Jil Sander takes a quieter approach at Design Week in Milan, focusing on reading and reflection rather than spectacle. Created in collaboration with Apartamento, Reference Library is a temporary exhibition housed inside the brand’s Milan showroom. The project brings together 60 books selected by a range of contributors across disciplines, from designers and artists to writers and filmmakers.
Each title reflects a personal influence, forming a collective view of how ideas are shaped and shared and the setup is intentionally minimal. Chrome lecterns are arranged in rows, each holding a single book under a focused light. A mirrored wall extends the space visually, while the layout encourages visitors to move slowly from one title to the next.
Access is controlled through timed entry, with visitors given white gloves before entering. The gesture shifts the experience, placing emphasis on care and attention. The books are not just displayed, but meant to be handled and read, reinforcing the exhibition’s core idea at a time when reading is increasingly fragmented.
Reference Library positions the book as something to return to, both as an object and as a way of engaging more deeply with ideas. Simone Bellotti, Creative Director of Jil Sander, connects this approach to his own reference point.
“I chose for this library—improvised and temporary, a gift to the city of Milan for just a few days—a book that comes from my childhood: Il Barone Rampante (The Baron in the Trees) by Italo Calvino. Cosimo, the protagonist, climbs into the trees and from there observes the world with more clarity than those living below. There is a paradox that Calvino builds with such elegance: Cosimo is eccentric, isolated, misunderstood and yet he shapes everything around him, precisely because he chose an unusual position. It feels almost like a metaphor for creative work in its purest sense.”
For Apartamento, the collaboration reflects a shared perspective on objects and meaning. “The collaboration between Apartamento and JIL SANDER is a natural one,” says Marco Velardi, co-founder of the publication. “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.”
Open from April 20 to 24, Reference Library stands apart from the more object-driven installations across the city. Instead of presenting something new, it looks at what already exists, and why it continues to matter.
