On the occasion of Milan Design Week 2024, the Los Angeles-based design practice NUOVA Group unveils the installation ‘Time Travel’: staged at the bistrot Via Stampa, the project introduces the world’s first time travel portal. Blending elements of multi-sensorial exhibition and immersive performance, ‘Time Travel’ invites guests on an experiential voyage back in time, to 1971. Demonstrating NUOVA Group's commitment to holistic design and its vision for luxury design and craftsmanship, the installation features an array of elements including furniture, lighting, tailored garments, fragrance, music, gastronomy, and theatre. All set within the ambiance of a classic Milanese bistrot, "Time Travel" promises a momentary Americana escape.

NUOVA Group is a research and innovation-based luxury design studio, founded by Rodrigo Caula and Enrico Pietra and renowned for its development of immersive 360-degree spatial experiences driven by material advancement and craftsmanship. With many years of collaborations with esteemed luxury brands, including Tesla, Yeezy and Rimowa, NUOVA Group offers a comprehensive suite of expertise encompassing industrial and interior design, creative direction, material innovation, sustainability strategy, packaging and product development. In 2020, NUOVA Group also launched Aeir, the world’s first bioengineered luxury perfume brand. Milan Design Week 2024 serves as the stage for NUOVA Group's public debut, exemplifying its commitment to shaping the future through the lens of time travel and meticulous research about luxury design and craftsmanship.

‘Time Travel’ unfolds at Via Stampa, a bistrot in the neighbourhood Carrobbio, opened just a few months ago with the aim of bringing taste, elegance, and simplicity to the heart of the city. Throughout the exhibition period, the venue will remain fully operational for lunch and dinner. Upon arrival, guests will be greeted at the Time Travel Terminal by the concierge, signalling the beginning of an immersive encounter with a dedicated milanese bar. Inside, NUOVA has meticulously curated the takeover of one of the main dining halls with a nostalgic ambiance reminiscent of a bygone era. It begins with the scent of Suede by Aeir. Adorned with dark wood walls and a deep yellow palette upholstered with archival textiles from Torri Lana 1885, the debut furniture collection designed by NUOVA Group awaits behind an aluminium portal — the bar area is choreographed as a waiting room, a liminal space suspended between different epochs. Guests will be offered a coursed menu of crafted drinks, choreographed by NUOVA Group’s allure of a vintage palette of flavours.

After experiencing the Time Travel’s Bar, guests will be invited by a concierge to step into the Sala, with a theatrical performance and spatial intervention that allows users to Time Travel to 1971. NUOVA Group's attention to detail shines through as they orchestrate an immersive experience, lasting six minutes, engaging all senses: from scents to visuals, tactile elements, and enveloping sounds, participants are transported to a quintessential American living room. Even the accompanying staff, waiters and concierge, are draped in period correct garments, with uniforms designed in collaboration with LA based luxury brand L’equip. Whether experiencing this era for the first time, perhaps only having imagined it through movies or books, or nostalgically reliving cherished memories, 'Time Travel' promises an engaging journey that beckons both exploration and introspection about the future. This exhibition format has been inspired by their artist residency at Andrea Zittel’s HDTS in Joshua Tree, California.