For Milan Design Week 2026, Fratelli Rossetti has turned the historic windows of its boutique at Corso Magenta 17 into an unexpected but entirely coherent encounter between footwear and sculpture. On display from April 21 to 26 is Atlantico, a collection of vases and centerpieces designed by Andrea Ghisoni and promoted by Milan based art curator Riccardo Benedini, placed in direct dialogue with a selection of Fratelli Rossetti shoes.
Carved from a Single Block
Every piece in the Atlantico collection begins with a single block of marble and a process of pure subtraction. Material is removed until only the essential form remains, monolithic, unadorned, and monomaterial. The result is a series of objects that carry an inherent uniqueness: because no two blocks of marble are identical, no two pieces in the collection can be exactly replicated, making the natural variation of the stone itself a defining feature rather than an imperfection. Marble varieties used across the collection include Verde Alpi and Nero Marquinia, each bringing its own tonal depth to the finished form.
A Shared Language of Craft
The dialogue between Atlantico and Fratelli Rossetti footwear is not incidental, it is the entire point. What unites a carved marble vase and a handcrafted shoe is not category, but vocabulary: a shared commitment to material honesty, attention to detail, and the kind of slow, considered making that defines both disciplines. Fratelli Rossetti, founded in Milan in 1953 by Renzo Rossetti, has built its reputation on precisely this kind of craft first philosophy, and Atlantico speaks that same language in a different medium.
The Creative Team Behind the Windows
The window installation was developed with set designer Sonia Pravato, who conceived a light, permeable composition, open to gaze and natural light, that allows the marble objects and shoes to breathe within the space rather than compete for attention. Venetian illustrator Gianluca Ferracin then translated the soul of each window into illustration, adding a further narrative layer to the installation and turning each display into a visual story in its own right. The project was curated and made possible by Riccardo Benedini, a Milan based curator and art dealer specialising in collaborations between design, fashion, and lifestyle.
Fuorisalone as Creative Platform
Fratelli Rossetti‘s participation in Fuorisalone 2026 reflects a broader understanding of what Milan Design Week has become for fashion brands, not simply a backdrop, but a genuine creative platform. By hosting Atlantico within its own boutique windows rather than in a separate exhibition space, the brand makes a clear statement: the store itself is the gallery, and the objects on display, shoes and vases alike, are all part of the same conversation about making things well. The installation was on view to the public throughout the Salone del Mobile, with an exclusive invite only event held at the boutique on April 23.
