Every year, Milan Design Week transforms the city into a global playground of creativity, innovation, and design, fostering interactions and experiences. From April 8 to April 13, Milan Design Week 2025, elevates the game once again with a sharper emphasis on sustainability, cross-cultural storytelling, and emotion-led design.
One of the most exciting changes this year was the increasing visibility of Indian designers in many of the major exhibitions and independent showcases. Indian design is no longer confined to the periphery but rather enters the conversation with confidence and cultural grounding, celebrating the humanity of craft while embracing innovation, collaboration, and meanings that are relevant to a global audience.
With both heritage textile and artisan-rooted furniture, as well as digitally crafted hybrids and poetic material expressions, Indian voices were represented across important platforms, from the Isola Design Festival to Alcova and Villa Bagatti Valsecchi.
Let’s dive into the blog to explore 7 Indian Designers and their collectives setting a benchmark at Milan Design Week 2025!
The theme of the Year ~ ‘Design is Human‘
At Milan Design Week 2025, Jaipur Rugs distinguished themselves with “Playing with Tradition,” a lively collaboration with the Dutch designer Richard Hutten. Jaipur Rugs features carpets rooted in Indian craftsmanship blended with a spirit of playful modernity. It used bold splashy colors and patterns that took inspiration from Holi, demonstrating how tradition evolves through contemporary design narratives.
Vikram Goyal Studio impressed visitors at Nilufar Depot with their new curated capsule collection of limited edition items. All of these signify a beautiful connection between India’s rich tradition of artisanal craft and its colorful contemporary creative scene. Additionally, the studio actively revives traditional Indian metalworking practices. Each piece exhibited Vikram Goyal’s signature skill set in the contemporary design space while honoring aspects of Indian heritage.
Renowned Indian fashion designer Tarun Tahiliani collaborated with Chinese designer Duyi Han to present the “Celestial Manual” chandelier. The “Celestial Manual” chandelier also pays tribute to artisanal workers who make Tahiliani’s fashion. It transforms skilled handicrafts into a work of illumination. Moreover, this collaboration embodies a mix of design and fashion. Additionally, it emphasizes the artisanal work that lends significance to each discipline.
The Rasa Collective highlighted the evolving narrative of Indian design on the global stage. Exhibited by Isola Studio and curated by Nidhi Chandak and Varun E S, members of Isola Studio’s India-based crew, depicts design as a result of emotional storytelling through stories of artisans, cultural continuity, and innovation. The Sanskrit word Rasa or subtly experiencing emotional stories through creative expression, is referenced in the exhibition of over 15 Indian designers and design studios. These studios balance tradition and modernity which include hand-blown glass, marble, textiles, and terrazzo. Furthermore, they are made from construction waste, sandstone, woven bamboo, and woodwork.
Aya Kawabata’s “The Shadow of the Sun,” created in collaboration with the Chanakya School of Craft, was an expressive and poetic tribute to traditional Indian architecture. Presented as part of the Shakti Design Residency, the work referenced the exquisite dance of light and shadow in ancient stone carvings in India. Made of raffia woven together in various densities and thicknesses, the installation shifted light in subtle ways throughout the day and invited viewers to interact with it as a living, breathing part of the space. Beyond being a visual exploration, the work also paid tribute to the passage of time, materiality, and craft.
At Milan Design Week 2025, Klove Studio founded by Prateek Jain and Gautam Seth, introduced VISTA. It is a light installation exhibited at Alcova Milano as part of the Shakti Design Residency. This sculptural lighting collection was crafted with designer Kickie Chudikova in accordance with the residency philosophy. VISTA demonstrates Klove Studio’s alignment of Indian traditional craft with contemporary design. Moreover, it resonates with their unique artistry in handblown glass lighting installations.
A collaboration between Indo-Norwegian textile designer Helena Bajaj-Larsen and Jaipur Rugs exhibits a collection of exclusive handwoven textiles that combined Scandinavian minimalism with a burst of Indian textile history. This exhibition was at Villa Bagatti Valsecchi for the launching of Shakti Design Residency. It is an enterprise to connect artisanship in Indian heritage with the global design community.
Thus, Indian designers continue to make a strong impact at Milan Design Week 2025, celebrating heritage and reserving a space for a forward-thinking design perspective. Moreover, this global platform is only the starting point of a larger journey.
This bungalow style house influences the site context and can be visualised in multiple facades of sharp edges & cuboidal form. Her,e salient features like U-Projection are an expression of the bench on a level one. The house divides itself into three bays. On the ground floor, where first bay acquire all public activities like […]
Imagine yourself on the terrace of your hidden mountain retreat, drinking a fresh cup of coffee as you admire the sunrise emerging from behind the rolling hills across the valley. This serene atmosphere is exactly what Hello Wood’s latest project, the Console House, is designed to offer. The Console House showcases modern architecture design while […]
As cities continue to grow and evolve, there is a growing desire to incorporate elements of rural living into urban design. By embracing rural living principles, cities can create more eco-friendly and sustainable spaces. Rural living is not just about wide-open spaces and rolling hills. It’s also about community, sustainability, and a connection to nature. […]
Located in the thriving city of Ichalkaranji, this is an example of luxury residences is a seamless blend of timeless elegance and modern sophistication. The striking exterior, adorned with brick and natural stone cladding, exudes warmth, character, and permanence. These rich textures create a visually captivating façade, harmonizing tradition with contemporary design while making a […]
Throughout history, stone has embodied permanence, artistry, and raw beauty in architecture. From the grandeur of Roman amphitheaters to the earthy elegance of modern villas, stone remains a beloved material for its strength, sustainability, and aesthetic richness. As design trends evolve toward natural materials, eco-conscious decisions, and biophilic design, stone has found new expressions — […]
The space adopts a biophilic office design and climate-responsive approach, creating a workspace that reimagines urban interiors by deeply embedding them with nature. The style is earthy, minimal, and modern with a strong contextual sensitivity to its location. Also, a lush canopy surrounds the bare-shell site on the first floor, allowing for abundant daylight and […]
The design started from an old house where a family of seven stood, one yet to be born. Hari & Sreelakshmi, Usha-Hari’s mother, Malathi, teacher, Hari’s grandmother, kids, Sankari, Paru, and yet to be born Sreebala. Four generations living in a 60-year-old house that had begun to show its age with dimly lit rooms, leaking […]
The clients’ requirement was to create a wellbeing centre at Oleander Farms, Karjat, Maharashtra, that would be a tranquil sanctuary for their visitors. Walking through a dense canopy of trees, hearing the soft chirping of birds, we slowly embarked on an expanse of a 2-acre of land that was both open yet heavily tree-laden. This […]
The thought was to create a space which would act as a formal real estate workspace in the daytime and a family retreat in the evening. By its name, as it is, ‘Leveled. This office with a garden is defined using levels, in terms of volumes, surfaces as well as edges. These levels are rationalized […]
Nirmay (निर्मय) reflects purity and holistic well-being. Envisioned as a quiet sanctuary amidst the noise of urban life, these courtyard villas offer a way of living that is calm, conscious, and deeply connected to the land. Rooted in sustainability and ecological harmony, the design responds to both nature and the everyday rhythms of its inhabitants. […]