Can't Leave Without — Packing for Milan Design Week 2025 With Articolo Studios' Creative Director Nicci Kavals

As the Melbourne-based lighting and furniture studio returns to Salone del Mobile's Euroluce fair, its founder picks her ultimate travel must-haves

In a collaged image, a series of travel essentials, including a book, a notebook, a ring, skincare products, shoes, and earbuds, sit in square portions, while at the center a woman dressed in a beige top checks a multi-sphere light installation.
(Image credit: From left to right, top down: Portfolio, Smythson, By Terry, HUAWEI, Kiehl's, Monica Castiglioni, Tod's)

Ever wondered what's in the travel bags of your artistic inspirations? Curious to know the items shaping their lives while taking a break from the dayjob, how they plan for weather swings, or stay inspired in their downtime? Can't Leave Without is the Livingetc column bringing you packing advice courtesy of our favorite names from the contemporary interior design and creative scene.

With Milan Design Week 2025 (April 6-13) very nearly back in full force, you might be wondering what to pack for the trip. Readers who have stumbled upon our beginner's guide to the event already know the city comes alive with installations, gastronomic activations, collateral initiatives, and impromptu social gatherings, but what are the designers who take part in Salone del Mobile (April 8-13) and its satellite fairs bringing to the northern Italian creative capital this year? What are they most looking forward to seeing and experiencing while there, and what objects are they taking along with them for the ride?

"Milan Design Week 2025 marks a defining chapter for Articolo Studios as we celebrate a decade of artistry and evolution," Nicci Kavals, founder and Creative Director of the Melbourne-based firm, tells me. At Euroluce, the biennial lighting showcase that alternates with the kitchen-focused EuroCucina exhibition and coincides with Salone del Mobile, "we will unveil three new collections — each a testament to our journey from decorative interior and exterior lighting to furniture design and now, our first adjustable performance decorative lighting," she adds. "From technologically driven task lights to textured cast glass pendants and hand-crafted leather detailed lounge seating, our display encapsulates ten years of maturity for the brand through innovation and refinement."

Nestled within a warm, travertine-materiality-clad exhibition space, Articolo Studios' Euroluce installation seeks to "remove visitors from the bustling trade show floor", transporting them to "a meditative dimension where curated floor-to-ceiling fixtures and refined furniture contribute to crafting a luxury lifestyle atmosphere," Nicci says. As the studio moves beyond product design for the first time, Milan Design Week 2025 will see "the 'world of Articolo' come to life."

When able to sneak out of the fair and away from the stand, the creative director will be strutting about town. "I have scheduled appointments to meet several exceptional craftsmen and ateliers, as well as visiting Milan's most inspiring showcases, including Palazzo Molteni, NILUFAR's Repertorio, Hermès, which is always a standout and this year presents a light-led, emotional scenography co-created by architect and Hermès Home Artistic Director Charlotte Macaux Perelman and Alexis Fabry, and Google's immersive installation Making the Invisible Visible," says the Articolo Studios founder. "That said, the most memorable moments often happen in between — the 'by chance' encounters, unplanned discoveries, spontaneous conversations, and the fabulous creativity of a global design community that one cannot help but be immersed in."

As for her Milan Design Week 2025 travel non-negotiables, "the first thing I think about when preparing for it is bringing my team with me — they're my work family, and their support and energy keeps me going through the long, exhilarating days," Nicci explains. "Beyond that, I'm always packing last minute, so it's a few personal items that give me comfort whilst travelling. MDW is non-stop, so I need things that keep me feeling good, from my skincare essentials to heat pack patches and anti-inflammatory tablets to keep my back limber and mobile after long days standing, mint chewing gum for fresh breath, and, of course, my trusted Tod's sneakers that get me through day and night."

Curious to know what else the Articolo Studios' Creative Director is packing ahead of her week on the go? Read on to learn more.

1. By Terry Lip Balm and Kiehl's Hand Balm

2. Monica Castiglioni Ring

3. "Unreasonable Hospitality" by Will Guidara

4. Tod's Sneakers

5. Notebook

6. Earbuds


Deciding what to bring with you to Milan Design Week 2025 can be a hard task, particularly if you are aiming to marry sophistication with comfort. But if there's anything you can learn from Articolo Studios' Nicci Kavals and her travel essentials, it is how not to let the stress of moving around get in the way of your beauty routine and personal style.

Gilda Bruno
Lifestyle Editor

Gilda Bruno is Livingetc's Lifestyle Editor. Before joining the team, she worked as an Editorial Assistant on the print edition of AnOther Magazine and as a freelance Sub-Editor on the Life & Arts desk of the Financial Times. Between 2020 and today, Gilda's arts and culture writing has appeared in a number of books and publications including Apartamento’s Liguria: Recipes & Wanderings Along the Italian Riviera, Sam Wright’s debut monograph The City of the SunThe British Journal of PhotographyDAZEDDocument JournalElephantThe FaceFamily StyleFoamIl Giornale dell’ArteHUCKHungeri-DPAPERRe-EditionVICEVogue Italia, and WePresent.