MINI x Paul Smith Show Off Limited Edition Models at the Milan Salone del Mobile 2026

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Milan Design Week is not short on ambition. Every brand arrives convinced it has built the installation to outshine the rest. Most rely on scale or spectacle. MINI and Sir Paul Smith have taken a different route this year at the Salone del Mobile in Milan. Their “Garden of Curiosity” is smaller in footprint, quieter in tone, and far more interested in drawing you in than shouting for your attention.

Opening 21 – 26 April 2026 as part of the Salone del Mobile in Milan, this calm, almost meditative installation is designed to attract designers, artists and enthusiasts alike. MINI has quietly assembled one of the most compelling displays of Paul Smith collaborations to date, placing historic one-offs and a new production-adjacent model in public view, together, and in context.

A Rare Gathering of MINI x Paul Smith Cars

Set within the historic Palazzo Borromeo d’Adda, the installation begins not with abstraction, but with metal and paint.

Before visitors even reach the garden, they encounter a curated display of three MINI x Paul Smith cars spanning nearly three decades. For many, this will be the first opportunity to see these cars side by side in a public setting, a reminder that this partnership has always been about experimentation as much as aesthetics.

The 1999 Paul Smith 40th Anniversary Mini remains the most exuberant of the trio. Its 86 stripes across 26 colors turn the classic Mini into something closer to kinetic art. Even now, it feels like a provocation, a question about how much color is too much, answered with a shrug.

Next to it sits the MINI STRIP from 2021. Where the 1999 car added, the STRIP subtracted. Interior trim was stripped back, materials left exposed, and the focus shifted to construction and sustainability. It’s arguably the more influential car, even if it’s less immediately charming.

Together, they frame the newest arrival.

The New MINI Cooper Paul Smith Edition

Rather than dominating the space, the new MINI Cooper Paul Smith Edition is woven into the installation itself. You don’t arrive at it, you discover it. It forces the car to exist as part of a broader design narrative rather than as a standalone product.

Visually, it strikes a middle ground between its predecessors. Nottingham Green accents appear on the mirror caps, grille, and wheel hubs, while subtle detailing reflects Smith’s signature approach. There’s restraint here, a sense that MINI is less interested in making a loud statement and more focused on crafting a cohesive one.

It’s also one of the first times the public can experience this new edition in person, not on a stage or in a press image, but embedded within an environment that explains its thinking.

The Installation as Context, Not Distraction

“A Garden of Curiosity” works because it doesn’t compete with the cars, it contextualizes them.

Visitors cross a wooden bridge and pass through a red door into a landscaped courtyard of pathways, grasses, and sculptural forms. The Paul Smith Signature Stripe appears subtly throughout, never overwhelming the space.

Inside, rooms like the Colour Theory Room and Listening Room expand on the ideas seen in the cars. Color becomes interactive. Design becomes something you engage with rather than observe. Crucially, the installation slows you down. And in doing so, it changes how you experience the cars themselves.

Our Take

MINI has always walked a fine line between product and personality. Too much of the former and it risks becoming just another premium small car. Too much of the latter and it drifts into novelty.

By placing these cars within a broader design conversation, MINI reinforces what has made its best collaborations resonate. They’re not just special editions, they’re ideas on wheels. And by showing them together, in public, and with intention, MINI is doing something surprisingly rare. It’s treating its own history not as nostalgia, but as an active part of its present.

“A Garden of Curiosity” is not the largest installation at the Salone del Mobile, nor the loudest. But it may be one of the most meaningful, particularly for those who understand what these cars represent.

Because at its core, this isn’t just about an installation. It’s about seeing MINI at its most creative, past, present, and quietly evolving, all in one place.

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