Metal, but colourful: the new living trend at Milan Design Week 2025

Pia Seidel

30.4.2025

Translation: machine translated

Pictures: Pia Seidel

Metal with a difference: at Milan Design Week 2025, the material showed a fresh side - colourful, bold and full of life. Whether soft colour gradients or hypnotic patterns - coloured aluminium surfaces are conquering our interiors.

If you were out and about at Milan Design Week this year, you couldn't miss it: Metal is back - and not in its classic, raw form. In 2025, it is surprisingly versatile. From brightly coloured shelves and shimmering lamps to chairs with hypnotic patterns: Coloured aluminium, steel or zinc were everywhere and brought a whole new vibe to the design scene.

A prime example of this trend is the «Aluplié» collection by design duo BehaghelFoiny. They combine folded aluminium sheet with digital printing techniques to create furniture that immediately catches the eye with its bold tones and clean lines.

Another highlight: the new edition of the «Philae» bookshelf by Swiss designer Raphael Kadid. It plays with colour gradients from deep blue to bright orange - like a topographical map, but made of metal.

The «Pressure Vase» from Tim Teven Studio also made an impression. With its shiny zinc coating, it makes a strong statement. And then there was the collection from Japanese studio Theo By Fate, in which rainbow-coloured sweat marks deliberately contrast with the basic stainless steel colour - a real eye-catcher.

Technology meets aesthetics

Of course, there is more to the colourful surfaces than just a bit of colour. Many of the pieces on display utilise innovative coating processes that are not only aesthetic but also functional. The lamps from Loop Loop, for example, are created using a special colouring process in which plant-based materials are applied directly to the aluminium surface. The result? Each lamp is unique, with fine, organic patterns created by the natural reaction of the plants on the metal.

Other gems and examples of creative use of aluminium were provided by the exhibition «R100» by Hydro, which took place during Milan Design Week 2025. All of the exhibited objects, podiums and displays were made from 100 per cent recycled aluminium. Particularly exciting: the five designs presented were developed entirely within a 100-kilometre radius, from material procurement to the final object. The exhibition follows on from Hydro's previous showcase «100R», where the company presented Hydro Circal 100R - aluminium made from pure recycled material on an industrial scale.

Dutch designer Sabine Marcelis and German designer Stefan Diez were among the participants. Diez impressed with a sculptural waste bin in blue or orange, made from a single aluminium profile, while Marcelis showed her «Orbit Lights» in purple or orange - a luminaire designed to resemble a celestial body. Its light is distributed across its curved surface.

A statement against monotony

Minimalism and neutral tones still define many interiors. This makes the return to colour all the more powerful - almost like a rebellious statement. As if designers had made a collective decision: «We need more courage to use colour» And that's exactly what they deliver. But why now? Perhaps because we want optimism after the grey pandemic years. Spaces that are fun, more personal and radiate energy. Or because it was simply time. Trends come and go. Restraint is followed by volume.

Whether coloured metal is here to stay or just a hype remains to be seen. But Milan Design Week 2025 has shown that it has the potential to reshape the world of interiors.

Pia Seidel

Senior Editor

Pia.Seidel@digitecgalaxus.ch

Like a cheerleader, I love celebrating good design and bringing you closer to everything furniture- and interior design- related. I regularly curate simple yet sophisticated interior ideas, report on trends and interview creative minds about their work.

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