Louis Vuitton X Milan Design Week 2023

During Milan Design Week 2023, Louis Vuitton will present 11 new Objets Nomades by Atelier Oï, Raw Edges, Atelier Biagetti, Marcel Wanders, Zanellato/Bortotto, Studio Louis Vuitton, and Campana. The Maison will also launch the Cabinet of Curiosities by Marc Newson, the internationally renowned Australian designer’s elegant reworking of the classic Louis Vuitton trunk. Finally, Louis Vuitton’s annual exhibition of nomadic architecture will this year feature a pavilion by French architect Marc Fornes, an intriguing and irresistible structure that will host a series of special events.

Since its creation in 2012, the Louis Vuitton Objets Nomades collection of inventive and functional furniture and objects has grown to over 60 pieces by a wide selection of renowned international designers. The 11 new Objets unveiled at this year’s Milano Design Week will be exhibited in a specially designed space in the historic Palazzo Serbelloni.

An Objets Nomades partner since the collection’s foundation, Atelier Oï will present four new objects in Milan. A 1.2-metre-high sculpture of leather and light, Chandelier consists of 36 carefully twisted two-tone straps totalling 145 metres in length given volume and form by champagne-coloured metal hoops. Quetzal is a large decorative mobile and an elegant expression of the idea of flight thanks to its plumage of vivid leather “feathers”. The hanging Piva Lamp, an ode to the beauty of constantly shifting light and colour, is composed of 57 frosted glass bracelets interspersed by a series of folded, two-tone leather “petals”. Lastly, Origami Bowls are practical and ingeniously simple objets d’art, each made of a single piece of leather cleverly folded and slotted together to create a mutable three-dimensional form. London-based designers Raw Edges’ latest objects are the sculptural and playfully imposing Binda Armchair and Sofa; their design, based upon the curving lines on a tennis ball, has a strikingly rounded angularity accentuated by bright leather-covered exteriors and comfortably enveloping velvet seats. Atelier Biagetti’s Flower Tower lamp is an inventive and shimmeringly transparent column of 15 flower-shaped glass bubbles, inspired by Louis Vuitton’s iconic Monogram, that appear to float magically when lit. Thanks to its three soothingly undulating aureoles of frosted glass, Dutch designer Marcel Wanders’ Capeline lamp creates a gently diffused pool of light. Basket Table by Italian designers Zanellato/Bortotto has three horizontal bands of leather entwined in an eye-catching honeycomb-pattern metal base, all beautifully crowned by a reflective enamelled lava-stone top. Studio Louis Vuitton’s Flower Carafe and Twist Glass both have flowing forms based upon the Monogram flower and are hand-made by Venetian artisans, while the new Bookends in marble and aluminium are made to mix and match. Finally, Campana’s classic Cocoon hanging chair will be unveiled in a brand-new Disco Ball edition, its exterior and cushions covered in silver mirrored mosaic, while the Brazilian designers’ playful Bomboca sofa has been transformed into a dazzling metal-effect sculpture.

Palazzo Serbelloni will host another notable Louis Vuitton world premiere during Milan Design Week: the intriguingly inventive Cabinet of Curiosities by Marc Newson transforms a hard-sided Louis Vuitton travel trunk into an elegant presentation case. The latest collaboration between the Maison and the acclaimed Australian industrial designer, after his Pégase and Horizon luggage lines, the new, specially designed trunk has a Monogram-covered exterior and is packed with 19 metal, leather-covered cubes, including 8 with doors and secret compartments for valuables.

When opened, the trunk – the first ever produced by the Maison to open at 180º – and the cubes provide a perfect showcase for books, art, and travel souvenirs. The 3 sizes of cubes, which come in 3 colourways, can be rearranged in over 1,000 different internal configurations, and make the trunk a highly customisable and portable cabinet of curiosities. Beautifully produced in a limited edition of 40 and finished with a metal plaque signed by the Maison and the designer, the Cabinet of Curiosities by Marc Newson is a testament to both the Maison’s heritage and savoir-faire and the designer’s love of intelligent style and functionality.

Alongside the Objets Nomades and Cabinet of Curiosities by Marc Newson at Palazzo Serbelloni, Louis Vuitton will also show Marc Fornes’ nomadic pavilion, a fascinating example of the New York-based French architect’s signature coral-like designs. Resembling a living entity that has organically bubbled up from the palazzo’s courtyard, the ultra-thin structure is composed of over 1600 uniquely shaped and patterned anodized aluminium sheets, some as thin as 1 millimetre. The specially created, ultra-thin pavilion is the latest vision of nomadic architecture to be presented by the Maison in Milan, after works by Charlotte Perriand (2015), Matti Suuronen (2017), George Candilis (2018), Shigeru Ban (2019), and last year’s Nova House.

During Milan Design Week, it will host a series of events, including a live workshop with atelier oï; the launch of Louis Vuitton Skins, a new publication showcasing Louis Vuitton store designs; and a public discussion with renowned Objets Nomades designers.

Louis Vuitton’s latest Objets Nomades, Cabinet of Curiosities by Marc Newson, and Marc Fornes’ pavilion will all be on view at Palazzo Serbelloni, Corso Venezia 16, Milan, from 19 to 23 April 2023.