International Creativity and Italian Production: from September 7 to 20, 2025, the SaloneSatellite Permanent Collection 1998–2025 arrives at Expo Osaka 2025 as a special guest of the Italy Pavilion. The exhibition, featuring a selection of 47 products born at SaloneSatellite and designed by young talents who are now leading figures in international design, is presented as both a narrative and a vision, a genealogy and a manifesto. Each piece on display is a microcosm of shared values: innovation, production ethics, formal language, accessibility.

SaloneSatellite Permanent Collection 1998–2025 Exhibition – Courtesy of Italy Pavilion, Expo 2025 Osaka

SaloneSatellite: a platform for dialogue and innovation

The exhibition’s opening took place on Sunday, September 7, at the Auditorium of the Italy Pavilion, coinciding with the launch of Italian Week. The ceremony began with official greetings from Mario Vattani, Commissioner General for Italy at Expo 2025 Osaka, and Filippo Manara, Consul General of Italy in Osaka. The ribbon was cut by Marva Griffin, Founder and Curator of SaloneSatellite.

Ribbon cutting, SaloneSatellite Permanent Collection 1998–2025 – Courtesy of Italy Pavilion, Expo 2025 Osaka

In the afternoon, a roundtable moderated by Rossella Menegazzo brought together several Japanese designers who have taken part in different editions of SaloneSatellite. They discussed the relationship between Italian production and international creativity, with a focus on Japan. The meeting was an opportunity to reflect on design’s ability to build cultural and manufacturing bridges between Italy and Japan, reaffirming SaloneSatellite’s role as a platform for dialogue and innovation.

Design Talk, Italy Pavilion, Expo 2025 Osaka – Courtesy of Italy Expo 2025 Osaka

Meeting between global creativity and Italian manufacturing

Maria Porro, President of the Salone del Mobile.Milano, commented: “Osaka represents a strategic milestone: it marks the beginning of a new chapter in the international roadshow that takes Salone del Mobile.Milano beyond national and European borders each year, reaching new audiences and exploring new visions. Starting from Japan, within Expo Osaka 2025 with the SaloneSatellite Permanent Collection, has a profound meaning: we tell the story of the encounter between global creativity and Italian manufacturing, but also the extraordinary dialogue between two design cultures that share quality, respect for materials, and balance between form and function.”

“This tribute from SaloneSatellite to Osaka,” Maria Porro concluded, “is the manifesto of a design that connects creatives, companies, and communities in a living, inclusive, and generative network. It builds bridges between cultures, creates opportunities for exchange and vision, and opens new paths for collaboration and dialogue in international markets most receptive to the value of design. Japan is crucial because - like Italy - it is a country where design is an integral part of daily life. It is a universal added value.”

Ambassador Mario Vattani, Commissioner General for Italy at Expo 2025 Osaka, also emphasized how the SaloneSatellite Permanent Collection 1998–2025 aims to showcase to the Asian public, and particularly to Japan, the very best of Italian manufacturing excellence and international industrial creativity.

The SaloneSatellite Permanent Collection 1998–2025 Exhibition

Curated by Marva Griffin Wilshire, Founder and Curator of SaloneSatellite - the Salone del Mobile.Milano initiative dedicated to young talents under 35 - the Osaka exhibition is a concrete tribute to the fruitful alliance between young designers and Italian companies. It perfectly interprets the theme of Expo 2025 Osaka: Designing Future Societies for our Lives.

SaloneSatellite Permanent Collection 1998–2025 Exhibition – Courtesy of Italy Pavilion, Expo 2025 Osaka 

During the opening ceremony, Marva Griffin stated: “For the SaloneSatellite Permanent Collection 1998–2025 exhibition at the Italy Pavilion of Expo Osaka, the choice of products focused on those realized by Italian companies, to celebrate the consistently fruitful encounter between international creativity and Italian industry that SaloneSatellite has fostered since its very first edition in 1998. A dialogue that has allowed many young designers to find fertile ground to grow, engage with Italian manufacturing excellence, and give shape to their visions.” The exhibition highlights the presence of some of the most significant Japanese designers to emerge at SaloneSatellite; their projects tell the story of an evolution that has successfully combined cultural identity with a contemporary vision.

The exhibition layout, designed by architects Ricardo Bello Dias and Hariadna Pinate, is set within the Hangar of Knowledge of the Italy Pavilion, conceived by MCA – Mario Cucinella Architects – as a crossroads of ingenuity, manufacturing, and imagination.