Textile innovation platform ByBorre is joining forces with industry partners at Milan Design Week 2023, with an exhibition and three-day talk series at Castello Sforzesco.  

Running from 17 to 23 April 2023, ByBorre’s The Elephant in the Room is a celebration of the textile creation process and the heroes reshaping the supply chain. It’s an event that brings together supply chain partners, renowned furniture design brands, The City of Milan and landmark Castello Sforzesco, with FRAME, Nieuwe Instituut and The New Stijl facilitating industry and design talks. The programme will expose what’s behind hidden labels, exploring how to forge a more sustainable future for the industry. 

Kicking off the week is Elephant in the Room’s series of industry and design talks, to take place on the 17th, 18th and 19th. Mornings are dedicated to industry panels, hosted by Nieuwe Instituut and moderated by FRAME: they will dive into transparency, fairness, collaboration and co-design, enriched with leader insight from The Woolmark Company, Groz-Beckert, Mayer & Cie., Santoni, Südwolle Group, Lensvelt, Montis and Arco. In the afternoons, the stage will become a platform for The New Stijl-curated design talks between ByBorre, The Fabricant, Sabine Marcelis, Sheltersuit and Studio Hagel.

Meanwhile, the free exhibition is set to illustrate the myriad steps that make up the textile supply chain, providing viewers with a stronger understanding of its complexities and challenges through past, present and future. Sforza Castle Museums’s twelve Trivulzio Tapestries form a backdrop for the content, uplifting the long history and craftsmanship of textiles. Guests can book appointments with the ByBorre team, supply chain partners or exhibiting brands, carving out time for an even more in-depth look into textile developments.

'Everything you see and touch is made with machines, needles, yarns, threads, fibres and raw materials mixed with energy to create something that solves your problem – be it short or long-term, big or small,’ says ByBorre founder Borre Akkersdijk. ‘Textiles are always there to be counted on, as they have been for centuries. It is time to open the sources of the industry and make responsible textiles available to every creator for any product.'

Learn more about The Elephant in the Room and register for the talks and exhibition entry here.