Fashion for the home at Milan Design Week

Giorgio Armani presented his Armani/Casa collection at Palazzo Orsini, a comprehensive collection that started in 2000 and now includes furniture, bathrooms, fabrics, wall coverings and even an interior design service. There were long lines of visitors who wanted to view the collections as well as the grand couture salons where they were displayed. The theme was “Echoes from the World,” referencing the designer’s travels: The new Vivace table and Venus Console had echoes of China, while a blue section evoked Arabian Nights, with a bright blue lacquer Miro Cabinet recalling garments of the Tuareg. Details of samurai armor in the Virtu cabinet brought back images of Japan’s Kagemusha.

Hermés

The timelessness of Hermès was exemplified by its installation that presented the new collections side by side with archival pieces that provided inspiration and continuity: Leather marquetry catchalls and blankets referencing silk jockey jerseys, bracelets that became woven leather baskets, a table lamp with a braided leather base recalling a hunting whip with an antler hook, porcelain dinnerware with braided patterns like a 1950s rope strap, a hand-painted bamboo light in dialogue with the geometric forms of a loop necklace, and the patterns of a blanket with the same rhythm as the lacquered chevrons of a 1930s cigarette case. Each new piece found a way to leverage the venerable house’s craft heritage and traditions.

Bottega Veneta

Creative director Matthieu Blazy looked to Le Corbusier to create an homage to the design titan’s LC14 Tabouret cabanon stool, stacked elegantly in the central atrium of a building in Piazza San Fidele, soon to become one of Bottega Veneta’s new headquarters. Some of the pieces came in a scorched-wood finish inspired by centuries-old Japanese traditions, while others stood out in the house’s signature intrecciato woven-leather technique done in glossy jewel tones.

Gucci

Ancora Red, a rich burgundy often presented with a lacquered sheen, was the signature color for creative director Sabato de Sarno when he unveiled his first Gucci collection last year, and it serves as the theme for this first collection of furniture and accessories for the house, taking cues from a pantheon of Italian masters like Gae Aulenti, Tobia Scarpa and Mario Bellini. His other favorite color, chartreuse green, made a stunning contrast as walls to set off key pieces: The bulbous Le Mora leather sofa reissued from a 1972 design by Bellini, the hand-blown Opachi vase by Scarpa, and the Parola Table lamp by Aulenti.

Loewe

Jonathan Anderson combines craft, curation and collectible one-off pieces for Loewe’s presentation of lamps by select international artists, some of whom were previous finalists and winners of the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize like Ernst Gamperl with his delicate hanging lamp made from oak and leaves of Japanese shoji paper. Enrico David went anthropomorphic with his Sleepwalker table lamp in bronze and onyx with a swan-like neck. Kazunori Hamana’s ancient-looking ceramic vessel with holes emanating light from within had a rustic charm, while London-based Cerith Wyn Evans’ tangle of neon tubes gave a futuristic vibe.

Ralph Lauren

Ralph Lauren has collected some of the world’s most coveted automobiles through the years, so it was inevitable that they would be a source of inspiration for his new home collection called Modern Driver, which he presented at the brand’s headquarters, a midcentury mansion on Via San Barnaba. The centerpiece is his iconic RL-CFI chair, inspired by his McLaren F1 Race Car and made with the same carbon fiber used in Formula 1 race cars, while the Beckford table lamp in a metal wire mesh pays homage to the grilles of his 1929 Blower Bentley. Dinnerware has speedometer imagery, while the Pierce pillow with perforated leather and silver zipper pulls are reminiscent of the interiors of vintage autos.

Dolce & Gabbana

The house’s second annual Gen D project reflects its commitment to supporting young talent while celebrating cultural diversity, enlisting 11 international designers paired with 16 Italian craft workshops. Craft elements from the designer’s countries were incorporated, like in South Africa’s Thabisa Mjo with her Dynamic Tension chairs using intricate embroidery and China’s Mingyu Xu with his Wonderland lighting series that combines Chinese bamboo weaving and Sicilian glass techniques.

Versace

Versace presented its new collection in “If These Walls Could Talk” through an audio immersion at the Palazzo Versace, where guests walked through its experiential rooms to discover the new chapters of the brand’s lifestyle design that features furniture incorporating the brand’s signature emblems: The Medusa ’95 in a conversation sofa with its lavish scale, the Greca in an armchair reworked with quilted backrest and gold zip at the center, and the Barocco motif in reclining cushions and dinnerware.