Sunday 7th April saw the inauguration of the installation created by the British artist and designer, in collaboration with the Pinacoteca di Brera and the Grande Brera, with the contribution of Feltrinelli and the support of A2A Energia. Beverages by Select
“The Second Skin” by Aesop at Salone del Mobile.Milano 2025
“The Second Skin”, Aesop, Salone del Mobile.Milano 2025
A conversation with Marianne Lardilleux, Global Retail Design Director at Aesop, on the occasion of the new project presented for the Fair in April
After “Form follows formulation”, a sensorial journey that encompassed a series of unique experiences, this year Aesop returns to Salone del Mobile.Milano with a new special project. The Australian brand, founded in Melbourne in 1987, presents “The Second Skin”: an installation that will come to life in the Chiesa del Carmine, from 8th to 13th April, to explore the protective, perceptive, and regulatory functions of the epidermis, celebrating the fascinating entrances of Milanese buildings at the same time.
Marianne Lardilleux, Global Retail Design Director at Aesop
The “Second Skin” installation created for Salone del Mobile 2025 confirms Aesop's connection with design. What was its creative genesis?
Salone del Mobile.Milano is a unique opportunity for Aesop to create a symbiosis between two of our areas of expertise – architecture and the skin.
Similarly to what we did for last year’s fair, we wanted to use one of our products as the starting point of our design – for formulation to become fabrication. Soon after, we had the idea of creating an architectural metaphor for the skin, taking inspiration both from the skin’s functions and from the alluring entrance halls that are a signature of so many Milanese buildings.
What are the sustainability elements that characterise the project?
At Aesop, we believe that the way we design, create, and operate our spaces can – and should – have an overwhelmingly positive impact on the people who visit them and the places they’re in. Our approach to sustainability is based on the notion of circularity; it is about using materials and processes that enable each piece to be repurposed and reused in other ways, without creating waste.
Just as we re-deployed the installation presented last year at Salone del Mobile.Milano – an unconventional soap sculpture by Nicolas Schuybroek – to our Knightsbridge store in London, our intention is to reuse elements of this year’s installation, such as the wooden table crafted by Sebastian Cox and the basins designed by the store design team, in future store locations.
How will the experience extend to the three Aesop shops located in Milan?
We want the “Second Skin” installation to create a sensorial moment of discovery for all visitors. It is a space for fair-goers to recede from the crowds of the city and re-sensitise with a moment of inspiriting tranquillity. The experience will extend to the Milan stores through the narrative of our new Eleos Nourishing Body Cleanser – a key foundation of “The Second Skin”.
Speaking of the city, how important is the link with the territory and how does this installation pay homage to the entrances of Milanese buildings?
We found these entryways to be the greatest hidden architectural treasures in the city, as they can only be discovered by daring to open the doors of residential buildings. Inspired by this unique Milanese design, we reimagined the entryway – a threshold between outside and inside – as a “Second Skin”.
7 April 2025
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