SaloneSatellite celebrates craft across continents at Milan Design Week

‘New Craftsmanship: A New World’ is the theme that 700 participants from 20 design schools and universities will be responding to at SaloneSatellite during Milan Design Week 2025. Now in its 26th edition, the exhibition, developed by Marva Griffin Wilshire, continues to provide a platform for emerging professional designers. ‘SaloneSatellite’s mission is to help young designers at the start of their careers and connect them with industry insiders who visit the show,’ she explains. Over the years, the platform has nurtured notable talents such as Nendo, Sebastian Herkner, Ini Archibong, David Pompa and Cristina Celestino. This year SaloneSatellite alumni – designers Rodolfo Agrella and Lani Adeoye – will be curating sections of the exhibition.

Rodolfo Agrella, who first participated in 2011 after studying architecture at Politecnico di Milano, has developed an exhibit that combines Latin American ancestral textile crafts with contemporary design. ‘The show is shaped around the word trama, which in Spanish means both the pattern in fabric and a storyline,’ Agrella explains. ‘Each piece tells a story. We have traditional embroidery from Bolivia, objects made from traditional Mexican belts transformed into pouches, and pieces from Peru and Colombia.’ Agrella has also collaborated with the Milanese boutique Legado, which supports indigenous artisans in Latin America.

SaloneSatellite 2022 Prize Winner Lani Adeoye curates ‘Craft West Africa’, which features five projects from Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal. These works highlight the natural sustainability of indigenous crafts and their connection to circularity, a value she believes was integral to past societies. ‘Wisdom from the past is really important to me,’ Adeoye says. ‘We should draw from it as we move forward.’ The showcase includes products made using lost-wax casting techniques, hand-engraving and carving, plus mat weaving by female weavers in Ekiti, Nigeria. ‘There is something healing about witnessing or using crafts that is deeply connected to wellness,’ she says. ‘When I observed the female Ekiti weaving community, I saw a meditative process that kept them engaged for long periods, fostering presence, awareness, and calm energy.’

The focus on craftsmanship at this year's SaloneSatellite is not a new concept for Salone del Mobile, but rather a return to a theme previously explored in 2013 and 2014. This edition will be further enriched with craft's workshops. As the exhibition boasts a rich archive of products designed by past participants, the organisers created Artwood Academy as a permanent venue to showcase these works. Griffin Wilshire says, ‘This collection has travelled to Hong Kong and will be displayed in Osaka during the Expo. It reflects the impact of SaloneSatellite and the remarkable achievements of these emerging designers.’

SaloneSatellite in on view during Milan Design Week from 8 – 13 April 2025.

Read about more of the fair's must-sees in our Milan Design Week 2025 guide