With 1066 events spread over a single week, Milano Design Week 2025 confirmed its status as a global creative marathon. But it also highlighted a problem: oversupply. More than 150 events a day, a logistical and mental challenge. This was pointed out not only by ordinary visitors, but also by professionals and journalists, who often complained on social media about overcrowding and a general difficulty in making sense of their experience.
There were a lot of companies from other sectors: fashion, automotive, technology. Some had interesting things to say. Others, even with seven–figure budgets, were doing “design washing,” using design as an excuse to validate brand relevance, often without real design input. Mile-long lines to get into spaces that were beautiful to post but poor in content. Or to grab a gadget (limited edition?) for immediate resale on online platforms. All of this is confusing because design is different.
MDW was also highly anticipated because it was a test of the health of Salone del Mobile.Milano, the natural epicenter of this super-event. Reports of major defections had been circulating since the end of 2024. With 302,548 visitors, the fair was in line with the 2023 edition, that of Euroluce, with a record percentage – 68% – of foreign operators. The numbers, as the graph shows, are slightly lower than before Covid. But it must be said that the more than 434,000 in 2018 was an anomaly. The reasons for this drop may be physiological but also dictated by external factors: for example, as everyone complains, the steep hike – limited to the week of the fair – in hotel prices. People are still coming to Milan, but in smaller groups and for shorter periods.
Back to the Salone: if some big names decide not to be there, for everyone else it continues to be a useful, organized, functional time. The question on everyone’s mind is: will the absence of the big names mean, in the medium to long term, a loss of attraction for industry players? The show itself certainly asked the question as Maria Porro, president of the show, said at the end of the event, «Our promise is to work on an even more inclusive format, with a focus on SMEs and emerging markets. We will do this together with the supply chain, with the aim of turning difficulties into opportunities».
Porro added: «I think the time has come for everyone, at the territorial and national level, to take all the necessary measures to ensure that Milan can continue to foster the success of this globally unique event, focusing on the quality of the offer and the containment of distortions that jeopardize its resilience, in terms of hospitality, services and impact on citizenship». The challenge is twofold: on the one hand, to rethink the sustainability and accessibility of the Design Week, avoiding the bulimia of events and the showcase effect as an end in itself; on the other hand, to strengthen its role as an international hub, able to better accommodate the flow of visitors, which has increased by 10% since 2024. The city, the Salone and the entire system are called upon to find a new balance so as not to lose a heritage built up over decades. And to ensure that design is truly back in the spotlight.
