SALTZMAN: Ciao from Italy! Tech takes centre stage at Milan’s Design Week

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Focusing heavily on the theme of “Mondi Connessi” (Connected Worlds), the 63^rd annual Design Week – which wraps up Sunday in Milan – featured collaborations between design leaders and fashion brands, furniture crafters and architects, musicians and even software engineers.

In fact, technology proved to be a pillar at this year’s Design Week, with a focus on the convergence of digital and physical experiences – including global tech companies showing off their wares at various events and installations across the northern Italian metropolis.

Sustainable innovation and experimentation with artificial intelligence were also pervasive themes.

ASUS – best-known for its Zenbook-branded laptops – was a key exhibitor, hosting a “Design You Can Feel” showcase at Galleria Meravigli, a historic century-old gallery in the heart of the city.

In partnership with the UK’s Studio INI founder and designer Nassia Inglessis, the giant bespoke installation, dubbed “Willful Wonder,” explored themes of materiality, craftsmanship and AI – and inspired by Zenbook laptops that feature an exclusive outer material called Ceraluminum, a stylish yet durable fusion of ceramics with aerospace-grade aluminum.

Willful Wonder might best be described as a lengthy catwalk that, when one steps down the narrow ramp from tip to tail, large and honeycombed wings open as you pass through, and gracefully close behind you as you continue to walk forward. With the outer material covered in Ceraluminum, those who walked through this multisensory installation (including yours truly) were also encouraged to touch the blade-like wings as they stepped through. A personalized, AI-generated video is shown following your walkthrough of Willful Wonder, to complete the experience.

It feels like you’re traversing the spine of a living organism.

Designer Nassia Inglessis, on her inspiration for ‘Willful Wonder’

On Studio INI’s partnership with ASUS, Inglessis said this is the first time she has collaborated on an installation with a tech brand.

“We shared a lot of common values in wanting to innovate in how we craft with materials to create very unique experiences,” Inglessis said in an exclusive interview with Postmedia. “In my practice I basically use technology in a way of what I call creating an ‘embodied intelligence,’” a form of intelligence that’s generated through continuous perception and physical interaction, shaped by the interaction between the body, brain, and the environment.

“Willful Wonder feels very analog, but the technology is embedded in how the materials, including Ceraluminum, have been crafted and used,” Inglessis added. “There’s an element of surprise (in this installation), but you have complete agency of what is happening, it’s all emanating from your body, meant to first make you feel very concealed, like a cocoon, but to then wander out into another state.”

Wonder indeed. (Quite by fluke, but the name of the gallery, Meravigli, is an Italian word for “wonder,” “marvel” or delight.”)

Willful Wonder was available for anyone to experience, though some of us – ahem – need a bit of help “catwalking” gracefully along the slender strip. Not as easy as it looks.

‘Ceraluminum Signature Editions’ unveiled in Milan

ASUS introduced Ceraluminum last year in some of its Zenbook laptops, describing it as a high-tech material achieved by “ceramizing” aluminum through an electrochemical process using plasma discharges, resulting in a material that combines the lightness of aluminum with the resilience of ceramic.

The result is a lightweight material that’s said to have a fracture toughness 10 times higher than traditional ceramic. As an added bonus, Ceraluminum has a matte finish that repels fingerprints and scratches and enhances grip.

While there are multiple laptop colours available, interestingly there is no paint used in the process. Ceraluminum colours are achieved through a unique oxidation that results in a variety of hues and textures inspired by nature.

The environmentally responsible material is 100% recyclable, says ASUS.

Unveiled during Milan Design Week 2025 were several Ceraluminum Signature Edition-branded Zenbook laptops, designed to pay homage to Earth’s natural landscapes. This includes Obsidian Black (inspired by Geldingadalir, Iceland’s cooled lava), Pamukkale White (based on southwestern Turkey’s renowned mineral-rich thermal springs), Terra Mocha (an earthy tone pulled from Wadi Rum, Jordan), and Luminous Blue (encouraged by Vaadhoo Island, Maldives’ marine bioluminescence).

No word yet when these special edition laptops will be available, and for how much.

Galip Fu, marketing director for ASUS Consumer PCs, says design is incredibly important to many computer users.

“It’s supposed to be a ‘personal’ computer and so we wanted to make something that could talk to your individual style, something you can bring with you everywhere and feels like it’s for you,” Fu said in an interview at Galleria Meravigli with Postmedia.

“We’ve experimented with a lot in materials and design, including a bamboo edition of a laptop a few years ago, but Ceraluminum really separates us apart from competitors,” Fu adds. “This is part of our journey of exploration, environmental responsibility, and beauty.”

“Nassia’s interpretation of Ceraluminum in her work (with Willful Wonder) is like a mimosa plant that, when closed, is highly personal and feels secure, which we take very seriously as a computer company, but then as you walk through the exhibit you’re coming out to ‘Zen’ – a rebirth into tranquility, nature, and a sense of wonder,” Fu explained.

– Marc Saltzman is the host of the Tech It Out podcast and the author of the book, Apple Vision Pro For Dummies (Wiley)