Today marks the first day of 2019 Milan Design Week, and you better believe we're on the ground finding the best shows the city has to offer. Today we focused on some of the smaller shows around town, but just because they're smaller than the fair doesn't mean they're anything to scoff at. Brands like nendo, Flos, Lexus and more takeover historic venues and even their own showrooms around the city, transforming them into magical installations and exhibitions.

COS x Mamou-Mani

Enter the 16th century Palazzo Isimbardi and you'll be confronted with an all-encompassing installation dreamed up by architect Arthur Mamou-Mani, who created the largest 3D printed PLA structure in the world for this 2019 Salone collaboration with minimal fashion brand COS. "I'm only excited by [3D-printed] because it helps you build more sustainably," Mamou-Mani told Core77 on press preview day—"this project is interesting in that it's minimizing the amount of materials to a point that it is almost a [weight] equivalent to foam. It uses wood, is practically wasteless in the sense that all the pieces are optimally designed to take the maximum amount of tension, and the [3D printers] were very close to the site."

The Shape of Gravity

This collaboration exhibition between nendo and WonderGlass featured the Melt collection, a series of cast glass furniture and homewares designed by nenedo for he glassware brand The newest member of the collection is the below chandelier, which was unveiled for the first time today. The installation itself is housed in a sectioned-off room within the Istituto dei Ciechi. Black curtains surround the elegantly lit collection, keeping the focus on its organic, yet refined shapes.

Stone Island

Stone Island's high energy installation takes visitors through the design process of their latest limited edition collection. Known for their deep materials explorations, this time the brand chose to focus on the process behind their Nylon Metal material. Projections on the floor and hanging prototype jackets mirrored the beginning stages on the left with the finishing stages where the garment is dyed on the right.

Stay tuned for more Milan Design Week coverage as we continue to explore Salone, exhibitions around town and more.