This April, during Milan Design Week 2026, The Collector’s Room invites visitors to step off the bustling streets of the neighbourhood and into a space that feels more like a private home than a traditional exhibition.
Produced by WHO Design Studio and co-curated with Teo Sandigliano, the experience unfolds within a fictional domestic interior. Here, design objects are no longer just functional items – they become artifacts of a life lived, quietly telling stories of memory, travel, and personal taste.
Design as a Story
What do the objects around us say about who we are?
The Collector’s Room explores this question by presenting design as a form of personal narrative. The space is envisioned as a collection shaped by experience – where a chair isn’t just for sitting, and a table isn’t just for dining. Instead, each piece contributes to a larger story. The exhibition brings together industrial design and collectible craftsmanship, pairing technological experimentation with handcrafted detail. It’s an environment where materials feel both contemporary and organic, inviting visitors to slow down and consider design not as a product to be bought, but as a companion in everyday life.
Inspired by Nature
Nature is the silent thread connecting the exhibition, not as a mere excuse to talk about sustainability but as an integral part of the Collector’s passions and experiences.
Nature is present not only in forms and geometries, but also in materials, processes, and sensibilities.
The curated selection brings together emerging and established designers from around the world, whose works suggest a deep connection between human life and the natural environment. Visitors are invited to slow down, observe details, and reflect on a simple yet profound question: what do the objects we choose to collect reveal about us?
Why this exhibition
In a context often dominated by spectacle, The Collector’s Room proposes a different pace – intimate, reflective, and domestic. Rather than presenting design as display, the exhibition stages it as a lived experience. It celebrates design’s ability to create atmosphere, meaning, and emotional resonance, positioning objects not as products, but as companions in everyday life.
Designers, Studios and Brands
The selection will feature both emerging and established designers and studios from Europe, South America, and Asia.
The final list of participants include:
– Wai Ho Cheung from WHO Design Studio (Hong Kong), www.who-design-studio.com with Medulla Chair
– Davide Balda (Italy), https://www.instagram.com/archeomaterico/ with Building Material and Nuno Felt Products collection
– George Bosnas (Greece), www.georgebosnas.com with Lamda chair, Pegaso table, Koote side table, Quadrant lamp, and lstio wall hanger
– House of Thol, (Netherlands), www.houseofthol.nl with Patella Crescenda
– Matteo Di Ciommo (Italy), www.matteodiciommo.com with Finta Credenza
– Mati Sipiora x BioFluff (Poland – USA), www.matisipiora.com + www.bio-fluff.com with Zeppelin Chair
– MUSA Intimates, (Netherlands), www.musaintimates.com with MUSA clothing
– Studio Burntshell (Turkey, England), www.instagram.com/studioburntshell with Reshaped Collection
– Studio Douze Degrès (France), www.studiodouzedegres.com with Flare 40 and Flare 150
– THEFORMA (Italy), www.instagram.com/_theforma_ with THEOMBRA, THEVASONI, THEPOISONGARDEN, THEAURA collections
Behind the Exhibition
The exhibition is produced by WHO Design Studio, an international design consultancy founded by Wai Ho Cheung in Hong Kong in 2018, known for its glocal approach to brand strategy, spatial and product design.
Co-curation is led by Teo Sandigliano, designer and curator based in Italy, whose practice bridges design, research, and cultural communication, with collaborations spanning institutions, brands, and editorial platforms.
The exhibition setup will be designed by FOS, www.fromouterspace.it.
The Milanese studio has worked on projects such as the exhibition design for Albe. Luci di domani / The Lights of Tomorrow at Salone del Mobile.Milano. Their contribution will help create a domestic space in harmony with the concept, enhancing the design pieces in a coherent and consistent way
For more information and guided tours,
write to teo.sandigliano@gmail.com
