Have you ever seen anorchestra where everyone plays in perfect harmony? Each musician knows exactly which notes to play and works in sync with the others to deliver a performance that’s unique, original, and impossible to replicate.
Well, that’s what it’s like to produce the Superdesign Show, one of the most anticipated fixtures of Fuorisalone initiatives , held every year at Superstudio in the Tortona district. This year, the Design Week event Design Week will take place from April 16 to 21.
But what goes on behind the scenes of an event like this? What are the stages that take it fromconcept to execution? How long does it take to prepare, and how many people are involved? To answer these questions, we spoke with Laura Vella, our Design Week Project Manager at Superstudio Events, who has been coordinating the production of the Superdesign Show for nearly two and a half years coordina la produzione —a complex and finely tuned operation, even if it occasionally comes with its share of surprises!
Superdesign Show: the birth
The Superdesign Show was born from a dream. Gisella Borioli, CEO of Superstudio Group and Creative Director of the Superdesign Show—journalist and art director who has shaped Milan’s artistic and cultural landscape since the 1980s—dreamed of transforming a part of the city, the area around Via Tortona, reimagining it as a vibrant exhibition district dedicated to art, fashion, design, and photography.
In 2000, she embraced anidea that had been gradually emerging in connection with Milan’s Salone del Mobile: why not create a series of events showcasing the latest design trends outside the official fair? That’s how Design Connectionwas born—an exhibition project offering a more emotional and expressive presentation of brands already participating in the main trade show.
Over time, the project evolved. The next milestone came in 2009 with the launch of the Temporary Museum for New Design, a kind of “temporary” museum (inspired by the MoMA in New York) that came to life exclusively during Design Week. This marked the beginning of what would later become the Superdesign Show , which officially debuted in 2015 with the new vision of offering a more experientialapproach to design: no longer centered solely on the product, but on empathy and engagement, aiming to provoke thought through immersive installations.
So, are you ready to embark on this incredible journey behind the scenes of one of the events that helped turn Fuorisalone into the cultural phenomenon it is today?
Idea and Concept
As mentioned, the mission of the event is crystal clear: not only the fusion of creativity and emotion materialized in a sensory event, with large-scale immersive installations, but also the scouting and selection of emerging designers and multinational companies that, through design, can truly add value to our lives.
Each year, this vision is translated into a different theme, chosen to capture trend that reflect the current state of design and anticipate its future directionsIn past editions, for example, themes like “Looking Ahead”, focused on trend forecasting, and “Inspiration, Innovation, Imagination”, centered around the future of design and its possible developments, have been explored. These broad themes allow the creatives involved to interpret them freely based on their personal sensibilities.
This year, the theme is dedicated to diversity: Thinking Different. Everything, everywhere, everyone. Why these three words? Because they express the idea of "thinking differently" on three meaningful levels:Everything" suggests that everything can be rethought, through the lens of design, any shape, color, material, or perspective can be modified and reimagined.Everywhere" reflects the desire to connect the local DNA of regions across the globe with the global mindset of design lovers and world citizens.Everyone” touches oninclusivity: a call to rethink design with kindness and care for diversity. Among the projects inspired by this theme is a collection of furniture designed specifically for libraries serving children with autism.
As Gisella Borioli, visionary behind the event, often says, the Superdesign Show is "the project of projects": a unifying umbrella under which many different ideas find their place. The curation behind Superdesign Show is neither simple nor passive. It’s not just about offering a theme and waiting for interpretations, exhibitors receive precise guidelines to ensure their work aligns with our overall vision. If we feel a particular aspect of a project could be enhanced with a slight adjustment, we usually suggest changes. That’s because, theexhibitor to us is not merely a client, but someone who embraces the shared vision and brings it to life through their own creativity and expertise.
For this reason, the Superdesign Show is far from being just a trade fair. As Laura Vella puts it, “It’s more like a symphony where creativity, ideas, trends and , and people from all backgrounds come together in harmony to create a unique and coherent experience”.
The selected designers come from all over the world: this year, the Superdesign Show features 41 exhibition areas, representing 11 countries from 3 continents, with over 40 projects. Want to know more about this year’s exhibitors? here you can find more details!
As you can imagine, the selection process is anything but simple. In fact, for our team, Superdesign Show 2025 has already begunIt may sound surprising, but engaging with exhibitors is a continuous source of big inspiration, we’re already thinking about what new trends we might showcase in the coming year.
Superdesign Show through the words of those who realize it
“Even though the format stays the same, each edition brings a new challenge that raises the bar, pushing us out of our comfort zone—until it becomes a familiar space. It’s the project closest to my heart, offering me a window into the world of design and a formidable network of connections”
But what exactly goes into organizing an event that brings together large-scale installations, projects, and creatives from all over the world?
Overall, the team during the concept and planning stages of the event 15, but during the event week, that number grows to 50–60 professionals, including builders, technicians, hosts and hostesses, cleaners, and many others. The team expands and contracts depending on the time of year, and involves a variety of skill sets and expertise:
- The Artistic Board, which lays the foundation of the event’s vision year after year, through key creative choices.
- The Production Team, which not only supports the exhibitors but also oversees all aspects of the event’s logistics and coordination—ensuring that every “voice in the chorus” is in tune.
- The Communication Team, which tells the behind-the-scenes story, shares the numbers, the people, and the backstage realities.
- The Marketing Team, which promotes the event and helps reach a broad audience of interested visitors. Together with communications professionals, they help solidify Superdesign Show’s role as one of Italy’s leading design events.
- The Digital Team, which every year explores and proposes innovative digital solutions and experimental projects.
As mentioned earlier, the Superdesign Show operates much like an big orchestra each member must play in harmony to create something magical, an experience that moves the audience: this is the idea that guides our work every single day.
The result of this highly coordinated effort is an event that isn’t just a one-week showcase, but becomes a powerful communication platform, a stage, a valuable calling card for designers and companies alike, and an international showcase that delivers impressive participation numbers. In fact, the 2023 edition welcomed over 65.000 visitors and 2.000 journalists, while across the eight editions since the Superdesign Show’s launch (excluding the pandemic-related pause), the event has seen more than 500.000 attendees.
Superdesign Show, where unexpected are part of everyday life
When organizing an event of this scale, no matter how much care all the people involved put into every detail, it’s impossible to expect everything to go smoothly all the time! “Managing the unexpected is one of the keys to our success" Laura tells us. Incidents are often minor: sometimes, for example, during the setup phase, we discover that a panel has been printed incorrectly and we have to quickly fix it to get it reprinted in time for the opening.
One year, in particular, while defining the layout , we had decided that a certain area would remain open, with no setup. But when everything was ready and we were about to let the exhibitors into the space, the whole team realized that a wall was actually needed in that spot and Within four hours , we changed the entire layout. It was a demanding task , but in the end we were all convinced it was the right choice: adding that wall and creating an entrance enhanced what was behind it."“The Superdesign Show is a very challenging project, and the only way to make the orchestra play in tune is the passion that everyone who works on it puts in. Of course, we would still get the job done without it—but it wouldn’t be the same: the project wouldn’t have that special light for us.””
If you too want to experience the magic of this unique event take part in the Superdesign Show!
