Salone del Mobile 2026: Studios to Watch
Salone del Mobile.Milano remains one of the clearest places to observe where furniture, interiors and architectural thinking are heading. The 2026 edition is expected to bring together established manufacturers, independent designers, experimental installations and the next generation of creative practices across Milan’s fairgrounds and citywide districts.
For Australian design followers, the event offers more than a preview of European collections. It is a useful lens for assessing what may reach showrooms in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, from low-impact materials and adaptable seating to smaller furniture suited to apartment living. The most interesting work will likely come from studios that connect industrial production with craft, technology and a strong sense of place.
| Studio or practice |
Design direction |
Why to watch |
| Studio Furthermore |
Playful objects, colour and accessible domestic design |
Shows how emerging Australian voices can work internationally |
| Nifemi Marcus-Bello |
Material experimentation and cultural storytelling |
Brings West African references into contemporary furniture |
| Mentsen |
Refined furniture, lighting and spatial products |
Balances commercial clarity with a distinctive visual language |
| Soft Baroque |
Surreal forms and reworked everyday objects |
Challenges familiar ideas of function and scale |
| Kwangho Lee |
Craft, recycled materials and expressive surfaces |
Connects handmade processes with collectible design |
| Colombo and Serboli Architecture |
Compact interiors and inventive spatial planning |
Relevant to dense urban homes and adaptable living |
Why the 2026 edition matters
The next Salone is likely to be shaped by a mature conversation about sustainability rather than a rush toward novelty. Exhibitors are under pressure to explain where materials come from, how products are assembled, whether components can be repaired and what happens at the end of a product’s life. A beautiful chair will need a credible story behind its timber, foam, finish and transport.
This shift is especially relevant in Australia, where freight distances, limited local manufacturing capacity and the cost of importing European furniture affect purchasing decisions. A collection that can be flat-packed, repaired locally or specified in durable commercial fabrics may have a stronger future here than a fragile statement piece designed only for photography.
Milan also remains valuable because it puts furniture into a wider architectural context. Product launches sit alongside hospitality interiors, residential installations, lighting presentations and material showcases. The result is a preview of how people may use their homes and workplaces, rather than a simple catalogue of new sofas and tables.
Independent studios worth following
Studio Furthermore is an Australian practice to keep in view as the international design conversation becomes more open to regional perspectives. Its work is associated with a bright, optimistic approach to furniture and objects, often using approachable forms and expressive colour. That quality feels well suited to Australian interiors, where relaxed spaces often need a strong object or playful detail rather than excessive ornament.
Nifemi Marcus-Bello brings a different kind of energy. His practice explores memory, material culture and everyday life through furniture and objects that can feel both sculptural and practical. The work is a reminder that emerging design does not need to imitate Scandinavian restraint or Italian luxury. It can draw from local histories, regional making traditions and the visual language of markets, homes and streets.
Mentsen, founded by Sam Hughes and U করা? Need avoid inaccurate. Mentsen is London-based design studio by Sam Hughes and U? Let's just say London-based. Their furniture and lighting often demonstrate how a quiet silhouette can conceal careful technical decisions. This is the sort of work that may attract architects and boutique hospitality designers looking for pieces with personality but enough discipline for repeated use.
Soft Baroque is another studio whose work resists predictable categories. Its objects can look familiar at first, then reveal a distortion, interruption or unexpected material relationship. That approach matters because the strongest emerging practices often question what furniture is supposed to do, rather than simply decorating established typologies.
Materials, tactility and responsible production
Kwangho Lee’s practice offers a compelling reference point for the material direction many visitors will be searching for in Milan. His experiments with rope, plastic, foam and other everyday substances show how a material can remain visibly present instead of being hidden beneath upholstery or a polished finish. The work sits between craft, sculpture and industrial design, making it relevant to collectors as well as manufacturers.
Across the fair, expect greater attention to bio-based composites, recycled metals, natural fibres, timber alternatives and finishes with lower chemical impact. These claims deserve close scrutiny. “Sustainable” can describe a genuinely repairable product, but it can also be used loosely for a small recycled component within an otherwise difficult-to-recycle object.
Australian specifiers should look for practical evidence: replaceable covers, accessible fixings, material passports and clear maintenance instructions. In coastal areas such as Sydney or Brisbane, resistance to humidity and salt air can matter as much as visual appeal. For a Melbourne apartment or a hospitality venue in Hobart, the ability to refresh a finish or replace a damaged part may determine whether a product remains useful for decades.
The relationship between design and existing buildings will also be important. A considered refurbishment project can reveal how new furniture performs when it must work with old floors, imperfect walls and inherited architectural details. That approach is more convincing than treating every interior as a blank canvas.
Furniture for smaller, denser homes
Space-saving design will remain a major theme, particularly as urban housing becomes more compact and expensive. Milan is a productive setting for this discussion because its apartments often combine generous historical proportions with highly efficient rooms. Designers have long developed folding tables, modular storage and adaptable seating for these conditions, and the lessons translate well to Australian cities.
In Sydney and Melbourne, many apartments need furniture that performs several jobs without looking like office equipment. A dining table may become a work surface; a bench may need to provide entryway storage; a lounge chair may need to sit comfortably in a living room, bedroom or covered balcony. Emerging studios are increasingly addressing these overlaps through modular systems, movable components and furniture that can be reconfigured rather than replaced.
The challenge is to avoid cleverness for its own sake. A modular sofa with too many mechanisms can be difficult to assemble, while a compact table may sacrifice stability. The most successful products will make adaptation feel natural, with simple hardware, intuitive movement and materials that can handle daily use.
Australian outdoor living adds another layer. Products marketed for terraces, courtyards and balconies need to account for intense sunlight, sudden rain and wide temperature changes. A Milan preview is useful when it shows how outdoor furniture can bring indoor levels of comfort outside, but local performance testing and after-sales support should remain part of the buying decision.
The new language of colour and form
Colour is likely to become more nuanced in 2026. Instead of a single dominant shade, designers are exploring layered palettes that combine mineral tones, softened primaries, deep greens, warm neutrals and unexpected accents. This approach fits current interiors, where a room may include vintage furniture, contemporary lighting and art collected over time.
Studios such as Soft Baroque demonstrate how form can introduce energy even when colour is restrained. Curved edges, inflated profiles, visible joints and irregular surfaces can give a familiar object a new identity. These gestures are particularly effective in hospitality settings, where a chair, lamp or table must be recognisable from across a busy room.
For Australian homes, this could encourage a more confident use of colour without requiring a full-room makeover. A rust-coloured lounge, cobalt side table or green pendant can work against natural timber, limestone, brick or white plaster. The best emerging collections will offer enough tonal variety for designers to build coherent schemes rather than forcing them to accept one fixed look.
Lighting will contribute strongly to this atmosphere. Expect portable lamps, indirect illumination and sculptural fixtures that create pools of light rather than uniform brightness. This suits Australian evening life, from a Melbourne terrace to a Perth dining room, where layered lighting can support entertaining, reading and quiet time within the same space.
What Australian visitors should look for
Australian designers and buyers attending Salone should pay attention to scale, logistics and local representation as much as visual impact. A product can be beautifully resolved yet difficult to import, expensive to service or unavailable in the finishes required by local projects. The most useful conversations often happen with manufacturers who can explain lead times, minimum orders, replacement parts and regional distribution.
The event can also help Australian studios position themselves internationally. Practices from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide bring a particular mix of relaxed domestic culture, strong outdoor connections and resource-conscious thinking. Their work can speak to global audiences when it avoids generic “Australian” references and focuses instead on clear design decisions, robust construction and a distinctive relationship with landscape.
Salone Satellite is likely to remain an important place to find younger talent, although the final participant list and presentation format should be checked through official event channels closer to the opening. Independent galleries and city installations may offer equally valuable discoveries, especially for designers seeking limited-edition objects, experimental lighting or small-batch furniture.
Visitors should allow time beyond Rho Fiera Milano. Brera, Tortona, 5Vie and other districts typically present different sides of the design industry, from major brand launches to intimate studio displays. Comfortable shoes, advance appointments and a realistic daily route are essential; Milan’s spread-out programme can make spontaneous browsing surprisingly demanding.
Turning a preview into a design strategy
The strongest way to read emerging design is to look for patterns across several studios rather than selecting a single fashionable object. If different practices are working with repairability, soft geometry, local craft, recycled materials and adaptable layouts, those themes are likely to have deeper momentum. A trend becomes meaningful when it changes manufacturing, specification and everyday use.
For professionals, the 2026 fair can be approached as research for future projects. Architects may study how compact furniture supports flexible floor plans. Interior designers can compare upholstery, lighting and surface finishes. Retailers can identify products with a realistic fit for Australian homes, while collectors may focus on limited pieces that express a designer’s point of view before it becomes widely commercialised.
The most promising studios will probably combine clarity with curiosity. They will understand production but retain room for surprise; respect material limits but avoid visual dullness; and create objects that work in real rooms rather than only on a fair stand. That balance is what makes an emerging practice worth following after the event has finished.
For Australian readers, Salone del Mobile 2026 should be treated as both a global design showcase and a practical source of ideas for local living. Follow the studios above, track the official exhibitor announcements, and watch for the collections that combine durability, adaptability and character. Visit Tony Cucco for ongoing coverage of furniture, interiors, architecture and the design events shaping what comes next.
