Valextra Announces "Soft & Tender Topographies" at Salone del Mobile 2026
Valextra announced the "Soft & Tender Topographies" installation, a collaboration with Objects of Common Interest, at Salone del Mobile 2026. This installation expresses the brand's aesthetic through an exploration of materials and space, with two limited edition Isyde bags also unveiled.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 28, 2026 at 19:00
- 🔍 Collected: April 28, 2026 at 10:31
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 28, 2026 at 14:39 (4h 7m after Collected)
Installation "Soft & Tender Topographies"
Valextra has announced "Soft & Tender Topographies," an installation created in collaboration with Objects of Common Interest. This work delicately intertwines different materials and textures, depicting a poetic landscape.
Created for Salone del Mobile 2026, this installation was showcased at Valextra's flagship store in Milan. Through organic three-dimensional curved forms, it expresses the brand's flexible structural beauty with lightness and playfulness.
Drawing inspiration from Valextra's iconic elements such as the black lacquered Costa (edges), Pergamenawhite, and multi-layered leather, Objects of Common Interest elevated structure, texture, and tactility into a soft spatial expression.
Within the flagship store on Via Manzoni, glossy, sculptural forms are dotted throughout. These shapes, with delicate variations in height and volume, are quietly arranged like "islands," enveloping small marble pedestals. The tension between contrasting elements—hardness and flexibility, structure and softness—creates a quiet dialogue between mass and surface.
The installation "Soft & Tender Topographies"
Furthermore, the contrast of light and shadow (chiaroscuro) is a significant theme in this work. The natural radiance and shadows cast by Greek white stone evoke Valextra's iconic Pergamenawhite and delicate Inchiostro lines.
At the back of the boutique, specially crafted "Metamorphic Rock" stools are placed. The installation expands from a space for viewing to one for touching and experiencing. This expresses the value that objects are not only art but also companions in daily life.
Born from an exploration of materials and space, "Soft & Tender Topographies" is a project that lightly questions the possibilities of perception and touch, while embodying Valextra's unique Milanese aesthetic.
Isyde Mini Sculpt / Isyde Editor Gloss
To commemorate this project, Valextra is also announcing two limited edition models of the Isyde bag, inspired by the material expression of the installation.
The "Isyde Mini Sculpt" features a curved top handle reinterpreted with 3D printing technology and polished palladium hardware.
The "Isyde Editor Gloss" is crafted from black patent leather, reflecting the glossy forms seen in the collaboration.
Valextra Manzoni Flagship Store
VALEXTRA
Founded in 1937 by Giovanni Fontana, Valextra is one of Italy's leading luxury leather goods brands. Inspired by the city of Milan, its handbags and luggage embody the philosophy of structurally pursuing beauty and bringing meaningful luxury to everyday life.
From the "Trick Track" wrist bag born in 1968, the iconic "Isyde" launched in 2011, to the "Milano" bag introduced in 2023 embodying everyday luxury, the inheritance of tradition and innovation have always coexisted.
Signature details such as the black lacquered Costa, hand-painted Inchiostro lines, and extremely soft leathers like Millepunte, Palmerato, Sublime, and Sensonubuck, characterize Valextra worldwide as understated yet distinctly individual.
OBJECTS OF COMMON INTEREST
Founded in 2016 by Eleni Petaloti and Leonidas Trampoukis, Objects of Common Interest is a studio operating at the intersection of art, design, and architecture. They create works on diverse scales, from sculptural objects and installations to immersive environments and public art projects.
Based in New York and Athens, the two are also founding partners of the architectural design firm "LOT Office for Architecture."
They have exhibited their work in museums, institutions, galleries, and design fairs worldwide, including the Noguchi Museum, MAXXI National Museum of 21st Century Arts, Vitra Design Museum, Brussels Design Museum, Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg, Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Chicago Architecture Biennial, and Nilufar Gallery.
Their activities are centered on the exploration of materiality and spatial perception, rooted in Greece and New York.
Valextra has announced "Soft & Tender Topographies," an installation created in collaboration with Objects of Common Interest. This work delicately intertwines different materials and textures, depicting a poetic landscape.
Created for Salone del Mobile 2026, this installation was showcased at Valextra's flagship store in Milan. Through organic three-dimensional curved forms, it expresses the brand's flexible structural beauty with lightness and playfulness.
Drawing inspiration from Valextra's iconic elements such as the black lacquered Costa (edges), Pergamenawhite, and multi-layered leather, Objects of Common Interest elevated structure, texture, and tactility into a soft spatial expression.
Within the flagship store on Via Manzoni, glossy, sculptural forms are dotted throughout. These shapes, with delicate variations in height and volume, are quietly arranged like "islands," enveloping small marble pedestals. The tension between contrasting elements—hardness and flexibility, structure and softness—creates a quiet dialogue between mass and surface.
The installation "Soft & Tender Topographies"
Furthermore, the contrast of light and shadow (chiaroscuro) is a significant theme in this work. The natural radiance and shadows cast by Greek white stone evoke Valextra's iconic Pergamenawhite and delicate Inchiostro lines.
At the back of the boutique, specially crafted "Metamorphic Rock" stools are placed. The installation expands from a space for viewing to one for touching and experiencing. This expresses the value that objects are not only art but also companions in daily life.
Born from an exploration of materials and space, "Soft & Tender Topographies" is a project that lightly questions the possibilities of perception and touch, while embodying Valextra's unique Milanese aesthetic.
Isyde Mini Sculpt / Isyde Editor Gloss
To commemorate this project, Valextra is also announcing two limited edition models of the Isyde bag, inspired by the material expression of the installation.
The "Isyde Mini Sculpt" features a curved top handle reinterpreted with 3D printing technology and polished palladium hardware.
The "Isyde Editor Gloss" is crafted from black patent leather, reflecting the glossy forms seen in the collaboration.
Valextra Manzoni Flagship Store
VALEXTRA
Founded in 1937 by Giovanni Fontana, Valextra is one of Italy's leading luxury leather goods brands. Inspired by the city of Milan, its handbags and luggage embody the philosophy of structurally pursuing beauty and bringing meaningful luxury to everyday life.
From the "Trick Track" wrist bag born in 1968, the iconic "Isyde" launched in 2011, to the "Milano" bag introduced in 2023 embodying everyday luxury, the inheritance of tradition and innovation have always coexisted.
Signature details such as the black lacquered Costa, hand-painted Inchiostro lines, and extremely soft leathers like Millepunte, Palmerato, Sublime, and Sensonubuck, characterize Valextra worldwide as understated yet distinctly individual.
OBJECTS OF COMMON INTEREST
Founded in 2016 by Eleni Petaloti and Leonidas Trampoukis, Objects of Common Interest is a studio operating at the intersection of art, design, and architecture. They create works on diverse scales, from sculptural objects and installations to immersive environments and public art projects.
Based in New York and Athens, the two are also founding partners of the architectural design firm "LOT Office for Architecture."
They have exhibited their work in museums, institutions, galleries, and design fairs worldwide, including the Noguchi Museum, MAXXI National Museum of 21st Century Arts, Vitra Design Museum, Brussels Design Museum, Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg, Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Chicago Architecture Biennial, and Nilufar Gallery.
Their activities are centered on the exploration of materiality and spatial perception, rooted in Greece and New York.