In April 2026, Milan Design Week once again turned Milan into a huge design stage. Fuorisalone ran from April 20 to 26, while the Salone del Mobile fair ran from April 21 to 26. The official reports say there were more than 1,100 events on the Fuorisalone guide, more than 1,300 events across the city, and over 500,000 visitors. That big audience helped one material stand out clearly this year: glass. (salonemilano.it)
Design editors noticed that glass was not used in an old-fashioned way. Instead of only smooth, perfect transparency, many designers showed textured, colored, irregular, and handmade-looking pieces. Architectural Digest said glass became one of the most exciting “languages” of contemporary design, while Wallpaper* wrote that many memorable objects in Milan were made of glass and often celebrated distortion, imperfection, and visible process. Livingetc also pointed to powdered-glass finishes as a small but important trend. Together, these shows suggest that glass interiors are moving from delicate decoration to a stronger design statement. (architecturaldigest.com)
Several exhibitions helped create this feeling. At Piscina Romano, 6:AM presented “Over and Over and Over and Over,” an immersive show that explored repetition in glassmaking and connected Murano tradition with contemporary design. Delvis (Un)Limited presented “The Romance of Fragility,” a group exhibition about the meaning and beauty of fragility through glass. Gallotti&Radice, celebrating its 70th anniversary, also returned to glass with “Tales in Glass,” showing how deeply the material is linked to Italian furniture history. (fuorisalone.it)
Another reason glass feels fresh in 2026 is sustainability. Fuorisalone highlighted rehub, a Murano startup that transforms glass waste into revéro, a mono-material without resins or plastics. The company says it is moving from small objects toward surfaces, walls, and tabletops for interiors. So the glass boom is not only about beauty. It is also about new technology, recycling, and a new idea of home: light-filled, expressive, and a little more poetic. (fuorisalone.it)










