Sneak Peak at our exclusive Interview with Alcova

Reflecting on Heimtex and Anticipating Milan Design Week

Every January, Heimtextil sets the tone for the year in textiles. But this year, a new conversation emerged—one that looked beyond products, and more toward possibilities. Alcova, the platform known for reshaping how we experience design, curated Textile Matters at Heimtextil 2024, a conceptual installation that asked deeper questions: What is textile today? What can it become?

For those tracking the pulse of Milan Design Week, Alcova’s presence is especially significant. As they prepare for their biggest edition yet this April, their curatorial voice continues to bridge disciplines, draw in unexpected collaborators, and reimagine material culture.

We sat down with Valentina Ciuffi, co-founder of Alcova, to hear her reflections on the Heimtextil installation and what it signals for Milan. Below are a few excerpts from that conversation—thoughtful, sharp, and very much in motion.

Interview conducted by Elaine Markoutas for The Textile Eye.

Elaine Markoutas:
Let’s start with how this collaboration with Heimtextil came about. What made you say yes?

Valentina Ciuffi:
Heimtextil reached out with a real openness. They weren’t just looking for decoration—they wanted a curatorial project, a way to rethink how textiles are shown. For us, it was a chance to explore something new: what does it mean to stage an exhibition about textiles, inside a textile fair, but from a conceptual angle? What we were interested in was: how can we use the language of installation, the language of exhibition-making, to explore textiles in a broader sense?

Pietro Sutera / Heimtextil Messe Frankfurt

EM:
What kind of brief did you set for the designers?

VC:
We kept it very open. We didn’t ask for finished pieces; we asked for thoughts, gestures, fragments. The point wasn’t to create a product showcase—it was to offer perspectives. Textile is a material, yes—but it’s also a metaphor. It connects disciplines, it carries memory, it has social implications. We wanted the installation to reflect that richness.

EM:
The theme was Textile Matters—which reads both as “textiles are important” and “the material of textile.” Can you talk about how you interpreted that?

VC:
Exactly—it’s a play on meanings. On one hand, we’re saying: yes, textile matters. It’s fundamental. But we’re also asking: what is textile made of? What can it become? We had this incredible range—from bio-textiles and paper-like materials to pieces made from waste. But we were careful not to turn it into a sustainability showcase. The point wasn’t to make a list of “good” materials—it was to create a space for critical thinking.

EM:
How did the audience respond?

VC:
People really stayed. You could see they were curious. At a fair, you’re used to walking quickly, collecting information. But here, we had people sitting down, taking time. I think they felt the difference: it wasn’t about selling or promoting, it was about reflecting. We could feel how much people wanted that. Not just information, but interpretation.

EM:
Looking ahead to Milan, are you continuing this way of working?

VC:
Yes—and even more so. Milan will be our largest edition of Alcova to date. More space, more contributors, more disciplines. But the principle is the same: Alcova isn’t a fair. It’s a context. A frame that allows things to be seen differently. We’re continuing to invite artists, designers, researchers—people who bring their own language. That’s what keeps it alive.