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.
“Even within the smallest green lies all the purity and freshness of Eden.” This idea became the seed for Eden Moss, a home nestled in an ecological environment and imagined as a breath of freshness, evoking the scent of mud after rain, and seamlessly intertwined with nature while still embracing comfort and contextual charm. Nestled […]
In Tiruppur’s industrial heartland, where the rhythm of textile mills sets the tone, the layered architecture in this Villa offers a quiet counterpoint. Shaped by stillness, proportion, and cultural memory, the home reflects the clients’ vision for a contemplative retreat. Set on a square plot within a gridded residential layout, the residence embraces architectural restraint […]
Nestled in what was once a coconut orchard, Sanctum serves as a sanctuary for a retired couple. Their daughter & a feline companion join them to offer a tranquil environment for everyday goings-on. The site is a 60’ x 90’ portion of land with six coconut trees. Two teak wood & silver oak trees, each […]
Tucked into the calm, tree-lined lanes of Nagarbhavi in Bangalore, Avani Residence rises as a poetic response to the chaos of the city, a vertical sanctuary where light dances, materials breathe, and space unfolds in gentle rhythms. Designed by Archemist Architects for a family of four, the residence is a nuanced interplay between constraint and […]
The designers envision Asterix Café as a flagship destination that challenges café design conventions. While coffee culture often associates with warm, pastel tones, Asterix dares to be different by embracing darkness as its defining aesthetic. Designed by UrbanNest Design Studio, the bespoke cafe is a bold experiment in creating a multi-functional, community centric space where […]
Adorn, a home filled with earthen design and the laughter of a family of four, nestles in the peaceful neighborhood of Selvapuram, Coimbatore. “On one side, it shares boundaries with cozy family homes; meanwhile, the other side opens to expansive fields dotted with tall trees.” The fresh air scented with greenery sets a calming atmosphere […]
Situated in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, Anandvan residence beautifully embodies biophilic design, fostering a deep connection with nature through its thoughtful integration of outdoor and indoor spaces through open courtyards. Open Courtyards And A Biophilic Design Connect The Outdoors With The Indoors | R+R Architects Location The location and surroundings played a significant role in determining the […]
What if the simplest object in your home could turn into a design icon? Tectona Grandis Furniture and The Architects’ Diary come together to introduce the Chair Affair. This is India’s first-of-its-kind furniture design competition that dares architects and designers across India to rethink the most essential piece of furniture – the Chair. Beyond function, […]
In a calm and serene residential area of Mysore, a 10,000 sq. ft. site with mature mango and coconut trees set the stage for Eden Kindergarten school. One half of the land was already occupied by an existing block, while the other half was shaded by the canopy of old trees. Instead of altering this […]
The Indian farmhouse accommodation goes on to capitalize on a mature evolutionary synthesis of ancestral aesthetics and contemporary features. With this, the outside and the inside of farmhouses became places of comfort with nature. In this blog, we delve into 15 incredible farmhouse designs that entail a harmonious blending. While they exhibit different spaces in […]