How the Pros Do Milan Design Week
Architectural Digest Italia's guest editor Asad Syrkett shares his highlights.
When I decided to travel to Milan for Salone del Mobile, the city’s annual design fair, again this year, there was one person I wanted to talk to: Asad Syrkett.
Asad is the former editor-in-chief of Elle Decor. After he left the magazine in September, Amy Astley, the editor-in-chief and global editorial director of Architectural Digest, asked him if he’d be interested in guest editing the Italian edition of the magazine for three months, and obviously, the answer was Si.
So, Asad has been living in my favorite city since mid-January… Working with the best Italian design editors in the biz… Learning the language… The dream!!! When I ran into him at T magazine’s annual party at Villa Necchi, he was glowing in a green leather Marni jacket.
For this year's Milan Design Week issue, the goal was to “keep the elevated sensibility of AD Italia and also bring some new energy into the pages,” he said. Working closely with Alessandra Pellegrino, the brand's digital director and interim head of editorial content, he launched the brand’s first-ever digital cover, for which he gathered 20 of the biggest names on Milan's design scene for a photo shoot in front of the Duomo. No small feat! He also commissioned pet portraits in stellar rooms for the issue, adding even more life and levity. “It was a blast.”
Below, I asked Asad to share his highlights from the week before he traveled to Le Sirenuse in Positano for some rest and relaxation. Plus, where he likes to eat, drink, and shop in Milan.
***My dispatch is below as well!
Emilia: You’ve been taking Italian lessons twice a week. What’s your favorite Italian word so far?
Asad: My current favorite Italian word is ‘ricatto,’ which means ‘blackmail.’ It’s satisfying to say and useful to know.
What’s your favorite spot for a coffee? Lunch and/or dinner? Drinks?
For coffee and a cornetto, I like Orsonero on Via Giuseppe Broggi, which is near my apartment. They’ve nailed the beautiful-pastry-that-also-tastes-great thing.
For lunch, Trattoria Torre di Pisa, a Milan mainstay with a classic, Tuscan menu.
For drinks, Lubar, across from the Montanelli Gardens, is nice. And Gesto, too, if you’re craving something more chill; it has good interiors and music.
Favorite store and/or piece you’ve purchased since you moved?
The best place to shop for home accessories and find hidden gems in Milan is the Navigli flea market on Sundays. But I did something unheard of for this Leo: I haven’t bought anything since I arrived in January!
What were some of the best things you saw at Salone?
I loved Fosbury Architecture’s fuzzy, pink, metal-themed exhibition, “Silver Lining,” to celebrate 10 years of Nilufar Depot. It was staged at Nilufar Gallery founder Nina Yashar’s outpost just outside the city center in Lancetti.
I also dug Gucci’s “Bamboo Encounters” exhibition, which had more heft than one might anticipate. It took play and exploration seriously without being self-serious. Who knew design studios riffing on bamboo as a material with varying levels of literalness could be so fun? The kites in the show (many of which had bamboo structures) were a wonder, as were London-based Palestinian artist Dima Srouji’s woven baskets decorated with hand-blown glass. And it was all staged in the cloister of a 4th-century Roman Catholic basilica. Peak Milan Design Week.
Best party? Or other social encounter?
The best bit of design week is running into people you haven’t seen in a few months (or since last year’s design week). I ended up having a quick aperitivo with three women I admire so much: Camille Okhio—an editor, historian, and former colleague; Alexandra Cunningham Cameron, a design curator; and Charlene Prempeh, a design and culture writer. It was a real Milan Design Week treat—and came together at the last second.
Emilia’s (New) Milan Highlights
Within an hour of being in the city, I spilled chocolate gelato on my white Prada dress. Two older women saw it happen, and one said, “Ah, fa niente,” which means, Oh, it’s nothing. This made me feel better. I got the stain out with hot water and Tide-to-Go, which I always pack with me.
I bought some vintage sunglasses at Foto Veneta Ottica after Erica Cerulo reminded me that I needed to take a trip.
I ogled at all the insanely decorated chocolate easter eggs in the windows at sweet shops and cafés, especially the 600 Euro ones at Marchesi.
I bought a Prada scarf and tried on some square-toe shoes, reminding me that I am, in fact, always profoundly disturbed by square-toed shoes, no matter how cool-looking they are as objects. (They make me feel like a Lego!)
I got coffee with the ever-so-lovely Emily Levine, whose namesake shop I’ve admired from afar. Sadly, it was closed during Salone, but I would have tried on this and this.
I bought green-striped pajamas at Casa Del Bianco, which is a slightly more modern-seeming version of Schostal in Rome.
I got a stunning Alberta Ferretti fur coat and a green polka-dot Romeo Gigli skirt at Shop the Story, my new favorite vintage store. Alessia, the owner, not only has incredible “Milanese ladies” as her sources (with lots of Prada and Miu Miu in their closets) but also an encyclopedic memory, as most of the pieces have printouts of runway images attached to them.
I got lunch at my favorite spot, Pasta Fresca Brambilla, plus Antica Trattoria della Pesa, which is just as beautiful during daylight hours.
And last but certainly not least, I finally visited the Sunnei store and met the brand’s founders, Loris Messina and Simone Rizzo. Their energy is so fresh, fun, and creative compared to most traditional Italian luxury brands. For the brand’s Fall 2023 show, for example, models crowdsurfed. For Spring 2024, the audience was invited to judge the looks, like the Westminster Dog Show. Sunnei’s fluid store space/café/and office outside the city center reflect this friendly, unpretentious attitude, and this purple top instantly lifted my mood.
Allora! Design Week is cool, but let’s be real: I was in Milan to shop and eat. Mission accomplished.
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I love vicariously living through your Italy trips! I read the “coffee with Emily whose store was closed” too fast and imagined you eating in front of the closed store, Breakfast-at-Tiffany’s style.