Beyond its inherent appeal to the creative world, and its strategic opportunities for business, networking, experimentation, cultural exchange, and cross-pollination across design, art, music, food, and fashion, the phenomenon of Design Weeks and Design Weekends also signifies the discovery of new areas, thematic routes, palaces, and hotels that open their doors exclusively for these events, transforming cities into exhibition platforms. This offers an alternative to traditional tourist routes, capable of attracting and surprising even those who live in these places year-round.
The Venice Design Week, held from October 11 to 19, 2025, and now in its sixteenth edition, is no exception. Conceived in 2010 by Lisa Balasso – a native of Veneto and a proud adopted Venetian, an architect with a master’s degree in cultural heritage management and communication from Normale di Pisa – the initiative has steadily gained visibility, collaborations, and sponsorships year after year, solidifying an identity that grants it increasing prominence and authority.
This year’s theme is Tempora
Venice is a city of bridges, and the theme symbolically reflects this: the title of this edition, Tempora, is envisioned “as a bridge between past and future,” a meeting point for different eras, cultures, and knowledge. It aims to express, through the exhibited objects and projects, “an energy in constant transformation that renews itself through diverse trends, visions, materials, and technologies.”
The most striking installation
“Light of Rising Tides,” conceived by Amsterdam-based multidisciplinary design studio MAST, was positioned at Riva Ca’ Di Dio, directly opposite the hotel of the same name designed by Patricia Urquiola, just a short walk from Palazzo Ducale, along the Riva degli Schiavoni. The project aims to spark reflection on rising sea levels and their impact on our cities. The composition of light and fabric (69152 Pestrin by Rubelli) shapes the flow of waves, guiding visitors along a suspended corridor into an underwater world, where motion sensors activate a second layer of luminous waves that ebb and flow with the rhythm of the sea, thanks to Ideolux technology. Ceresio Arredamenti, Arte e Design Venezia Associazione Culturale, Design33, and Hooroon also collaborated on its creation.
Guided tours and workshops
The Venice Design Week spans across several unique venues, such as the Giorgio Franchetti Gallery at Ca’ D’Oro (home to Andrea Mantegna‘s Saint Sebastian), which hosted one of the VDW Jewelry Selection 2025 displays. Other locations included the Wonder Q room at Fondazione Querini Stampalia featuring the exhibition “Don’t Shine. I have something to say,” and the exhibition and workshops dedicated to Baltic amber craftsmanship presented by the city of Gdańsk at Palazzo Pisani Nicolaj. Titled “Relationships,” the latter showcased the finalist works of the international Amberif Design Award 2025 competition, part of the world’s most important amber fair.
San Servolo island
Also part of the Jewelry Selection was the exhibition “Synesthesia – Master in Contemporary Jewelry” by the Venice Academy of Fine Arts. Set up in the Plessi Hall of the former Benedictine monastery on San Servolo Island, it engaged in a dialogue with artist Fabrizio Plessi‘s video installation, the temporary installation by the Warsaw research laboratory, and Lyxo sofas.
Owned by the Metropolitan City of Venice, San Servolo Island overlooks St. Mark’s Square. From a convent to a military hospital with an attached historic pharmacy, and later an asylum, since 2018, San Servolo has been home to the VID – Venice Innovation Design platform. VID promotes sustainable design-oriented redevelopment projects such as the new reception at the Auditorium Hall, the cafeteria, the facilities of the Residence and Study Center, the creation of new rooms, and other spaces renovated with the contribution of important partner companies. It also hosts one of the first photovoltaic installations in the historic city of Venice: its walkable solar panels cover approximately 30% of the island’s energy needs. Furthermore, it serves as a prestigious conference venue.
“When you come to San Servolo, you relax,” comments Simone Cason, Sole Administrator of San Servolo srl. “This was the experience of Mario Cucinella (whose installation ‘Un Fiore a San Servolo,’ designed to host artistic performances, theatrical, and musical events, was inaugurated in May 2025) and Maria Porro, who chose to celebrate FederlegnoArredo‘s 80th anniversary here… When an institution chooses San Servolo as its hub in the lagoon, it means the island has substance.”
Special locations and routes
Grouped by product categories, the festival’s routes took place at the Church of San Leonardo – located 10 minutes from the station and serving as the VDW info point – and the Radisson Hotel Palazzo Nani Venice. The Light Selection also featured Fablab Venezia, which presented its ONE lighting project, winner of both the Red Dot Design Award and the iF Design Award 2025.
At the Palazzo Mocenigo Museum – Center for the Study of the History of Textiles, the exhibition “Filamenta: Textile Materials between Fashion and Interior Design” was set up, curated by Angelica Stea and Lisa Balasso. This initiative, born from a collaboration with the Master’s Degree Course in Fashion at Iuav University of Venice, aimed to explore new textile perspectives and aspects of sustainability and the integration of new materials, such as bio-derived fibers.
Self-produced design and market
To conclude the festival, from October 18 to 19, 2025, the Design Market was held, dedicated to self-produced art and design. The Venetian branch of Combo served as an exceptional venue, integrating its model of inclusive hospitality – attracting artists, travelers, and students – within the ancient Crociferi convent, just a short walk from Rialto and the historic market.
The Venice Design Week is sponsored by the Italian Ministry of Culture, the Veneto Region, the Municipality of Venice, the Chamber of Commerce of Venice and Rovigo, ADI (Association for Industrial Design) – Veneto and Trentino Alto Adige delegation, the Contemporary Jewelry Association, and IUAV (University Institute of Architecture of Venice). Among the new collaborations planned for the next edition is an exhibition at the Ca’ Pesaro Oriental Art Museum.
