Škoda’s Play-Doh inspired installation at Milan Design Week

Škoda returned to Milan Design Week, following the brand’s debut at the event in 2025, to showcase the camouflaged Epiq and its colourful counterpart – the Epiq Sculpt concept.

This concept is a playful twist on the Epiq, built on the same body but with the exterior made up of soft shapes inspired by the malleability of modelling clay. Bold shades of orange, green, turquoise, pink and yellow contrast each other across the exterior in varying sized and shaped geometric forms. 

The installation was set in the courtyard of the Baroque Palazzo del Senato, which had been transformed by Spanish architect and digital artist Ricardo Orts. The open atrium featured an original inflatable installation that wove between the pillars of the palazzo, made up of the many shapes and colours of Play-Doh.

Orts said: “Bringing this playfulness in combination with this historic building was a challenge. Architecture is always present in the work that we do, and we tried to maintain a sensitivity through digital art combined with the rationality of architecture.” 

The space was divided into several zones – including a coffee stop served from the boot of a Škoda Elroq, a space to create your own Play-Doh creation (note CDN’s contribution) and a LED screen projection that turns your figure into Play-Doh-like form. 

CEO of Škoda, Klaus Zellmer, sat down with CDN to discuss more about where the design of the brand is heading. 

Car Design News: How does your exhibition at Milan Design Week further your Modern Solid design language?

Klaus Zellmer: We want to be the face in the crowd. We want to have a differentiating look, because just having technology is not good enough. You need personality and identity. Last year we brought the Elroq here with a really interesting Italian artist and we got a lot of recognition for coming out of our comfort zone of car shows to where designers meet.

The Elroq was such a success and next in line in the Epiq, which fully embraces our modern solid design language. We wanted this vehicle to be connected to our portfolio, ideas, identity and personality – but in a playful way. We have collaborated with Ricardo, who immediately thought big and playful. We are encouraging people to embrace creativity. 

CDN: It’s clear you have a passion for design – with your role as CEO, how closely do you work with head designer Oliver Stefani? 

KZ: I very much rely on having designers like Oliver Stefani, who is an excellent designer. However, 20% of our time goes into just discussing design and product features, which you can’t separate. Every Monday we have our design meeting and our product meeting. Here, we dive into subject matters.

I’m a person who’s very much interested in detail, so I always put myself in the shoes of our customers and I want to really understand. I’m always asking how we can further reduce visual noise and reduce it down to an intuitive way of using the vehicle. We shouldn’t have customers having to watch a YouTube video in order to understand how to change certain features in the car. Our challenge is that we are living in a world that is super complex. 

CDN: What’s next for Škoda? 

KZ: The big next thing will be the Peaq, which is derived from the Vision 7S concept. It’s the first seven-seater in the VW group for Europe. It has a large panoramic glass roof which gives you a good feeling of space. It’s going to be our flagship. 

CDN: How are you feeling about the car design industry at the moment? 

KZ: At the end of the day, it always comes back to form follows function. You must never neglect that. Some people took it a notch too far when they talked about aerodynamics. You can be super aerodynamic, but you lose your identity and your design, so you must be careful and we're going to do exactly that. User experience remains at the core for any design process.