The
Milan Design Week 2025 takes a special look at the career of
Charlotte Perriand (1903–1999), one of the most daring and innovative figures in 20th-century design. A visionary, Perriand broke down boundaries between form and function, art and industry, East and West. Her career was marked by collaborations with
Le Corbusier and
Pierre Jeanneret, as well as an authorship production that combined modern rationalism with organic, artisanal, and cultural influences. Over nearly seven decades of work, she left a legacy of timeless pieces and a
sensitive approach to living that continues to inspire generations of architects and designers around the world.
Charlotte Perriand. (Reprodução/CASACOR)
In this edition of the world's leading design week, the impact of her work gains
prominence in three distinct and complementary fronts:
Saint Laurent recovers and produces unprecedented pieces from the designer;
Louis Vuitton presents a collection of textiles based on her original graphic designs; and
Cassina celebrates the 60th anniversary of the collection it published with Perriand, Le Corbusier and Jeanneret — featuring new versions of the most coveted pieces and a performative installation from the Formafantasma studio. A
multifaceted tribute that revisits the past to think about the future of design. Check out the highlights of each exhibition.
1. Saint Laurent - Charlotte Perriand
At the Padiglione Visconti, Saint Laurent presents an exhibition featuring
four pieces of furniture designed by Charlotte Perriand between 1943 and 1967. Until now, these pieces existed only as prototypes or sketches and have now been produced for the first time at full scale, curated by Anthony Vaccarello.
The exhibition will take place from April 8 to 13. During this period, the pieces will be available for order in
limited editions. At Piazza San Babila, the Saint Laurent Editions kiosk presents a photographic volume dedicated to Perriand's work, as well as a catalog of the collection.
2. Louis Vuitton – Objets Nomades
At Palazzo Serbelloni, Louis Vuitton presents a new edition of the
Objets Nomades collection, featuring furniture and decoration objects signed by names such as
Estúdio Campana,
Patricia Urquiola, India Mahdavi and Charlotte Perriand. This year, the brand celebrates particularly the work of the French designer with an
unprecedented collection of textiles, that revisits graphic patterns developed by her in the 1930s.
(Arquivo Charlotte Perriand/CASACOR)
The cushions and blankets bring back motifs created by Perriand in her first apartment, at Place Saint-Sulpice in Paris, where she experimented with industrial materials like
chrome and
nickel, combined with cozy fabrics and abstract patterns. One of the highlights is the mountain motif that adorned her stool, now reinterpreted in a new scale and color composition. Other patterns were
rescued from old sketchbooks, in a collection that reveals the graphic and pictorial side of her creation.
"All her designs illustrate the
shift in decorative arts towards modernism,” states her daughter, Pernette Perriand-Barsac, who participated in the project and had previously collaborated with Louis Vuitton in 2013 on the reconstruction of the modular house Maison au Bord de l’Eau from 1934, designed by Perriand as a seaside refuge, accessible and elegant. Louis Vuitton reconstructed the work 12 years ago and now presents it again as a
tribute to modernism and the inventiveness of its author.
3. Cassina – Staging Modernity
Cassina celebrates the 60th anniversary of the production of the collection Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, Charlotte Perriand with the installation
Staging Modernity, created by the Formafantasma studio. The exhibition, at the Teatro Lirico Giorgio Gaber, proposes a
sensory and critical immersion into the contradictions between modernist ideals and contemporary urgencies.
In addition to the visual installation, a theatrical performance directed by Fabio Cherstich brings to life
unpublished texts from thinkers Emanuele Coccia, Andrés Jaque, and Feifei Zhou. Fragmenting and reinterpreting the work of the modernist trio, the project invites the audience to
reflect on how 20th-century rationalism can engage with a new ecology — more fluid, natural, and inclusive. The starting point of this celebration is the trajectory of the collection Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, Charlotte Perriand, published by Cassina since 1965 — while all three designers were still alive. The Italian company was
a pioneer in transforming originally artisanal pieces, presented at the Salon d’Automne in 1929, into industrial production furniture without losing fidelity to the original designs. Over the decades, the collection has become a
symbol of the brand's internationalization and an absolute reference in modern design.
To mark the 60th anniversary, Cassina launches a limited edition of the first four models of the collection: the LC1 armchair (Fauteuil dossier basculant), the LC2 and LC3 armchairs (Fauteuil Grand Confort, petit and grand modèle), and the LC4 chaise longue (Chaise longue à réglage continu). These classic pieces receive new versions in
vibrant shades of red, blue, and green, with polished metal structures and finishing in velour
mohair ton-sur-ton or self-supporting leather. Developed with circular materials, the editions are part of the brand's "durable" line, reaffirming Cassina's commitment to more sustainable practices. The development of these new versions involved collaboration with the Fondation Le Corbusier and the heirs of Perriand and Jeanneret, ensuring
conceptual and historical fidelity. Available for order until September 2026, the pieces reaffirm the relevance of the trio's ideas and the central role of color as an expressive element in modernist design.
