As a first-year Master's student, the Milan Design Week 2026 was my first time showing work at an international exhibition. Our exhibition Under Pressure brought together projects exploring resilience and how ideas are shaped and refined under uncertainty. I came to Milan without too many expectations, mostly wanting to stay open and see how everything would turn out.
It was really nice to see how well everything came together in the end. Even though our space was located in a basement, visitors kept finding their way to us throughout the whole week. Being on one of the main streets meant there was always a steady flow of people coming through, which was something I hadn't expected.
Being involved from the very beginning gave me a great overview of what it takes to build up an exhibition. The installation took longer than I expected and reminded us how important communication and coordination between the different working groups really is. That is something that becomes very real when you are working under time pressure in a new city.
The conversations with visitors turned out to be one of my highlights. My project focused on scoliosis braces, and one moment that stayed with me was meeting a design student who has scoliosis herself and processes that experience through her art. She gave me very personal and warm feedback, and it was a beautiful example of how design has an influence on all of us.
That was a great part of the experience, but equally inspiring was the time we spent exploring other exhibitions together, picking up new impressions and ideas along the way.
Overall, Milan taught us a lot about our work, about collaboration, and about each other. It brought us together as a group and was a really great time. I am very grateful that this experience is part of the Master's program.
