This week, we unpack the marathon essay that was this week’s Sunday letter about Salone (Milan Design Week).

We hit 15+ experiences across four days: Marimekko, Dior, Gucci, Veuve Clicquot, Hermès, IKEA, H&M x Kelly Wearstler, USM, La Double J, Marni, and more.

What worked, what missed, and the formula we’d hand every brand team heading there next year.

Enjoy!

Hit the links to skip to the bits you fancy

00:01 — MILAN DESIGN WEEK // What Salone is, why Fuori is where the brand action really happens, and why this is bigger than Cannes.

05:03 — CLAUDE SAVES THE DAY // 1,000 photos, a personal crisis, and solving it with Claude Code.

09:18 — SPECTACLE FOR SPECTACLE’S SAKE // Corso Como and Gentle Monster. Beautiful for the drone, a little underwhelming in person.

14:44 — MARIMEKKO // A 45-minute walk to a hidden garden. Very worth it.

22:43 — IKEA // Meatball chupa chups, design collabs, and why the Milan public might completely change your strategy.

30:20 — THE PHOTO PROBLEM // Mosca’s pink labyrinth and guaranteeing “the shot.”

32:37 — H&M x KELLY WEARSTLER + USM x SNØHETTA // Turning furniture into the art.

38:19 — DIOR + GUCCI // One was a memory. One had unexplained soda cans.

44:10 — VEUVE x YINKA ILORI // Chasing the Sun: five minutes, one room, both of us near tears.

48:53 — HERMÈS, SKODA, NIKE // Understated and refined, formulaic but cool, artistic but not an ‘experience’.

54:14 — LA DOUBLE J + MARNI + THE BEST PARTY // A transformative gong, a two-month café takeover, and Honey Dijon confirming that partying is, in fact, not dead.

01:02:14 — THE FORMULA // Photo ops, brand ambassadors, spectacle that makes a memory, setting the course for the future and PS. Please put yourself on Google Maps.

The full write up

ABOUT

Chris and Kirsten are the founders of IN GOOD CO, a consultancy that ignites challenger brands with fearless and proactive positioning.

Chris writes a weekly newsletter for +17K subscribers that shares the best-of-the-best on culture, trends, marketing, etc. What she's dropping to friends on Slack or finding useful in meetings with brands | Follow her on Substack

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