Fashion houses

Saint Laurent’s famously architectural silhouettes – with their almost brutalist, wide shoulders on the jackets – resonated with Judd’s geometric forms.

The collaboration introduced two bespoke finishes – steel and traffic-white-painted aluminium – to Judd’s iconic 1984 metal furniture designs, customised exclusively in Saint Laurent’s signature monochrome palette. These special-edition pieces, along with the full collection of 15 designs, are only available for purchase exclusively at the Saint Laurent boutique. This carefully orchestrated presentation reflects luxury fashion houses’ increasing importance when it comes to curating environments that mirror the meticulous design philosophies evident in their apparel collections.

There are the obvious structural elements: Saint Laurent’s famously architectural silhouettes – with their almost brutalist, wide shoulders on the jackets – resonated with Judd’s geometric forms. This gives visitors a tangible experience of the alignment between fashion and furniture, not to mention the experimentation with fabrications and materials.

This foray into furniture by Saint Laurent continued at the most recent Salone del Mobile in Milan, where the house presented a collaboration with acclaimed architect Charlotte Perriand, reviving a selection of her most coveted furniture designs. Aptly titled Saint Laurent – Charlotte Perriand, the presentation featured four significant designs spanning from 1943 to 1967, each meticulously reproduced for custom orders. They included an elusive Rio de Janeiro bookcase, famously designed by Perriand for her husband Jacques Martin, which has appeared publicly just three times in a quarter century, and the Indochina guest armchair from 1943, re-created from archival illustrations after the original was lost.

Ultimately, these kinds of projects are a way for brands to confirm their inherent aesthetic authority across design as a broader philosophy. It’s an exercise in world building, both literally and figuratively. Their brand isn’t confined to the wearable but also the decorative, and opens up the market to a wider audience while giving their current one yet another layer to invest in, arguably creating their own miniature store at home.

It’s why fashion brands have, for the past decade, stepped up their presence at design fairs such as Salone del Mobile. By participating, brands strengthen their narratives, creating immersive experiences that stimulate broader conversations about luxury living, design innovation and sustainability. These engagements are crucial, not only in appealing to existing high-end clientele but also in establishing long-term cultural credibility and relevance within the creative community.

This expansion truly has been decades in the making. Italian house Missoni arguably led the charge back in 1983 with its Missoni Home brand. In the US, Ralph Lauren Home was established the same year, emerging from founder Lauren’s frustration with the lack of well-crafted and versatile furniture. His collections, known for their Americana aesthetic, shift seamlessly between urban sophistication and rustic charm.

This was soon followed by Versace and Fendi Casa. Eventually, they were joined by the likes of Dolce & Gabbana and Armani, and even Raf Simons had a crack, lending his signature sensibility to Danish textile manufacturer Kvadrat. At this point, fashion’s crossover into interiors had moved beyond a side project – it had become an extension of brand identity and potential.

Yet the interplay between fashion and furniture has a longer history than the economic boom of the ’80s. Hermès exemplifies how luxury houses have historically extended their sartorial creativity into interior spaces, having established its foray into home furnishings early in the 20th century. This evolution was significantly shaped by its partnership with renowned interior decorator Jean-Michel Frank in 1924, which saw Hermès harness the expertise of its master leatherworkers and saddlers, applying their skills to create leather-clad furniture and transforming ordinary spaces into sophisticated, tactile experiences. The pieces themselves carried Frank’s minimalist signature but were elevated – with the use of Hermès leather – into something that was both decadent yet simple and continues through to the brand’s design output. Today, try spotting an influencer’s at-home styling without one of Hermès’ immediately recognisable throws casually displayed somewhere.

Louis Vuitton, another historical powerhouse, naturally transitioned from creating luggage to producing refined furniture pieces as early as the 1880s, epitomised by its innovative Bed Trunk, patented in 1885. The Vuitton’s Objets Nomades series, launched in 2012, further reinforced the brand’s commitment to design excellence and innovation.

In its 2025 collection shown at Salone del Mobile, Louis Vuitton added a new chapter to its books called The Signature collection. It included modular sofas, chairs, sideboards and tables crafted from leather, wood, onyx and marquetry.

Fendi, a regular at Design Miami, treats furniture as an extension of its aesthetic, exemplified by Lukas Gschwandtner’s 2022 Triclinium installation.

Bottega Veneta’s foray into furniture began in 2006 when then-creative director Tomas Maier designed a sleek leather bench after failing to find something he liked for his own space. The collection evolved into a full-fledged home line and, in 2015, the brand established a dedicated furniture atelier in Veneto. Over the years, the Kering-owned brand has regularly presented at Salone, featuring its famed plush, silk-fringed Rudi sofas and chairs or bronze chandeliers cast in an intreccio pattern that echoed the house’s signature woven leatherwork.

In 2024, Bottega Veneta worked with Cassina and Fondation Le Corbusier to reinterpret the iconic LC14 Tabouret Cabanon. Employing signature leather-weaving techniques and innovative charred wood finishes, its On the Rocks installation demonstrated an acute respect for heritage paired with contemporary experimentation. Such collaborations underline fashion brands’ reciprocal influence on furniture design, enriching the industry through craft-focused innovation and creative narrative-building.

Such collaborations underline fashion brands’ reciprocal influence on furniture design, enriching the industry through craft-focused innovation and creative narrative-building.

Another consistent presence during Salone has been the Spanish house Loewe. Much like its fashion pieces, the brand’s involvement is often more about participating in a broader discourse on design, regardless of whether the items displayed directly enter the commercial market. The brand’s 2024 exhibition featured lamps created by 24 international artists, each investigating the interaction between light and materiality. Rather than focusing purely on sales, Loewe’s initiative serves as a platform to showcase creativity, innovation and craftsmanship, embodying its ongoing commitment to artisanal excellence.

Prada also emphasises the importance of design discourse over functional deployment through its Prada Frames symposium, an event aligned with Salone del Mobile. Curated by design studio Formafantasma, this multidisciplinary event explores complex relationships between design, materials, ecosystems and the environment, pushing the boundaries of traditional brand experiences. Prada Frames gathers leading thinkers across architecture, anthropology and environmental science to discuss material innovation, sustainability and waste management issues.

Prada also emphasises the importance of design discourse over functional deployment through its Prada Frames symposium, an event aligned with Salone del Mobile.

This convergence of fashion and interior design ultimately reshapes how luxury is perceived and experienced.