At Milan Design Week 2026, Range Rover returned with its second large-scale installation, continuing a strategy that positions automotive design within broader spatial and conceptual practices. While collaborations between car brands and design fairs often invite scrutiny, this year’s project, developed with Storey Studio, foregrounded authorship and interdisciplinary dialogue.
“Traces” installation maps memory through spatial design
However, in the case of Range Rover, which marked its second major installation this year, you have to give them their flowers. For both their offerings, they’ve brought on an independent design studio (and given them full credit). Last year, it was Nuova, and this year, they’ve turned to Storey Studio.
For the 2026 installation, the focus was on their bespoke services. This was interpreted through the concept of “Traces”, and the ways in which certain colours and visual prompts can trigger memories. “We saw it as this idea of pulling from a memory bank to inspire you to make choices,” Storey Studio founder Robert Storey told Hypebeast.
The installation unfolded across three interconnected environments: Memory and Color, Memory and Motif, and Memory and Material. In the first space, a film by Felipe Sanguinetti anchored the experience. Drawing on personal narratives, the work translated memory into a sequence of colour-driven scenes.
Storey Studio responded with a mirrored architectural envelope, creating a sense of visual infinity. “We used mirrors throughout the installation to speak to this idea of infinity, and infinite choice,” Storey adds. Consequently, the room established a conceptual framework where reflection became both literal and metaphorical.
Craft, texture, and narrative expand the installation language
In the second room, Memory and Motif, the scale shifts toward detail and tactility. Champagne-toned vitrines presented embroidered works by Hvass and Hannibal, Lisa Rampilli, Petra Borner, and Jules Julien, each interpreting personal memories of Milan.
Below, a plush carpet replaced the reflective flooring of the previous space, creating a quieter, more immersive atmosphere. Therefore, material transitions played a central role in guiding visitor perception, reinforcing the installation’s emphasis on sensory experience.
It’s not until you get to the third and final room that you actually encounter a Range Rover. Located in Memory and Material, the one-of-a-kind model is named the Pearl of Tay, inspired by the freshwater pearl of the River Tay in Scotland.
Material storytelling culminates in automotive design
Again, Storey Studio wanted to change the experience from the ground upwards. This room features crunchy black gravel, as though you were walking on the riverbed, with pearlescent undulating fins running across the length of the ceiling, mimicking the water.
Flanking the space are vitrines filled with objects curated by Bard, an Edinburgh-based gallery specialising in Scottish craft and design. “As you’re walking around the room, you discover these different pieces,” Storey says. “It evokes this idea of excitement at finding something on the riverbed.”
Finally, the installation concludes with a cafe, designed in collaboration with Gubi. Inside, pieces include designs by Pierre Paulin, alongside Daumiller chairs and Obello lamps, extending the project’s design language into a social setting.