Richard Yasmine Reimagines the Five Senses in Milan Design Week

Lebanese interior architect and product designer Richard Yasmine operates in the space between reality and imagination. His work is bold and provocative, drawing on emotion, the human body, and an inner world that he uses as a laboratory for designs. His latest collection, ‘Vessels of the Intangible,’ is now on display at this year’s Milan Design Week 2026.

In the collection, five sculptural lighting pieces reinterpret one of the five senses. Among these are ‘The Eye’ - shimmering with textures and varying materials - ‘The Finger’, in the form of a singular and polished finger reaching up from the ground, ‘The Lips’, bright red and bold as it blows a bubble made of glass, ‘The Nose,’ and finally, ‘The Ear.’ Each piece seeks to reveal the hidden designs and inner workings of our own bodies, and reimagine them as artworks that represent each sensation. The light that radiates from each one illuminates our senses from the inside out.

The collection is made across nine artisanal techniques including metalwork, blown glass, leather, embroidery, rattan, and enamel, giving each piece a tactile element that pulls the viewer closer. Yasmine frames the work within what he calls a Neo Ritual Baroque — psychological rather than decorative, where drama, desire, and material intensity replace function.

The Eye - The Daydreamer

The eye remains open as a quiet glass tear hangs from its corner. ‘The tear is not sorrow but memory made visible,’ illuminated by a single bulb.

The Nose - The Instinctive

The nose can smell from a hundred miles away. It is a ‘raw, almost animal’ sense, illuminated by what hangs underneath it, in a circular ring of light.

The Mouth — The Seducer

The mouth is made up of small fragments of material coming together hues of bold red and bright pink. It blows a bubble of glass holding light; an image that ‘does not whisper, but declares.’

The Finger — The Desirer

Made of woven material toped with a bright red and polished nail, the finger is ‘guided by impulse yet driven by control,’ both from the hand its attached to and the ring that surrounds it.

The Ear — The Listener

Paradoxically, the ear is the quietest of our senses; receiving sounds and synthesising their meaning quietly. The resulting sculpture is simple, natural, and raw.