Reference Library exhibition opens on April 20 in Milan, as Jil Sander and Apartamento present a temporary installation dedicated to the material and cultural value of books. Positioned within the context of Milan’s design calendar, the exhibition proposes a slower, tactile counterpoint to digitally mediated reading habits.
Installation design foregrounds ritual and materiality
In an era dominated by digital skimming and algorithmic feeds, Jil Sander and Apartamento are inviting us to slow down. Opening today, April 20, in the heart of Milan, “Reference Library” is a temporary exhibition that champions the physical book. Conceived as a curated collection of personal references, the immersive installation brings together 60 distinct titles—each carefully selected by writers, designers, artists, filmmakers, and thinkers whose perspectives have shaped modern culture.
The exhibition serves as a physical affirmation of reading for pleasure, creating a quiet space designed for close observation. To realise this vision, Milan-based practice studioutte designed the installation within the Jil Sander showroom. Chrome lecterns are arranged in ordered rows, while mirrored surfaces expand the spatial field and amplify light.
Visitors receive white gloves upon entry, encouraging a heightened awareness of touch and care. As a result, the act of reading becomes performative and deliberate, aligning with broader design conversations around material engagement and sensory experience.
Personal references connect design, literature and identity
The selected books function as conceptual anchors, mapping the intellectual and aesthetic influences of contributors. For his contribution, Simone Bellotti chose Il Barone Rampante by Italo Calvino, a text rooted in personal memory and literary imagination.
“The collaboration between Apartamento and Jil Sander is a natural one,” added Marco Velardi. “Both have long understood that the things we surround ourselves with are never merely decorative, they are biographical. They speak to attention, to care, to a refusal of the throwaway. A book, like a well-made garment, is an act of considered intent. It is made to last.”
Accordingly, the exhibition situates books within a design framework, where objects carry narrative and emotional weight. Moreover, it highlights parallels between publishing and fashion, particularly in their shared emphasis on craft, longevity and authorship.
Milan showcase aligns with design week discourse
Whether you are looking to discover new literary inspirations or simply seeking a momentary escape during the bustling design week, the “Reference Library” offers a profound, tactile experience. The exhibition is open by appointment, with a preview installation also on display at the Jil Sander store on Via Verri.
Running from April 20 to 24 at Via Luca Beltrami 5, the project reflects a wider design movement that reconsiders analogue experiences within contemporary culture. Ultimately, “Reference Library” positions the book not only as a vessel of content, but as a designed object that shapes how knowledge is encountered and remembered.