It’s officially spritz sippin’ season. The outpouring of bubbly beverages means the deluge of invites, QR codes, and RSVP links are at an all-out free flow for Milan Design Week. The annual celebration of design kicks off next week, and like the previous editions, there’s a seemingly never-ending list of events, exhibitions, and fairs to check out.

The calendar of events is dizzying. To minimize FOMO, we’ve gathered the activations we’re most excited to check out. There’s a well of buzzy, luxurious invitations out there (Ferrari, for instance, will unveil its Hypersail Livery), but there’s also a bevy of thoughtful curations by designers and architects. The following, organized geographically (you’re welcome), lean toward the latter for an engaging lineup of activities—with no shortage of top-shelf imbibes either.

Rho

Salone del Mobile
Via Cristina Belgioioso, 173

The anchor of design week, Salone del Mobile, returns for its 64th edition. In addition to returning exhibitions—EuroCucina with FTK – Technology For the Kitchen, International Bathroom Exhibition, and SaloneSatellite—the fair ventures into new territory: Salone Raritas, an exhibition designed by Formafantasma that includes collectible and vintage furniture; Salone Contract, a project that unpacks the complexities of contract furniture led by Rem Koolhaas and OMA’s David Gianotten; and Aurea, an Architectural Fiction, an imaginary hotel installation that puts design in architectural context, designed by Maison Numéro 20.

Porta Venezia

Renaissance of the Real
Fondazione Luigi Rovati
Corso Venezia 52

USM Modular Furniture collaborated with artist Annabelle Schneider and Snøhetta for a multisensory installation that seeks to shed digital saturation and algorithmic wormholes. This 2-story installation weaves USM’s system with textile architecture to create an atrium engaging all the senses, including auditory where Devon Turnbull will host DJ sessions. Renaissance of the Real is an invitation to burst the bubble of the digital world and step into something real.

Capsule Plaza
Via Achille Maiocchi 8

Occupying a new site this year, Capsule Plaza will take place in a former industrial building, once turned into a gym and pool, recently restored to a venue by ASA OFFICE. The 2026 edition is themed around “Design State of Mind,” focusing on how design shapes perception and how we perceive and inhabit the world. Exhibitors include STONE ISLAND, Devon Turnbull, Lichen, among others. At the fair, climate-neutral, woven flooring company Bolon will mount an installation by Martino Gamper, while Karimoku Furniture will present “Research Published as Furniture.”

Brera

When Apricots Blossom
Palazzo Citterio
Via Brera, 12

The Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation will make its Milan debut with a pavilion in the form of a deconstructed yurt designed by architect and founder of WHY Architecture, Kulapat Yantrasast. Within, the exhibition, titled When Apricots Blossom, brings together designers, artisans, architects and researchers from Uzbekistan and beyond to position design and craft as tools for regeneration in landscapes shaped by ecological change.

Parco Sempione

The Eames Houses
Triennale Milano
Viale Emilio Alemagna, 6

At Triennale Milano, The Eames Office and Kettal present The Eames Houses, an expansive architectural installation that surveys the Eames’s residential architecture, as well as unveils Eames Pavilion System, a modular prefabricated housing concept. Stick around to check out the other exhibitions at the Triennale, including a survey on the late weaving visionary Frans Dijkmeijer.

Zona Magenta

Prada Frames
Via Giuseppe Antonio Sassi, 3

Prada Frames returns to design week with its fifth annual symposium, featuring the theme “In Sight.” Curated by Formafantasma, the week of talks and parties will focus on the complexities of image production in a world of bent on fake AI images and representation over reality.

Metamorphosis in Motion
Palazzo Litta
Via Corso Magenta 24

Paris-based, Lebanese-born architect Lina Ghotmeh will unveil her first outdoor installation in Italy, titled Metamorphosis in Motion, a mazelike structure inspired by the history of the site and the courtyard’s role as a place of public reception for the MoscaPartners Variations 2026. The platform for design and events will also activate the installation with exhibitors focused on research, development of new materials, and new technologies.

Zone 7

Alcova
Baggio Military Hospital—via Giovanni Labus 10
Villa Pestarini—Via Mogadiscio 2/4

Alcova’s 11th edition returns to Baggio Military Hospitality, but it activates new, previously inaccessible spaces, including a church with its former rectory. Not too far away, the fair will also activate Villa Pestarini, an Italian rationalist building from 1938 by Franco Albini. This will be the first time its doors will be open to the public, replete with the latest contemporary designs.