How much does it cost to participate in Fuorisalone 2024?

As in 2021 and 2023, this year, we have again analyzed the participation costs of Milan’s various design districts during one of the most eagerly awaited design weeks, Fuorisalone 2024. The concept is slowly being surpassed in favor of more diffuse and decentralized events and the creation of formats for foreign countries. We will not go into the details about the names, but we will examine the various offers district by district, in the same order as in 2023, so the increase from one year to the next will be clear. (Cover image Isola Design Festival 2023, Isola Design Gallery, ph. Gabriele Correddu)

Let’s start from the district just south of the centre. If last year the cost to enter the circuit was 250 euros, this year the price is 600. To all the costs we will see, VAT must be added. The package includes:

• press conference
• mention in the general press release + press office support
• sharing exhibitor’s pree kit with journalists
• mention on the paper and digital map of the district
• promotion at info point + placeholder flag
• page “exhibition” and profile page with links
• One post on Instagram and one mention in a newsletter article

Space rental is, of course, excluded from the offer, and any added operation (from the request for an extra post to the design district placeholder flag) has a separate cost. Compared to 2023, the district offers fewer social posts but has not increased the offer: it has deleted the first price bracket corresponding to 250 euros, the most affordable one.

From the area south of Piazza del Duomo, we go north, still in one of the districts in the center. The basic package of 1600 euros, increased by 100 euros compared to last year, includes:

• mention on the events guide map and digital map
• visibility on the foldable map and printed guide
• placeholder flag
• 1 event post on Facebook
• mention in press material and CS + press conference
• online presence of the event in the district route
• event card | brand card | designer card

As anticipated, the cost of this district has increased, but the services have changed slightly: the social output option to choose between Facebook and Instagram has been removed, but the creation of the placeholder flag for one’s event has been added.

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To the north of this design district, we find one of the most complex offerings: what do you want to exhibit? One product, a small collection (2 different products or two versions of the same one), or a collection (3 different products)? In a group exhibition or a dedicated space? With the basic options, i.e., exhibiting one product in a group exhibition, the price starts at 550 euros and I have:

• a spot in the exhibition
• mention in the printed and digital event materials
• mention on the press release with + a dedicated folder in the press kit
• project highlighted on isola.design during MDW 2024
• AR display of one product in the AR app
• label with designer and project information
• 1 guaranteed story on social channels, before during or after the event (at the district’s discretion)

Services not included are no longer indicated, but if you want to book after the deadline, 20 February, the entry fee is increased by 20%. In any case, if in 2023 the offer was divided by square meters (1m2 350€, 3m2 900€, 5m2 1450€), the 2024 division marks a price increase (1 product 550€, small collection 1200€, collection 1900€).

This year, the district will be outside Milan in the province of Monza and Brianza. Despite the new location, it follows the prices of previous years without any apparent increase (except that it moves outside the Milanese circuit of Fuorisalone 2024).

It is worth noting an increase in entry costs in almost all locations, at the expense of social visibility. We will see the Instagram profiles of the districts more curated and attentive to what they share. As last year, we repeat that to these costs must be added any services, the communication of one’s project, the travel, a significant investment that does not always provide a return – especially due to the amount of events and installations present during that week. Perhaps we should also consider the other 51 weeks of the year for events and exhibitions, the costs are lower and the visibility can also be greater. Fashion is doing this and perhaps design will also follow this path.

Another concept that should always be remembered, without content (work and designer) there is no container (exhibition, district, installation). Rising prices create a problem of accessibility: unless there is a sponsor, students and young designers struggle to show their ideas and decide to invest in other events (from Edit Napoli to the Lake Como Design Festival).

If you have the opportunity to exhibit during Fuorisalone 2024, always ask the district you are interested in for more information on the price list and services offered!

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