Milano Design Hub&Spoke is the sixth chapter in INTERNI’s Gold Series, which celebrates the leading figures of Italian design and the companies that have played a decisive role in establishing Italian Design as a global benchmark for quality, vision and manufacturing excellence. In this new edition, the focus shifts to the territory, specifically to Milan, a city that has become a system in itself, an international hub for design, communication and, more broadly, project culture.
Over recent decades, the Lombard capital has taken on the role of a platform where skills, languages and disciplines converge, and where design finds its most fertile ground. This centrality is manifested through an increasingly articulated network of dedicated places: not simple commercial spaces, but environments that become points of encounter, discussion and exchange. Flagship stores, showrooms and retail spaces are transformed into cultural venues, recognised by international audiences as key nodes within the design supply chain. Here, products are not merely displayed but also interpreted, narrated and placed within immersive experiences that enhance visitors’ awareness and understanding.
The volume was conceived with the aim of interpreting Milan precisely as the beating heart of this complex ecosystem. The city is portrayed through a map of physical locations that embody contemporary design in all its expressions: ever-larger exhibition spaces, rich in content and distinguished by constantly evolving aesthetic and museographic quality. From this perspective, Milano Design Hub&Spoke becomes a valuable tool for navigating the excellences of Made in Italy and discovering where to encounter them, understand them and purchase them.
“If Milan represents the Hub – the nucleus that concentrates and amplifies the narrative of Italian design – the Spokes are the many productive realities that sustain this system,” explains Gilda Bojardi, Editor-in-Chief of INTERNI. “It is in the dialogue between city and territory that the strength of Italian design develops: a widespread heritage made up of companies, districts and supply chains that preserve centuries-old manufacturing traditions while at the same time embracing technological innovation and sustainability. It is a mosaic of complementary skills that reflects the value of Made in Italy and fuels a continuous flow between creativity, technique, research and production.”
The narrative of the volume is accompanied by a rich photographic gallery that juxtaposes the architectural icons of historic Milan with the buildings that, in recent years, have transformed its skyline. The images portray a city in evolution, where symbolic places of tradition coexist with new districts shaped by urban regeneration projects that have positioned Milan among the world’s most dynamic international metropolises.
The introduction includes the interventions of the main institutions of the Project System — Salone del Mobile.Milano, Triennale Milano, ADI and Politecnico di Milano-School of Design — which offer an authoritative point of view on the evolution of the sector. Particular attention is given to the theme of distribution, analysing how the physical space in which products meet consumers is changing in response to new needs, new contexts of use and transformations in global markets. The challenges faced by the sector clearly emerge: the need to rethink relationships with audiences, to enhance experience, to incorporate digital tools, while at the same time maintaining a strong connection with the material identity of the product.
Each company featured in the volume tells its own story, vision and the spaces that best represent it within the Milan ecosystem: flagship stores, urban showrooms, headquarters, museums and exhibition spaces. These are environments where relationships are built, ideas are developed and future projects are imagined. What emerges is a panorama of companies that safeguard Italy’s great artisanal heritage, capable of integrating it with advanced industrial processes and the most innovative digital tools, without sacrificing a strong commitment to sustainability.
The publication aspires to be a Who’s Who of Made in Italy: an authoritative and comprehensive guide for Italian and international professionals interested in discovering leading manufacturing companies, their expertise and the places where they can be encountered. The book also includes data and in-depth insights illustrating production capacity and evolution, offering an up-to-date and accessible tool for understanding the complexity of the sector.
The volume is distributed not only in Milan – through bookshops, newsstands and major design hubs – but also in the capitals most actively engaged in the international design debate: Paris, New York, Copenhagen, London, Dubai, Riyadh, Shanghai and Miami. These are cities where creativity, production, distribution and communication interact to bring design to a global audience, making it increasingly accessible, recognisable and shared.
The Paris event
In collaboration with ITA (Italian Trade Agency Paris) and the Italian Cultural Institute of Paris, INTERNI will present the January–February issue Sport&Design and the book Milano Design Hub&Spoke on Wednesday 14 January at 5.30 pm in the French capital, at 50 rue de Varenne.
Following the welcome addresses by Antonio Calbi, Director of the Italian Cultural Institute of Paris, and Luigi Ferrelli, Director of the Paris Office of the Italian Trade Agency, an exclusive talk will bring together leading voices to discuss the affinities between Sport&Design, practices, behaviours and disciplines. Speakers will include Giovanni Del Vecchio, CEO of the Giorgetti Group; Giulia Molteni, Marketing Director of the Molteni Group; Mathieu Lehanneur, designer and founder of Mathieu Lehanneur; Dominique Perrault, founder of DPA Architecture; and Carlo Ratti, Director of the MIT Senseable City Lab and co-founder of CRA–Carlo Ratti Associati. The discussion will be introduced and moderated by Gilda Bojardi, Editor-in-Chief of INTERNI.
Recent Olympic Games have further strengthened the connection between sport and design, involving leading designers in the creation of stadiums, athlete facilities and even Olympic torches – from the Paris 2024 torch designed by Mathieu Lehanneur to the Milano Cortina 2026 torch by Carlo Ratti. Dominique Perrault will outline the key principles of sports architecture, while Giovanni Del Vecchio and Giulia Molteni will explore competitiveness and discipline as shared values between sport and business in the design world.
The evening will conclude with a reception, offering participants the opportunity to continue discussions and delve deeper into the themes addressed.
Special thanks go to Agence 14 Septembre, Villa Marquis – Meliá Collection, Masciarelli Tenute Agricole and Eataly.
