Salone del Mobile debuts in Saudi Arabia

Red in progress. Salone del Mobile.Milano meets Riyadh - Installation renderings ©Studio Giò Forma Salone del Mobile.Milano

For three days, from 26th to 28th November 2025, with "Red in progress. Salone del Mobile.Milano meets Riyadh" the Financial Plaza of the King Abdullah Financial District will be lit up in red thanks to an installation dedicated to Made in Italy design, a packed cultural programme and a B2B platform

At the Cultural Investment Conference, held at the King Fahd Cultural Centre, Dr. Sumayah Al-Solaiman, CEO of the Architecture and Design Commission at the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Culture, and Maria Porro, President of the Salone del Mobile.Milano, announced the first edition of the event in Saudi Arabia. The three-day programme will take place at the King Abdullah Financial District in the heart of Riyadh from 26th - 28th November 2025. During this period, the financial hub will be transformed into a business-first meeting point for the Salone del Mobile.Milano and the Saudi design ecosystem. It marks the first activation of the strategic partnership signed in AlUla in January 2025 between the Architecture and Design Commission and Federlegno Arredo Eventi S.p.A., the official organiser of Salone del Mobile.Milano. The agreement sets out a multi-year framework aimed at forging professional connections, spotlighting local talent, driving sustainable innovation in training and standards, and translating ideas into built spaces, interiors and cities — paving the way for the first full edition of Salone del Mobile.Milano in Riyadh in 2026.

The strategic partnership between the Salone del Mobile.Milano and the Architecture and Design Commission at the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Culture is designed to strengthen the creative and manufacturing supply chains of both countries and to accelerate professional connections. It also aims to highlight local talent, promote sustainability and innovation standards aligned with Vision 2030, and create the right conditions for ideas and projects to take shape, from construction sites to interiors and cities.

“Red in Progress. Salone del Mobile.Milano meets Riyadh” will reshape the KAFD public spaces under the red banner of the Salone del Mobile.Milano. The initiative will feature furniture, lighting, surfaces and accessories from 38 Italian companies, selected for their quality, innovation and sustainability. An international cultural programme, curated by Annalisa Rosso – Editorial Director & Cultural Events Advisor for the Salone del Mobile.Milano – will bring together voices from Italy and Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, the Business Lounge will host meetings and presentations with key Saudi decision-makers. The event will serve as a preview of a much larger and more structured trade fair in 2026, combining shared cultural content with professional platforms.

Riyadh has become the centre of gravity for the design of new hotels, malls, offices and residences that are reshaping the country. Driven by Vision 2030, a cycle of concrete development is underway. The Ministry of Tourism is aiming for 150 million visits by 2030, supported by the addition of 362,000 new rooms. Rentable retail space is expected to grow to 9.9 million m², while high-end office rents have risen by 8.7% year-on-year (source: JLL Research). These are all signs of strong demand, translating into square metres to be fitted out as well as higher standards for fit-outs themselves. The Saudi market for furniture, fixtures and equipment was estimated at around USD 7 billion in 2024 and is forecast to reach USD 9 billion by 2030 (sources: TechSci Research, Mordor Intelligence). Development in the residential and hospitality sectors is driving most of this growth.

Maria Porro, President of Salone del Mobile.Milano, commented: “Red in progress. Salone del Mobile.Milano meets Riyadh” is the first step towards 2026, when the city will host a fully-fledged Salone del Mobile, broader in scope, richer in content and at the service of Saudi Arabia’s design ecosystem”.

Dr. Sumayah Al-Solaiman, CEO of the Architecture and Design Commission at the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Culture, emphasized that the launch of “Red in progress. Salone del Mobile.Milano meets Riyadh” will strengthen Saudi Arabia’s position on the global design and furniture stage.

"Red in progress. Salone del Mobile.Milano meets Riyadh" is being promoted in collaboration with and supported by the institutional partners that work alongside the Salone in its international activities — MAECI — Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and ITA — Italian Trade Agency.

Matteo Zoppas, President of ITA — Italian Trade Agency comments "ITA is working alongside the Salone del Mobile in Milan to support the internationalisation of Italian wood-furniture and design companies and bolster exports of Made in Italy products to strategic markets – such as Saudi Arabia – consistent with the export action plan promoted by Italy’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani.”

The spectacular heart of Red in progress. Salone del Mobile.Milano meets Riyadh will be a large installation by the international architecture studio Giò Forma, which will introduce Riyadh to the world of the Salone del Mobile.Milano: a landscape of modular scaffolding, covered with a semi-transparent red fabric, transforming the raw language of the construction site into a cultural stage. Red will not only be a colour but also the common thread of the experience, a visual trace connecting places and people, a symbol of energy and the future. Within the structures of the installation, the products of more than 35 furniture companies will light up a performance in which know-how, bold design, harmony and circularity will come together and chart new perspectives. It will be both a preview and a manifesto: a communication tool that will herald the arrival of a global event, inviting Riyadh to experience design as a shared cultural construction.

The B2B component will take shape in the Business Lounge designed by Lissoni & Partners studio, which will unfold into lounge and meeting areas designed for discreet yet functional hospitality: close sitting rooms defined by curved walls like graphic strokes, pillars clad in backlit pleated fabric that become landmarks, carpets, furnishings and touches of greenery creating a welcoming retreat. A fullheight illuminated wall will narrate the story and values of the Salone del Mobile.Milano. The layout of the furnishings has been conceived to convey a space given over to scheduled meetings, presentations and networking between Italian companies and key Saudi players. Rounding off the programme, site visits to some of the major mega-projects under development in Riyadh and throughout the Kingdom are envisaged. The aim is to foster professional relationships, test the needs and priorities of clients and generate concrete opportunities for companies within the supply chain.

Alongside the professional programme, there will be an area dedicated to Lifestyle in collaboration with KAFD retailers and Italian and Saudi food & beverage brands: the Financial Plaza will host convivial opportunities illustrating the rituals of Italian living, conceived as spaces for interaction between participants. Not just a simple interlude, but a theatre of service and hospitality thought out with the same care as the design aimed at fostering conversation.

Finally, there will be two institutional areas: the Saudi Ministry of Culture space will showcase the work of local designers in collaboration with the Kingdom's leading universities; the Architecture and Design Commission at the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Culture area will host “Designed in Saudi”, an initiative conceived by the Commission to nurture the local ecosystem: it highlights emerging talent, supports the development of skills, and creates the conditions for ideas and products to gain visibility on international markets, with the aim of positioning the Kingdom as a new global destination for design. At the heart of the initiative lies the “Designed in Saudi” seal, a mark of quality awarded by a committee of local and international designers to products that, after a thorough evaluation process, demonstrate authenticity and a human-centred approach from concept to final outcome.

Exhibiting companies: Alchymia, Argenteria Schiavon, Arper, Artemide, Bonaldo, Calligaris, Cassina, Citco, Desiree, DGA, Edra, Fantoni, Florim, Flos, Foscarini, Gessi, Giorgetti, Guzzini & Fontana Projects, Henry Glass, La Palma, Lema, Listone Giordano, Living Divani, Loloey, Minotti, Molteni&C, Nardi, Natuzzi Italia, Officina della Scala, Pinetti, Poliform, Poltrona Frau, Porro, Rugiano, Technogym, Venini, Villari, Visionnaire

6 October 2025