The Fruit Carousel

Artist and designer Laila Gohar transformed an antique carousel into one of the event’s most memorable installations through a collaboration with ARKET. Presented at Giardino delle Arti, the eighteenth-century ride — originally from Wiesbaden, Germany, and preserved by the Degli Innocenti family — replaces traditional horses with oversized fruits and vegetables carved into sculptural seats. A pear becomes ceremonial, a watermelon unexpectedly elegant. Minimal alterations preserve the familiarity of the forms, reflecting Gohar’s surreal yet deeply domestic visual language.

The project also marks Gohar’s debut in ready-to-wear fashion with a twenty-seven-piece collection launched alongside the installation on April 21. Blending her playful interpretation of beauty with ARKET’s restrained Scandinavian design approach, the collection moves between practicality and fantasy. Running from April 20 to 24, the installation invites visitors not simply to observe, but to participate — riding the carousel, gathering in the garden, and briefly entering Gohar’s whimsical world.