A multisensorial exploration of dermis and design at Salone del Mobile.Milano 2025
As Sensory Patron of Salone del Mobile.Milano 2025, Aesop has created an enigmatic and replenishing experience within the walls and cloisters of the Chiesa del Carmine. From 8-13 April, visitors are invited to explore the intersection of architecture, culture and the senses.
At the core of the installation sits The Second Skin—a structure that pays homage to both the epidermis and the alluring entryways that are a signature of many Milanese buildings. Here, an entrance—as threshold between exterior and interior—becomes a metaphor for the skin.
For its construction, Aesop’s Eleos Aromatique Hand Balm is used as mortar for the panels that shroud the structure. These textured surfaces emanate Eleos’s clove-based aroma, while mesmeric reflections of undulating water on the walls evoke the dewy surface of perspiring skin—and the amplified sound of a single drop of water marks each passing second.
As guests proceed within, they are encouraged to engage with the structure through deep inhalation of its scent. Upon reaching the hidden inner sanctum, they discover a contemporary dance film about the art of bathing, created in collaboration with Nayoung Kim, a dancer of Tanztheater Wuppertal.
The complete experience involves a series of meditative interactions. In the cloister, a row of basins raised on plinths provide a (quite literally) elevated moment of hand care. While in the courtyard, guests can pause for reflection at a bespoke, 50-seat table by designer Sebastian Cox.
