On the occasion of Design Week, the Fondazione Pistoletto enriches the Milanese creative landscape by presenting CirculART 4.0 at the Eco Contract headquarters in Palazzo Bocconi. The project aims to redefine the dialogue between the creativity of contemporary art and the rigour of the leading textile industry, transforming textile matter from a simple accessory into a central component of conscious design.

CirculART 4.0 represents the natural evolution of Fashion B.E.S.T. (Better Ethical Sustainable Think-Tank), the sustainable fashion laboratory founded in 2009 by Michelangelo Pistoletto and Franca Sozzani. Developed in synergy with the UNIDEE residency programmes, the project represents a solid bridge between art and sustainability, elevating fashion as a vehicle for cultural change.

The journey of these works actually began last October at the Fondazione Sozzani, chosen as the first prestigious venue for the debut of CirculART 4.0 by virtue of the historic bond between the founders. The project, which enshrines sustainability as a cultural value, returns to Milan for Design Week 2026 in the renowned spaces of Eco Contract + Eco Design. Here, the ethical vision of the Third Paradise meets the world of architecture and interior design, demonstrating how art can tangibly influence contemporary living solutions.

This collaboration stems from a shared vision: art and design are not mere aesthetic exercises, but tools for social transformation. While the Foundation promotes a new balance between nature and artifice, Eco Contract translates this philosophy into architectural reality, selecting materials that reduce environmental impact and enhance indoor well-being. In this setting, beauty becomes a characteristic strongly connected to environmental and social responsibility.

The exhibition presents the results of a co-creation involving six international talents and 16 leading Italian manufacturing companies, united to explore new productive and cultural frontiers. "Giving life to this choral narrative," reads the official press release, "are three artists and three fashion designers who have engaged with the craftsmanship of our enterprises: the artists Camilla Alberti, Giulia Filippi, and Mako Ishizuka, and the fashion designers Made for a Woman, Piero D’Angelo, and Martina Boero from Cavia."

Developed with Kering's Material Innovation Lab (MIL) and the support of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, CirculART 4.0 is a living laboratory that explores the pillars of the new textile economy: traceability, transparency, and circularity. A key element is the Digital Product Passport (DPP), developed with Temera (Beontag Group). Each work is accompanied by a digital passport documenting its entire supply chain, making the creative genesis transparent and accessible, and setting a new standard of trust between creator and consumer.

“CirculART 4.0, beyond being an artistic initiative, becomes a living and concrete encounter that brings art, fashion, and responsible industry into a creative dialogue,” declares Olga Pirazzi, head of the Fashion B.E.S.T. Office at Cittadellarte. “The direct engagement with materials and the understanding of their origin and transformation offers artists and designers a new perspective for their own practice. In this dialogue, creativity becomes a tool for awareness, and culture intertwines with innovation. Furthermore, thanks to the Digital Passport, transparency finally becomes part of the creative process, telling the story of the supply chain through its own history.”

“With CirculART 4.0, Design Week becomes the opportunity to demonstrate that art is a concrete engine of change,” declares Paolo Naldini, Director of the Foundation. “It is an invitation to industries to involve creatives throughout the supply chain to imagine, together, a future where beauty is synonymous with responsibility. In the 1960s, Pistoletto helped bring art outside the artist's studio. With Cittadellarte, we transform the spaces of social life into collective co-creation studios, where the freedom of art and the resulting responsibility are shared with every other position of material or intellectual creation that builds society.”

The exhibition will be open to the public from 21 to 26 April, from 10:00 to 19:00, with free admission at the Eco Contract headquarters in Palazzo Bocconi (Corso Venezia, 48, 20121 Milan MI).

Main Partner: Material Innovation Lab, Kering Group
Exclusive Partner for Traceability and Technological Innovation: Temera Scientific Partner: Acqua Foundation
Partner Companies: Albini Group, Brunello, Erica Industria Tessile, Filatura Astro, Lanecardate, Lenzing Group, Maglificio Maggia, Madiva, Maeba International SB, Officina39, Piacenza Group, Pulvera, Successori Reda S.B.p.A., Regenesi, Tessuti di Sondrio, Zegna Baruffa Lane Borgosesia.