Milan Design Week (Instagram) has long been a global platform for visionary creatives, and this year, four Lebanese designers from different corners of the world bring their unique perspectives to the heart of Italian design. Each artist explores themes of materiality, memory, and cultural identity, shaping a narrative that bridges past and present. From the fragility of steel to the sensuality of decadence, from reimagined Middle Eastern landscapes to poetic dialogues between literature and stone, these designers redefine contemporary design.
Each of the four designers brings a unique perspective to Milan Design Week, showcasing how memory, materiality, and cultural identity intersect in contemporary design. As they take centre stage in one of the world’s most influential design events, they invite audiences to explore the depth of their creativity, one piece at a time.
Badih Ghanem: Exploring the Fragility of Steel
Badih Ghanem (Instagram), a Lebanese-French architect, presents a collection of five elements, Remember Love, that delve into the duality of polished stainless steel. His work highlights the contrast between its sleek, reflective surface and its inherent vulnerability. By utilizing the material’s industrial strength to express themes of impermanence, Ghanem creates pieces that provoke contemplation.
Among the collection presented at Milan Design Week, the reimagined plastic chair—an iconic staple of Lebanese life—stands out. With a reflective surface, it transcends its everyday function, engaging viewers in a dialogue about presence and memory. The Lux Lamp, inspired by the gas-lit lamps of Beirut, evokes resilience in times of uncertainty, while Exposed Brick serves as a tribute to unfinished homes and interrupted dreams.
Another poignant piece, the Silo Vase/Candle Holder, is a scaled replica of the Beirut grain silos, preserving the memory of a city forever marked by the tragedy of the Beirut Port blast. Lastly, Mirror 05 acts as a silent observer, capturing fleeting moments and challenging perception. Ghanem’s collection is a meditation on strength, transience, and the power of reflection.
Ghanem’s work can be seen here and is running until April 11:
Labo Cultural Project 2025
Running until April 11
Via Biella 6, Milan
Richard Yasmine: The Sensuality of Divine Decadence
Richard Yasmine’s (Instagram) Divine Decadence is a provocative fusion of opulence, sensuality, and playful defiance. His art de la table collection, featuring vases, vessels, reversible bowls, and candleholders, explores the interplay of luxury and temptation. Crafted from marble and adorned with stainless steel spikes or delicate handcrafted jasmine flowers, these pieces challenge notions of purity and desire.
At the heart of the collection is a sculpted mother-of-pearl rod, seamlessly concealed within each object—symbolizing temptation and transformation. The fusion of hard and soft materials, from rigid spikes to fragile silk organza flowers, creates a striking tension. With Divine Decadence, Yasmine invites viewers to revel in the unexpected, blurring the boundaries between art, function, and human longing.
Yasmine’s work can be seen here and is running until April 11:
5vie
Via Olona,
Le Cavallerizze, Milan
Jwana Hamdan: Al Bustan, A Secret Garden in Brera
Jwana Hamdan (Instagram), the visionary behind her namesake outdoor design brand, brings Al Bustan to Milan Design Week—a serene retreat in the heart of Brera. Drawing inspiration from the Middle Eastern bustan (garden), this immersive installation merges nature, art, and design to create a poetic escape from urban chaos.
At the core of Al Bustan is The Wandering Majlis, a collection of furniture pieces that reinterpret Arab gathering spaces through refined materials and organic forms. The Majlis sofa embodies a relaxed outdoor lifestyle, while the Maitha lounge chair offers a nod to the region’s fertile landscapes. The Ghaf table, designed by Lorenza Bozzoli, pays homage to the resilient desert tree, symbolizing endurance and grace.
Complementing the collection are the Amar and Shams coffee tables, whose elemental designs evoke the balance of moon and sun. The journey concludes with the Emir daybed, reminiscent of One Thousand and One Nights, enveloping visitors in an atmosphere of tranquillity and cultural richness.
Jwana Hamdan’s brand seamlessly blends Italian design expertise with Middle Eastern heritage, crafting spaces that celebrate conviviality, hospitality, and timeless beauty. In the midst of Milan’s bustling streets, Al Bustan invites visitors to rediscover the elegance of escape.
Hamdan’s work can be seen here and is running until April 13:
Al Bustan
Via Brera 4, Milan
Aline Asmar d’Amman: The Power of Tenderness at RoCollectible 2025
Curated by Rossana Orlandi and Nicoletta Brugnoni, RoCollectible 2025 presents a journey through materiality, memory, and transformation. Among the featured designers presenting at Milan Design Week, Lebanese architect Aline Asmar d’Amman (Instagram) brings her evocative and poetic approach to design with The Power of Tenderness.
Asmar d’Amman’s collectible furniture series, Béton Littéraire and The Memory of Stone, along with her iconic Georgiaconversation lounge and Soft Shell tables, embody a philosophy centred on cultural storytelling and material fusion.
The Béton Littéraire collection is a celebration of literary culture as a symbol of strength, where books and concrete intertwine, their veins delicately merging into a poetic material masterfully sculpted in the Morseletto workshops in Vicenza. Meanwhile, the Georgia conversation lounge pays homage to the sensual curves of Georgia O’Keeffe’s abstract works with custom-made swivel seats crafted in France’s finest upholstery ateliers. The Soft Shell side and coffee tables combine primitive materiality with intricate detailing, emphasizing the balance between raw and refined.
Born in Lebanon, Aline Asmar d’Amman is the founder of Culture in Architecture, a Paris- and Beirut-based studio renowned for its narrative-driven approach. Her work bridges heritage and modernity, rawness and preciousness, poetry and materiality. She has led prestigious design projects, from the reimagining of Hôtel de Crillon in Paris to the renovation of the Eiffel Tower’s Le Jules Verne restaurant. Her collaboration with design legend Karl Lagerfeld and her role in transforming Venice’s Palazzo Dona Giovannelli into the future Orient-Express Hotel further cement her as a creative force in contemporary design.
Through her vision, Aline Asmar d’Amman fosters cultural dialogues, redefining the relationship between design and storytelling.
Asmar d’Amman’s work can be seen here and is running until July 31:
Galleria Rossana Orlandi
Via M. Bandello, 16 – Milan
For more stories of regional and international art and culture, like this overview of the Lebanese designers at Milan Design Week, visit our dedicated archives.
