Salone del Mobile 2026: focus on design between market, companies and living models

The Salone del Mobile kicks off on 21 April at Fiera Milano Rho, and until 26 April it is once again the main international design and furnishing hub. With 1,900 exhibitors spread over more than 169,000 square metres, a foreign presence of almost 37% and a significant turnover of entries, the event confirms its role as a global platform for the sector. It is in this context that the new Design del Sole 24 Ore report dedicated to the Salone takes shape: an account of the companies that animate the sector and a tool for interpreting the transformations underway.

The story starts from the exhibition perimeter and expands to the Fuorisalone initiatives in order to describe the new company strategies and read the current phenomena in a structured way. The ambition is to give back a cross-section of the sector, offering a map to orient oneself among the economic dynamics, business choices of companies and cultural changes that are crossing contemporary design. The Salone becomes the privileged point of observation, but what emerges is a broader vision, looking at the system as a whole.

One of the main axes of the report concerns the evolution of the market. The furnishing sector continues to be one of the pillars of Made in Italy, but is now facing a global scenario characterised by volatility and redefinition of value chains. The special report highlights how, despite the international tensions, exports remain a fundamental lever, sustained by the ability of Italian companies to produce, to preside over the medium-high segments and to differentiate themselves through quality, design and reorganisation of geographical choices.

In this context, the Salone del Mobile confirms itself as an accelerator of visibility and business opportunities. The presence of operators from all over the world not only strengthens the event's international positioning, but also helps consolidate Milan as a strategic hub of design-related economic relations. The report underlines how the fair is not just a place for exhibitions, but a platform for exchange and relationship building, where demand and supply, production and design intertwine.

A second strand of analysis concerns the transformations of living. The home, in recent years, has taken on a new centrality, becoming a multifunctional space where different needs coexist: work, leisure, outdoor spaces, self-care. The report interprets this evolution as one of the main drivers of design innovation. The solutions presented at the Salone reflect this trend, with furnishings that are increasingly flexible, modular and capable of adapting to changing contexts.