‘Inspired Nuances’ Brings Design & Color to Milan Design Week

At Milan Design Week 2025, the “Inspired Nuances” exhibition brought together the talents of French designers Mercœur and Franck Genser, American paint brand Tonester, and Sixtysix magazine Editor-in-Chief, Chris Force. Blending French craftsmanship with modern color palettes, the exhibition offered a fresh perspective on collectible design, while photography added a visual depth.

The exhibition featured a curated selection of furniture and design objects by Mercœur and Franck, both renowned for their mastery in collectible design. Mercœur’s sculptural, fluid forms complemented Franck’s more grounded, material-focused approach, together creating a harmonious balance between innovation and tradition. 

The Iraty coffee table by Mercœur’s Gregoire de Lafforest was one of the exhibition’s standout pieces. Its design was inspired by the nearby greenhouses in Auteuil, France, where the artist lives.

Gregoire used stained glass to highlight a traditional craft that’s deeply tied to French history. But instead of using it vertically like in windows, he decided to try something different by using it horizontally as a table surface to give this old technique a fresh, modern spin.

“Glass is something we use a lot,” he said, “but it was a huge challenge to make it strong and durable while still giving it shape. We wanted the glass to have more presence than just being flat.”

Using the Tiffany technique (a method of joining glass with copper foil), the team chose cast glass in different shades of yellow, textures, and thicknesses to mimic the look of autumn leaves. The glass pieces are arranged on three levels to create an effect of layered depth.

“You can adjust the table’s configuration depending on the base–even the hole in the middle can be covered if you prefer it that way,” he says. “The color is also customizable. We offer other shades like blue and green. We try to make them feel like they represent different seasons. The autumn version is what we chose for the exhibition.”

Marina Declarey’s Serif lamp offered a different spin on Mercœur’s designs. The curved shape of the lamp uses a special leather-wrapping technique originally used for curtain rails. The design is sleek and minimalist, letting the materials and craftsmanship stand out—especially with the fine saddle stitching along the edges.

“This design is inspired by character typography,” Marina says. “It’s a laser-cut piece. The laser’s precision really brings out the layers, and the stitches—like those seen in Hermes pieces—and add extra dimension.”

A sphere made of Italian lava rock adds weight to the bottom of the lamp. Its natural texture contrasts with the polished leather, giving the piece both elegance and balance.

“I’ve always loved working with textures,” she says. “We have multiple versions of this lamp, too. Some are simple and others more elaborate, but they all have the same base idea.”

One of French designer Franck Genser’s standout pieces was his Morse armchair.  

“The inspiration for the texture of the chair’s material actually came from the skin of an apricot,” Franck says. “We used a shiny neoprene material that you similarly see in swimming clothes—the ones you zip up and wear in the sun. The fabric is made in Japan and reacts very well to sunlight. It also stretches over the chair seamlessly so there is no visible stitching.”

Franck’s Iko XL lights also made an appearance on the floor of the exhibition. “They’re made to resemble the silhouettes of koi fish swimming in the water,” he says. 

The designers’ works were brought to life through a color palette inspired by the streets of Milan, courtesy of Tonester Paints. Tonester’s collaboration captured Milan’s timeless elegance and modern edge with a palette of four new shades: a jade green inspired by historic architecture, a deep mocha echoing espresso and leather, a sleek black for Milanese sophistication, and a sultry oxblood channeling the city’s bold design spirit.

“Using dark colors is very rare for me,” says Tonster’s Tony Piloseno. “The other cool thing about the oxblood color, Cursed by Milano, is that it’s ceramic, which means it has very low shine. All of the colors were thought out carefully.”

Tony says when he creates new colors, the aims to showcase something that makes an impact.

“When you walk into a room, you should feel surrounded by it,” he says. “The goal for this project was to coordinate with the specific products to ensure they really stood out. I just put my vision out there and left the rest up to the team.”

mercoeur-edition.com, franckgenser.com, tonesterpaints.com, chrisforce.substack.com