MILAN DESIGN WEEK 2025

LEXUS INSTALLATIONS EXPLORE HUMAN-CENTRED TECHNOLOGY AT MILAN DESIGN WEEK

• “A-Un” installation created in collaboration with creative agency SIX and design studio STUDEO
• “Discover Together”, a collection of works by up-and-coming creators from Bascule Inc., Northeastern University and Lexus’ in-house design team, produced as a legacy project from the Lexus Design Award
• Lexus Design Award – 'Discover Together’ – to be relaunched this summer and showcased at Milan Design Week 2026
• Lexus exhibition on public view at Milan Design Week 2025, April 8 to 13

Lexus has unveiled a collection of new installations at Milan Design Week 2025, the world’s largest showcase event for international design. Its exhibition at Superstudio Piu’s Daylight Space will feature “A-Un”, an immersive installation created in collaboration with Japanese creatives SIX and STUDEO, and “Discover Together”, an interactive collection produced by next generation designers in a legacy project from the Lexus Design Award.

The exhibition is open to the public at Superstudio Più in Tortona, Milan’s creative district, from April 8 to 13.

Simon Humphries, Lexus Chief Branding Officer, said: “Since the founding of our brand, Lexus has constantly challenged the conventions of the luxury automotive world, pushing the boundaries of mobility to create unique and extraordinary experiences that surpass expectations rather than simply meeting them. Today, as technology advances and transforms the way we perceive time spent in motion, we find ourselves reflecting on how these shifts can lead to profound new forms of engagement and interaction.

“At Milan Design Week, we seek to express this convergence of technology and humanity, exploring moments in which they intersect and how reimagining time itself can be a catalyst for new experiences. Additionally, through ‘Discover Together’, we have collaborated with three visionary creative units who explore the interplay between individuals with society through the lens of the Black Butterfly, offering new perspectives.”

The new immersive installations have taken inspiration from the “Black Butterfly”, the name given to a dual-interface control device featured in the cockpit of Lexus’ LF-ZC concept car. Each explores how future technologies will bring man, machine and mobility closer together.

The exhibition’s official opening today (April 7) will be hosted by Pascal Ruch, Toyota Motor Europe Vice President Lexus and Value Chain. He will introduce speakers including Lexus International President Takashi Watanabe and Lexus Design Division General Manager Koichi Suga. Together with Takeshi Nozoe of SIX., Tatsuki Ikezawa of STUDEO and representatives from Bascule Inc., Northeastern University and Lexus’ in-house designers, they will provide insights into the groundbreaking installations and the future of mobility and design.

A-UN INSTALLATION

Across the two decades since its first appearance at Milan Design Week in 2005, Lexus has collaborated with world-renowned artists and designers – including Philippe Nigro, Neri Oxman, Sou Fujimoto and Rhizomatiks – to create immersive experiences that embody the brand’s vision and values.

This year it has teamed up with the Tokyo-based creative agency SIX and design studio STUDEO to present “A-Un”, an installation inspired by the Japanese concept of A-Un no Kokyū (harmonised breath), a traditional concept where two bodies or entities instinctively synchronise their movements and emotions. Using the Black Butterfly motif as a window connecting people and society, Lexus brings its vision for the future of mobility to life in an immersive space.

A vast Black Butterfly-shaped screen suddenly emerges within the space, standing three metres high and measuring 10 metres wide and four metres deep. A testament to Lexus’ commitment to honouring traditional materials and craftsmanship, the work was meticulously crafted by hand over three months, using woven threads made from about 35 kilometres of bamboo fibre.

The structure comes to life as visitors approach, responding to their heartbeats to create a unique, immersive experience. As the heartbeat synchronises with fluctuations sampled from nature, the Black Butterfly becomes a medium for discovery. In that moment, visitors witness the seamless connection between people, society and the world – an experience shaped by the “A-Un” philosophy.

Lexus’ vision of future mobility goes beyond a car simply responding to human commands to its anticipation of human intentions. Through the Black Butterfly, people and vehicles engage in a journey of constant learning and evolution together, discovering new possibilities and one-of-a-kind moments. Vehicles will connect directly with people, creating a new experience of movement.

DISCOVER TOGETHER INSTALLATION

This year’s exhibition builds on the legacy of the Lexus Design Award which has discovered, nurtured and long supported next generation creators, challenging the boundaries of creative potential. Three visionary groups have used the Black Butterfly as a motif to explore new dimensions of personalised experiences with technology. Bascule Inc., Northeastern University and Lexus’ in-house designers present a series of interactive installations that reinterpret the Black Butterfly through distinct and unique perspectives. This encounter between Lexus and emerging talents gives rise to “Experience Amazing” which visitors are invited to discover first-hand in the exhibition.

EXHIBITION INFORMATION

"A-UN" CREATOR PROFILES

"DISCOVER TOGETHER" CREATOR PROFILES