The Story Behind the Vogue World 2026: Milano Finale Moment

What was that fluttering down from the dome of the Galleria?

Could it be snow? Some mystical flock of birds or cloud of dragonflies? Classic confetti? Not quite. The grand-finale spectacle of Vogue World: Milano involved a constellation of more than 6,000 paper objects, released from the ceiling of the Galleria and specially designed by Jony Ive’s LoveFrom creative studio over a months-long process.

When envisioning the finale moment, Ive and the team set out to honor the city of Milan itself. “Milan is very special in the fact that it is a city that creates and also makes,” Ive told Vogue ahead of the event. “And I think, typically, the creation and the making have become increasingly disconnected. So Milan occupies a very special place for me.”

Photo: Courtesy LoveFrom

For the paper objects—which the team named the “LoveFrom libellula” after the Italian word for dragonfly—the British-American designer drew on a myriad of inspirations and references: nature (dragonflies, sycamore seeds), Milanese lace, Venetian tile mosaics, and the volume and grandeur of the Galleria. Each of the paper objects was folded by hand, using a single piece of paper and no glue.

The team engineered multiple prototypes of the libellula and used Codex, OpenAI’s software engineering system, to build a simulation of the Galleria and visualize what the cloud of objects would look like at different sizes and densities. They tested the release of the objects in an airplane hangar and at the Galleria itself to get a sense of the aerodynamics.

“What we were intrigued by was really occupying the whole space to celebrate one moment, and to connect the ceiling to the floor,” Ive said. “In the same way that there are thousands of tiles in a mosaic, we loved this idea of being able to release thousands of these libellula.”

The objects reflect Ive’s growing interest in dynamic design. “I think there is a strong argument that movement is somehow synonymous with natural intelligence,” Ive said. He wanted the paper objects to look like they were moving, rather than just falling, through the space.

They also functioned as keepsakes, meant to be picked up from the floor and taken home as a memento (to note: any leftovers are being recycled). Each one features text denoting the time and place, with an additional note: “Designed with love in San Francisco.” As it happens, that’s also where we’ll see you for Vogue World 2027.

This article was originally published on Vogue.com.