Marc-Antoine Barrois and Antoine Bouillot surround orb with "forest" of ropes in Milan

Fragrance brand Marc-Antoine Barrois has created a Milan design week exhibition where visitors navigate through a "forest" of thin ropes before emerging in front of a glowing orb based on a red star.

Perfumer and founder of his eponymous brand Marc-Antoine Barrois collaborated with French designer Antoine Bouillot on the Mission Aldebaran exhibition, located in Salone dei Tessuti, a former 1930s textile showroom in Milan.

The exhibition consists of an interactive installation in the centre of Salone dei Tessuti and a series of galleries with furniture and artwork curated by Barrois and Bouillot.

Visitors enter the installation, housed in a large mirrored cube, and pass through a dense collection of black cords that hang from the ceiling. Once through this "forest", they emerge into an open space.

In this "clearing", a large glowing orb representative of the red star Al-Debaran is suspended from the ceiling, "a symbol of hope and optimism," said the team.

A ring of paper flowers sit underneath the star and are scented with the Aldebaran perfume by Barrois and perfumer Quentin Bisch, which carries notes of tuberose, a flower that is most potent at night.

According to Bouillot, the pair sought to immerse visitors in total darkness before directing them towards the light, which they liken to hope during difficult times.

"You have the light from the back, then you're fully in black," said Bouillot. "And then you have a period where you start seeing a light. For us, that means hope, and the idea that people are going towards the light."

Large marble stools by the duo were disturbed throughout the exhibition, marking their first furniture collaboration. The pieces are located within the installation and in small galleries tucked in a back room where visitors exit the space.

The pieces are scaled-up versions of pebbles that Barrois and Bouillot collected on a beach. The pair 3D-scanned each pebble to create the larger replicas, which sit on wooden bases.

The pair were informed by "children's vision" for both the installation and furniture collection.

"We try to see things through children's vision," said Bouillot. "For us adults, we are less surprised by things. So that's what we wanted to do this kind of thing – it's surprising."

Other installations and exhibitions on show during Milan design week include a collection of furniture designed by the late Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa and the Library of Light by Es Devlin.

The photography is by Keffer

Mission Aldebaran is on show at Salone dei Tessuti from 8 to 13 April. See our Milan design week 2025 guide on Dezeen Events Guide for information about the many other exhibitions, installations and talks taking place throughout the week.

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