from all over the world (more than 370,000 from 146 countries in 2024).
A snapshot of the size of the exhibition is provided by one figure: 9,238,429,199 euros. This is the total
turnover of the Italian brands exhibiting in April, equal to 34% of the turnover of the entire national
Furnishing Macro System (over 21,000 companies). To which 6,989,984,073 euros of foreign brand
total turnover should be added, confirming the upward trajectory of the evolutionary path of the
Salone model, an ecosystem that supports growth, promoting an innovative, sustainable, future-oriented business model.
Once again, new visions will fuel a Cultural Programme of the highest level with 3 site-specific
installations, at the Salone and in the city: Pierre-Yves Rochon. Villa Héritage (Pavs. 13-15), Paolo
Sorrentino. La dolce attesa (Pavs. 22-24), Robert Wilson. Mother (Museo Pietà Rondanini – Castello
Sforzesco). A multidisciplinary focus on lighting design, the absolute protagonist of the first edition of The Euroluce International Lighting Forum (10th-11th April, The Forest of Space Arena by Sou Fujimoto, Pav. 2); the Drafting Futures Talks and Round Tables that will bring together some of the brightest minds on the contemporary scene.
Maria Porro, President of Salone del Mobile.Milano had this to say: “We closed the 2024 edition with
record numbers: over 370,000 professionals from 146 countries. This year the Salone will yet again open
in April with a totally sold-out exhibition area, despite the uncertainties of the global scenarios. A result
that illustrates our constant commitment to improving the visitor experience, services to the public and
exhibitors, promotional activities abroad, and the creation of new formats that have enabled us to forge
new strategic alliances over the past year in the United States, China, and – not least – to sign a
Memorandum this January with Saudi Arabia, which will open up new opportunities for Made in Italy in
a market in which sectoral exports are up 22.8%. Our mission has always been to turn the international
spotlight on the sector’s excellence. In Milan, and throughout the world. The percentage of Italian and
foreign exhibitors attending the last 10 editions of the annual exhibitions is 59.4%. A figure that, in the
overall context of international exhibitions, is a testament to the success of the Salone in its dual role as
business accelerator and content producer. As always, every year the Salone reinvests heavily not only
in the trade fair but also in a leading Cultural Programme. In an ever-changing world, we are all called
upon to become part of a broader vision that enables us to interpret environmental, cultural, social,
and technological transformations. For Salone, investing in culture means investing in the future of
companies, strengthening their competitiveness in the long term. Taking part in the Salone means
exhibiting, connecting and producing value, as well as actively contributing to the evolution of the sector,
as part of a platform that fuels debate on scenarios and visions for the future.”
Maria Porro continued: “In terms of competitiveness, our commitment to sustainability is also
fundamental, seeing us once again pursuing new goals as part of the ISO 20121 sustainable events
management certification process and furthering our commitment to raising exhibitors’ awareness
through the adoption of the Salone’s Green Guidelines for installations. Lastly, the Salone also means
SaloneSatellite: talents under 35. A creative reservoir, the only one of its kind in the world, that allows us
to discuss the future every year, in an intergenerational dialogue. It is a huge opportunity: the Salone is
industrial manufacturing, creative capital and working capital, it is Milan, it is a bridge that takes us into
the world, it is young people. In 2024, the number of student visitors rose by 28.6%. This year we are
ready to renew the invitation with specially discounted tickets for those who are about to enter the world
of our sector’s infinite manufacturing professions. It is together with the companies, with the ‘thinkers’
taking part in the 2025 Cultural Programme, and with young people, that we want to build worlds fit for
the future.”
Claudio Feltrin, President of FederlegnoArredo, said: “It is the highest expression of our industrial
manufacturing and an indispensable asset for companies in search of new markets and new audiences;
it is the international showcase at which a year’s work on research and innovation allows brands to
‘explode’ in all their magnitude. And it is thanks to the strength of exhibitors and products that the Salone del Mobile.Milano continues to set trends and lead markets across the world, like the Oscars for film production. Over the years, the event has evolved, and renewed itself, but it has never lost its natural centre of gravity as the most attractive and important business fair for the design industry. There is no more powerful tool than the Salone del Mobile.Milano for tackling the industrial challenges facing the sector, and indeed it becomes even more so in tough economic times such as the present, in which the Salone becomes an instrument of industrial policy. More than 60 years ago, a group of wood furniture entrepreneurs came up with the brilliant idea of organising the fair in Milan, allowing potential customers from distant markets to come and purchase their products. Well, despite the fact that distances have become shorter and the world has changed, their idea continues to be a winner, because the Salone unleashes a contagious energy capable of bringing the world of design to Milan. It is from the pavilions at Rho Fiera that a long wave starts to break, taking in the city and involving the world of design in its broadest sense. Thanks to all the companies that have continued to believe in the Salone del Mobile over the years, because only together can we continue to build the strength of the sector and maintain our leadership.“
Four Annual Exhibitions and One Biennal
Accompanied by the new communication campaign “Thought for Humans”, devised by Dentsu
Creative Italy –reminding us how every project must respond, in the name of emotional intelligence, to the needs of human beings- which entrusted the American photographer Bill Durgin with the task of making tangible the subtle relationship between human beings and material, the April 2025 edition of the Salone will feature four annual exhibitions: the Salone Internazionale del Mobile, the International Furnishing Accessories Exhibition, Workplace3.0, S.Project, and the Biennal Euroluce, for a total of over 1,000 brands, including 73 first-timers or returnees. In line with the evolutionary path undertaken since 2023, visitors will be at the
centre of an increasingly fluid and integrated experience again this year. In terms of layout, the latest
innovation is the loop-shaped redesign of four pavilions (13-15 and 22-24). The entire exhibition will be
accessible via new-themed routes, allowing visitors to take in the distinctive features of an unrivalled
offering.
A new focus will be devoted to the all-Italian ability to create timeless objects, which the
Salone 2025 is naming: A Luxury Way (Pavilions 13-15). While SaloneSatellite, with 700 designers from
36 countries and 20 international design schools and universities, will once again hedge its bets on
talented youngsters under 35. The theme of the 26th edition is New Craftsmanship: a New World, an
invitation to re-imagine the universe of handmade products, beyond the vernacular. The aim is to activate a bridge between heritage and the future, starting from the idea that craftsmanship is capable of
generating new interactions with contemporary design in the name of sustainability and the value of
local cultural identities. A powerfully stimulating reflection for a sector that, in its multiple product
declinations, must respond to the needs of constantly evolving demand and new export geographies.
Once again this year, ITA – Italian Trade Agency has provided important support for the Salone del
Mobile.Milano in creating new exhibition formats in the United States and China, two key markets.,
The Salone continued its journey around Europe, Canada and India with its international promotional
tour Salone, Milano and beyond, finally accepting an invitation to take part in the 2025 edition of
Italian Design Day, promoted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation,
represents the best of Made in Italy in the capitals of Mexico, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia. In April,
ITA will reaffirm its commitment to the event, bringing the largest number of qualified foreign
professionals from 35 different countries to Milan. The IBL-International Business Lounge (Pavs. 13
and 15) will be there to welcome them. The European delegations will hail from France, Germany, Spain,
and the United Kingdom, while professionals from further afield, such as Saudi Arabia, Australia,
Azerbaijan, Canada, Chile, China, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, Japan, India, Mexico, Qatar,
Singapore, the United States, and South Africa are also expected.
Coming soon: Thought for Humans. on the maxwalls lighting up Milan, the return of the Design Kiosk in Piazza della Scala (from 1st April), the Welcome Project, with over 100 students stationed at six key points in Milan, involving residents and visitors, easing the flow of information during the Week of Design, in collaboration with the Municipality of Milan, the Fondazione Fiera Milano, NABA, Nuova Accademia delle Belle Arti, the IED European Design Institute, the Politecnico di Milano – School of Design and Domus Academy. With lots more still to come.
