For the third consecutive year, Aesop is present at Salone del Mobile—this time with an installation

that explores purposeful craft, the nature of light and the hands that harness it. Titled The Factory of

Light, the multi-sensorial experience mirrors how Aesop brings illumination and intrigue to every

room in which it is placed, and every skin it touches.

Located just a few metres from Aesop Brera, the installation was designed by Australian architect

and founder of March Studio, Rodney Eggleston. Throughout the experience, the story of Aesop’s

latest creation unfolds: Aposē—a trio of lights, unveiled here for the first time, with the limited-

edition table lamp available to purchase both in person or online.

The installation is open to all until 26 April, from 10am to 6pm daily at Santa Maria Del Carmine.

In a world of overly lit, overly stimulating environments that shout among the streetscape, Aesop’s

stores have always taken a quieter approach, channeling light as a medium that might instill a sense

of serenity. With an interplay of both natural and soft artificial lighting, each space creates an

atmosphere that is homely, poetic—and which leaves room for a sense of mystery. 

‘Salone del Mobile is an ideal setting for us to share our unique perspective on light and how it fits

within our wider design philosophy’, says Aesop Brand President Garance Delaye. ‘This year's

theme explores how our approach to spaces, objects and even formulations has been guided by an

understanding of how to best harness light—and the shadows it may cast. From the signature amber

tint of our bottles, originally chosen to protect formulations from the sun while creating captivating

reflections in-store, to the ingredients our scientists select to bring luminosity to the skin, light is

something we approach with scientific rigour and a poetic sensibility—as is our way.’

On entering the space, guests are greeted at the basin—the centrepoint of every Aesop store. Here

the hands are refreshed with the lather of a fragrant hand wash before a new sensation, Solais

Replenishing Hand Serum, which includes Niacinamide, Dandelion Root and LHA to brighten the

skin. From there, through a hidden portal, the journey begins.

Within the cloister of Santa Maria del Carmine, The Factory of Light celebrates the precision of

human hands that conjure light through craft. The structure’s translucent walls were erected from

scaffolding, wrapped in salvaged trompe-l’œil tarpaulins. Originally used to shroud notable

buildings undergoing restoration, these materials speak to the effort of preserving a legacy—and

Aesop’s approach to responsible design. Cut, recomposed and applied to an architectural structure,

the tarps form a portrait of a fantasised yet recognisable Milan.

Inside the installation, all senses converge in four rooms to spotlight the meticulous work of the

family-run workshops that manufacture Aposē, amid Aesop formulations that bring luminosity to the

skin and surrounds. The opening is Hear, where the rhythmic rotation of mechanical lathes sculpts

the lamp’s shell. Made from a single sheet of brass, just a few millimetres thick, it was pressed on a

lathe in Scorzē, northern Italy. See focuses on the entrancing craft of glass-blowing. The artisan

blowers of Veneto kindle the flames and shape the glass crown of Aposē by sheer force of lung. The

third room, Touch, presents the production of the lamp’s screw cap base in a German foundry that

was established in 1874. Molten brass—heated at 900°C—is poured into sand moulds, solidifying

slowly, before the mould is broken and the precious metal retains the rough, heavy texture of its

surfaces. Finally, Smell divulges the final chapter in which all individual parts are assembled by

expert hands in Brescia, and Aposē is switched on for the first time. As a nod to the final step—when

the lamp illuminates a home—the aroma of our Oil Burner Blends carries the mind from the

industrial to the domestic.

The sacristy of Santa Maria del Carmine houses the installation's final gesture: a horizontal surface

composed of 10,826 salvaged fragrance bottles. Repurposed from leftover stocks, they extend

Aesop’s longstanding practice of transforming packaging into architectural materials, and its

commitment to reducing waste. Arranged in an undulating configuration, the amber assembly

refracts and multiplies light across the room’s historic carved-wood panelling, while the scent of

Above Us, Steorra Eau de Parfum imparts an additional amber quality into the air. This amber wave

is illuminated by the Aposē trio, revealed here for the first time. In silent conversation with the

historic surroundings, the contemporary installation allows the intemporal design of the lamp to

shine within the ambient chiaroscuro.

Designed by Aesop’s in-house architects, the Aposē lamp reinterprets the aluminium tube used to

house formulations, scaled to unconventional proportions—50 centimeters in diameter, 36

centimeters tall. Its brass plinth—cast by hand in a German family-run foundry—is topped by a glass

crown, mouth-blown near Murano. Filtered through this frosted halo, Aposē’s even light radiates

delicate warmth to every room. Aposē is now available to purchase at the Factory of Light or via the

Aesop website, with pre-orders running from 21 April’

Each Aesop store across the world is the result of a sincere interest in sustainable design. The starting

point of the brand’s design process is to always work with what already exists—whether it be tables

from its old head office becoming display shelves, or cardboard mailing tubes transforming into

interior fittings. The Factory of Light exemplifies this principle to repurpose local materials. From the

fragrance bottles that create the reflective wave in the sacristy, to the salvaged Milanese restoration

tarpaulins that form the central structure’s walls, the approach is characteristically considered. The

effects of which, as demonstrated in the installation, are often considerable.

Beyond the installation, moments of considerately lit repose may be found beyond the bustle of

Salone del Mobile at Aesop’s Milano Cordusio, Corso Magenta and Brera stores. Here, consultants

are on hand to introduce formulations that may enhance the skin’s luminosity—from Solais

Replenishing Hand Serum to Lucent Facial Concentrate—along with Eaux de Parfum that distill a

radiant spirit.

‘Light is the chaser away of darkness.’ Leonardo Da Vinci