In an era shaped by globalization and digital acceleration, the evolution of home aesthetics is unfolding at an unprecedented pace, where diverse styles are constantly being reconfigured and renewed. Today, leading luxury brands, design professionals, and high-end consumers gather annually at the Salone del Mobile.Milano to observe emerging trends and anticipate future directions. This reflects a broader condition in contemporary design discourse: the real challenge is no longer the lack of options, but the act of making choices.
This year, seeking a clearer reading of the industry’s wider context, Marmo Taiwan and Twin Oaks Casa invited leading designers and influential voices from Taiwan’s northern, central, and southern design communities to join the journey. As the brands’ exclusive distributors, they arranged in-depth dialogues with the original manufacturers and brand principals. Moving beyond the finished image of the showroom, the journey took an alternative route into the living scene of Italian aesthetics and design—tracing the cultural foundations of design back to everyday life.
ABK: Craft and the Value of Time in Modena
As the exclusive manufacturing partner for Versace Ceramics, ABK Group has established its headquarters and production base in Modena. It is home to the roaring engines of Ferrari and Maserati, while also preserving the slow maturation of traditional balsamic vinegar in ancient estates and towers. Here, ABK’s disciplined approach to craftsmanship renders time almost tangible—slower, deeper, more deliberate. Each tile is the result of high-temperature refinement and precise digital engineering, transforming raw materials from the earth into contemporary surfaces of extraordinary detail and depth. When measured against geological time, natural resources are increasingly finite. In response, ABK continues to advance material innovation, reducing dependence on natural stone and seeking equilibrium between the natural and the artificial, between tradition and technology, between craft and sustainability.
When measured against geological time, natural resources are increasingly finite. In response, ABK continues to advance material innovation, reducing dependence on natural stone and seeking equilibrium between the natural and the artificial, between tradition and technology, between craft and sustainability. Building on its strong foundation in craftsmanship, ABK has also expanded its creative vision through collaborations with the Dutch lifestyle brand Moooi and renowned Italian designer Paola Navone. These partnerships reveal the potential of ceramic surfaces beyond their decorative function, transforming texture, tactility, and color into vehicles for cultural expression, craftsmanship, and design thinking, allowing space itself to become a living narrative—one rich in atmosphere, meaning, and human experience.
VERSACE HOME: Fashion Translated into Everyday Living
Next, the journey arrives in Milan—the global capital of design—where every storefront, façade, and even the rhythm of passersby becomes part of a broader aesthetic landscape. At Versace Home, this sense of cultural layering continues within the exhibition space, where historical richness and ornamental opulence are seamlessly integrated into the brand’s identity. Iconic motifs such as the Medusa, baroque patterns, and Greek key designs are reinterpreted into lighting, furniture, and interior details, becoming part of contemporary living environments. Within this space, fashion elements once seen on the runway are transformed into sculptural armchairs and modular sofas enriched with golden accents that evoke a subtle sense of mythological grandeur, forming a versatile collection designed to adapt to contemporary living environments.
Within this space, fashion elements once seen on the runway are transformed into sculptural armchairs and modular sofas enriched with golden accents, balancing expressive form with functional adaptability. Warm, earthy tones replace the brand’s earlier intensity, while materials such as metal, marble, leather, and textiles are layered together to create a more mature and restrained sense of luxury. Here, luxury is no longer distant or fleeting; instead, it becomes an enduring presence within everyday life.
Armani/Casa: A Dialogue Between Rationality and Emotion
The final stop is the world’s largest Armani/Casa flagship store, located on Corso Venezia. Sixteen ground-level display windows face outward, and the façade features a total of 48 tall windows with platinum-colored metal mesh that softens natural light, casting a faint golden tone throughout the interior. The entire building reflects the sharp elegance of a bespoke suit. Inside, three themed spaces are adorned with hand-painted murals by artists, evoking intimate domestic scenes and expressing Giorgio Armani’s vision of presenting his ideal lifestyle through the complete Armani/Casa collection.
In the Armani/Silos, a museum converted from a 1950s grain warehouse, the rational concrete structure serves as a calm backdrop for the exhibition Giorgio Armani Privé 2005–2025: Twenty Years of Haute Couture. Seen up close, each garment reveals intricate embroidery and luminous hand-stitched details, allowing one to understand that true value emerges gradually through time, discipline, and devotion to craft.
The journey concluded with a visit to Armani’s headquarters, a place rarely opened to the public. In this more intimate setting, the group experienced a sincere and meaningful dialogue with the brand. Rather than showcasing the polished achievements presented to the public, the headquarters felt closer to the origin of the brand’s aspirations, revealing a quieter and more unassuming side of its identity. Within an atmosphere that felt more like being welcomed into a private home than visiting a corporate headquarters, the pace of the previous days gradually softened. Over tea and conversation, one came to realize that beauty often reveals itself quietly—not through grand gestures, but through simple and enduring forms that become deeply woven into everyday life.
A Journey Without End
The nine-day itinerary concludes with a deep respect for the visionary spirit of these design masters and a renewed appreciation for Italy’s cultural foundation. The achievements of these iconic brands were never built overnight, but through long-term refinement and accumulation over time. From the ceramic craftsmanship of Modena to the fashion and interior design of Milan, each act of creation reflects a long-standing commitment to quality, aesthetics, and lifestyle. As creators, these brands continuously respond to the possible forms of ideal living. Ultimately, whether ABK, Versace Home, or Armani/Casa, they all arrive at the same conclusion: the essence of creation is not found in shop windows or under spotlights, but in the lived moments of everyday life—where design quietly becomes reality.
