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In the lead-up to its 2026 edition, Salone del Mobile.Milano unveils a new communication campaign titled “A Matter of Salone,” returning design to its most fundamental origins.
Following last year’s human-centred narrative, the spotlight now shifts to matter itself—understood as origin, memory and latent potential waiting to be activated.
This campaign does not speak about finished forms, but about the moment before form emerges. It focuses on that precise point where an idea still resides within material, gesture and touch. Design is framed not as an end result, but as a process of translation—from raw substance to meaning, from the tangible to value.
Matter as Narrative, Not as Medium
At the conceptual core of “A Matter of Salone” lies the dual meaning of the word matter: material as substance, and matter as that which truly matters. This tension between the physical and the symbolic shapes the entire campaign. Materials are not presented as neutral resources, but as active participants in the design process—carriers of meaning, emotion and intention.
Stone, petal, wood and sponge are carefully chosen elements, each embodying a universal message: origin, sensuality, function and transformation. Through actions such as drilling, cutting, colouring, compressing and shaping, matter reveals its hidden possibilities and becomes a field for new interpretations of design.
A Collective Authorial Structure
The project is conceived by the creative studio Motel409, which brought together a diverse group of photographers and set designers with distinct sensibilities and practices. Rather than imposing a single visual signature, the campaign unfolds as a layered composition of perspectives, where each contribution strengthens a shared conceptual vision.
This approach allows design to be perceived from multiple angles: as gesture, as texture, as light, as a process in motion. The visual language moves between abstraction and concreteness, leaving room for interpretation while maintaining a strong emotional resonance.
Gesture as the Moment of Transformation
One of the campaign’s central motifs is the human gesture. Hands that touch, shape, press and transform material become the bridge between idea and object. The narrative follows a visual progression: from intimate close-ups of matter, through its archetypal form, to the moment when human intervention becomes visible—and decisive.
It is at this point that design comes into being—not as style, but as an act. As a dialogue between knowledge, experience and material intelligence.
Design to Be Felt, Not Only Seen
As emphasised by Maria Porro, “A Matter of Salone” invites audiences to experience design as a collective process in which meaning is built through the relationship between hands, materials and vision. Rather than explaining design, the campaign seeks to transmit it—visually, sensorially and emotionally.
In this sense, “A Matter of Salone” goes beyond the boundaries of conventional promotional communication. It operates as a contemporary meditation on design—on origin, transformation and on what ultimately remains when form falls silent.
