Fuorisalone Award 2025

April 2025 sees the return of the Fuorisalone Award, a project by Studiolabo and Fuorisalone.it, aimed at highlighting the creative thinking of Italian and international brands and designers by recognising the most significant and memorable installations of the Milan Design Week.

Companies, like individual designers, can apply for special mentions in the Fuorisalone Award by registering and uploading their event on Fuorisalone.it. The combined work of a jury and the editorial staff of Fuorisalone.it will focus on content relevant to the world of design, qualitatively innovative and rich in meaning. The selected projects will compete for the Special Mention in the categories: Sustainability, Technology, Communication.

In addition to the renewal of the Special Mention Media Partners, this year sees the introduction of the Special Mention Design Schools, which aims to involve students.

FUORISALONE AWARD
The public will express their preference among 12 installations/events selected by the Fuorisalone.it editorial team. The award aims to have a strongly democratic value, as it is decreed on the basis of direct voting by the public. In a dedicated section of the Fuorisalone.it platform, the public will be able to find out much more about the competing installations (via links to the relevant event pages) and vote for their favourite. Voting will open on Wednesday 9 April and close on Saturday 12 April at 12 p.m. Users will only be able to vote after registering on the platform.


Fuorisalone Award 2024 Winner - LASVIT. Photo courtesy of Riccardo Bertani

SPECIAL MENTIONS
A combined effort by the jury and the editorial staff of Fuorisalone.it will focus on content relevant to the world of design, through the awarding of three Special Mentions for the categories mentioned above: Sustainability, Technology, Communication. This section of the award supports the value of a project or installation, not only in its physical and aesthetic expression, but also in its deeper content and its ability to express alternative and increasingly avant-garde points of view.

SPECIAL MENTION MEDIA PARTNERS
Introduced in 2024, the Media Partners Special Mention entrusts the authoritative media involved with Fuorisalone.it to judge the 12 most memorable projects from the shortlist. A ‘critics’' award that will stand alongside the one chosen by the public.


Menzione Speciale Media Partner - ELICA. Photo courtesy of Carla Palini

SPECIAL MENTION DESIGN SCHOOLS
A new addition for 2025 is the Special Mention Design Schools. Fuorisalone.it has always collaborated with the most prestigious schools and therefore involves students from the Politecnico di Milano, the IED (all international locations) and Northeastern University in Boston, making them directly involved in the voting.

THE JURY
The jury of the Fuorisalone Award, which will decide the winners of the special mentions, is composed by eight leading figures in the design industry:

>> Francesco Mainardi - Design Strategist, co-founder Mr.Lawrence studio

Designer specialised in strategy and management, he founded in Milan, together with Annalisa Rosso, the Mr.Lawrence studio that deals with consultancy in the world of contemporary design and brand positioning. The studio operates internationally promoting connections, balancing creativity and design, research and industry, provoking novel dialogues and defining new perspectives. He has been a guest professor at several universities and schools. Since 2015, he has been teaching Design Strategy at the Istituto Marangoni in Milan as part of the Design Management Master's course.

>> Judith van Vliet - Color designer, podcaster and founder of The Color Authority

Founder of The Color Authority, she hosts the popular colour-focused podcast of the same name. She has been the president of the Color Marketing Group, Senior Color Designer at Avient ColorWorks and Creative Director of ColorForward. She has helped shape the colour narratives of major brands, using her deep understanding of the psychological impact of colour. Through his podcast and various platforms, she imparts valuable insights into harnessing the transformative power of colour in branding, design and personal expression.

>> Laura May Todd - Freelance journalist

Canadian-born, and based in Milan since 2017, she is a journalist specialised in design, culture, travel and lifestyle, with a particular focus on the design industry in Italy. Milan editor of Wallpaper Magazine, her work has been published in authoritative publications such as: The New York Times Style Magazine, Elle Décor, Architectural Digest, as well as World of Interiors, Domus, and Cereal. November 2024 saw the release of her latest book, ‘Italian Interiors: Rooms With a View’, published by Phaidon Press.

>> Lidi Grimaldi - Brand Expert

CEO of Interbrand, she combines advanced analytics and creative strategic thinking to generate highly innovative, business-focused branding solutions for companies across different industries.
She lectures at universities and business schools. She has been quoted by media such as the New York Times, Il Sole 24 Ore, Corriere Economia and many others. She was nominated by Forbes Italy among the 100 Top Italian Managers in 2021 and in the Female Creative Leader ranking in 2020.

>> Ed Stocker - Editor at large, Monocle magazine

Europe editor at large of Monocle, based in Milan. Previously he worked as an editor from Buenos Aires and New York. He works for Monocle Radio from all over Europe and covers the Milan Design Week with accurate reports. In 2024, he moderated a panel discussion on the future of artificial intelligence at the Salone.Milano. And he has written about design and architecture in countries including the USA, Mexico and Ghana. He also moderated the book launch in Athens of Noguchi's Objects of Common Interest. He was a jury member of ECAL's MAS Design for Luxury & Craftsmanship.

>> Khadija Al Bastaki - Senior Vice President of Dubai Design District (d3), part of TECOM Group

Senior Vice President of Dubai Design District (d3), a global commercial hub for design and art part of TECOM Group PJSC. She joined the d3 leadership team in 2019, launching a series of strategic cultural and commercial initiatives to amplify local and international talent and brands, attracting foreign investment and contributing to the creative economy of Dubai and the UAE. She has won numerous awards and honours including Arabian Business' 50 Inspiring Women Leaders 2024, Forbes Middle East's Fashion Innovators 2024 and Forbes Middle East's Top 100 Most Powerful Businesswomen 2024.

>> Paolo Ferrarini - Journalist and Curator

He teaches the course ‘Fashion and Industrial Design’ at the University of Bologna (Rimini campus) and ‘Sociocultural Scenarios’ at the Accademia Costume & Moda in Rome and Milan. He holds the position of European Editor for Cool Hunting and collaborates with numerous magazines including Interni, Vogue and The Good Life. In parallel, he contributes to the realisation of cultural projects for international Italian companies. Since 2018, he has been curator and host of Parola Progetto, a podcast that hosts the protagonists of contemporary design and culture.

>> Valentina Ventrelli - Contemporary aesthetics expert

She analyses, develops and elaborates contemporary aesthetics for strategic purposes. Specialised in trend generation and methodology, she participated in the foundation of Future Concept Lab, of which she directed the fashion and design division for more than 20 years. In 2020, she created StudiOvale, with which she dedicates herself to the consulting and realisation of projects in various sectors, offering branding, design direction, concept design, and creative coordination services.

THE AWARDS

The Fuorisalone Awards are designed by the Studiolabo team and created by Andrea Gallo with Pollodesign Factory, a Milan-based design company. They are a stylisation of the traditional pin that characterises the activities of Fuorisalone.it for the last 20 years. A tribute to what has always represented the official map through which to orient oneself among installations, exhibitions, parties and discussion panels during the most important week for the design industry.


Fuorisalone Award 2022 Winner - KOHLER x Arsham Divided Layers. Courtesy of Fuorisalone

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