Design seems to be attracting an ever-growing audience, and 2024 has been no exception.
"Design is the new luxury, and luxury fashion isn't cool anymore," said Jesse Lee, the founder of collectible platform Basic.Space during a keynote at the Business of Fashion Voices conference.
Obviously, Lee has a vested interest in this sector, but if you look at the big design events that have taken place across the year, brands from other sectors—fashion, tech, and automotive, to name a few—almost outnumbered the furniture brands themselves.
We can only imagine what will happen in 2025, but for now, here are our favorites from the past year.
Tension Trolley
Gustav Winsth for Lammhults
Winsth has been on our radar for some time. But this year, during Stockholm Design week, he really showed up. His first piece for Lammhults was unveiled on the brand’s bright orange stand, and was an instant standout. Inspired by the forms of the present and future, Winsth looked to the sleek lines of our personal devices, but also pieces from the Lammhults archives.
Limited Edition LC14 Tabouret Cabanon
Cassina & Bottega Veneta
Rows of Cassina‘s LC14 Tabouret Cabanon lined the runway of Bottega Veneta’s FW24 show. The stools were reinterpreted versions of the original piece, which was designed in 1952 by Le Corbusier, for his cabin on the Côte d’Azur. For these special editions, the Italian design labels worked alongside the Le Corbusier Foundation to reinterpret an iconic piece of furniture. In keeping with the rest of Matthieu Blazy’s vision, they adopted a scorching method inspired by a traditional Japanese technique, which reveals the intricacies of the wood grain.
Kinetic incense burner
Andu Masebo
Masebo debuted a few of these kinetic works at the debut edition of Matter & Shape – a new design salon in the heart of Paris. Typical of his aesthetic, the designs blend industrial techniques with a refined form, as seen in the raw metal stem combined with the shiny red detail. Because they move, the scent from the stick gets generously wafted around the room. Looks good, smells good.
Wire stool
Verner Panton, &Tradition
Continuing its relationship with the family of Verner Panton, &Tradition rereleases the “Wire Stool” – first created by the Danish designer back in 1981. The lightweight, stackable stool doubles up as a side table, and looks as good on display, waiting to be used, as it does set around a table. “The Wire Stool was a personal favourite of my father,” says Panton’s daughter, Carin. “He was drawn to its paradoxical nature – a design that combines airy transparency with structural integrity and aesthetic elegance.”
Pillo sofa
Willo Perron & Knoll
Knoll and Willo Perron came together to create a sofa that looks l ike a stack of overszied pillows. “Designed to be sat in, not on,” is the way the brand describes the piece, adding that pillows are plush and deep, and that the sofa serves as a “refuge” of sorts. Modular, the elements can be combined dependent on size and shape of space, with textiles and leathers available for upholstery.
Superwire Lamp
Formafantasma & Flos
Unveiled at the Palazzo Visconti in Milan, the modular SuperWire lamp is a result of a long collaboration between Formafantasma and the brand’s research and development team. Its simple design, which recalls the work of glass masters of the last century, conceals a complicated process – which has seen the designers develop an entirely new source, which is thin, flat, and flexible, and omits a soft glow from the so-called “straws” running through the lamp.
Boucherouite rugs
Stüssy and Nina Mohammad
Stüssy reunited with the Artisan Project – a collective of craftspeople led by Palestinian-American textile maker Nina Mohammad – for a second range of boucherouite rugs. For the collaboration, Mohammad took inspiration from “ancestral rugs, art, vintage graphics, and the beauty of nature – capturing aerial landscapes, bodies of water, and the intricacies of flora.” The designer pulled up-cycled Stüssy T-shirts and wool from the Atlas Mountains to create the line’s rugs, which were woven by the Ain Leuh Cooperative in Morocco with traditional techniques.
Experiment Chair
Yrjö Kukkapuro for Hem
When Yrjö Kukkapuro launched his Experiment Chair back in 1984, it quickly became one of the most emblematic pieces of his career. Now, Swedish brand Hem is bringing it back to the market, and has worked closely with both the designer himself and his daughter Isa Kukkapuro-Enbom to ensure the re-edition of the chair represents the original vision. Experiment’s crowning feature is its armrests, which were artfully designed by Kukkapuro to contrast with the otherwise simple form.
BYAKORRE Shelving
Niels Gammelgaard for IKEA
Ah, the piece everyone has been waiting for. The BYAKORRE (or GUIDE) shelves have become much-coveted, and really put Niels Gammelgaard’s name on the map for younger design enthusiasts. The simple, industrial-looking design has made the piece popular across vintage reselling sites, and for this version, the shelves are finished with multicoloured edging on one side, and white on the other. “I love the idea that you can switch the mood in your home through design,” says Gammelgaard. “This piece allows you to play and customise the shelf to your whim, whether you want bold colours or something more subtle.”
Hug Bed
Kouros Maghsoudi
First released during a solo show in Mexico, Maghsoudi’s Hug Bed has now been unveiled in a tone described as “Satin White”. Its chubby frame, crafted from high-gloss fiberglass, envelops the mattress, with each surface curving softly around the sleeper. “Whether enjoyed alone, with a lover, or in a large gathering, the Hug Bed is designed to accommodate all of your desires,” the designer says, adding that the silhouette of the bed was inspired by fashion and specifically streetwear.
Limited edition Sacco
Bottega Veneta & Zanotta
A dog is for life, not just for a runway. At least that's what Mathieu Blazy had in mind when creating a menagerie of animal-themed chairs for the Bottega Veneta SS25 show. Each of the designs are based on the Zanotta Sacco, which was created in 1968 as an elevated take on the humble bean bag. At the show, 60 chairs were on display – with 15 animals featured in a variety of colorways: dog, panda, rabbit, ladybird, snake, bird, chicken, dinosaur, otter, elephant, cat, fox, bear, horse, and whale. The real task comes with making room for all of them.
Set Lamp
Jamie Wolfond & Muuto
The shade on Jamie Wolfond's Set Lamp can be twisted up or down to change the angle of the light. Designed for Danish brand Muuto, the lamp takes its visual cues from industrial production methods and is crafted from aluminum. Its upside-down shade ensures that the glow is bright but indirect, with the "zone" of light being the adjustable factor. "Set Lamp is the result of a type of adjustment that I was curious about. I think there’s a social element to it, especially in a bigger space, being able to create your own zone without affecting the whole," Toronto-based Wolfond said.
Mystic Garden lamps
Veronika Sedlmair and Brynjar Sigurðarson
Designed by German-Icelandic duo Veronika Sedlmair and Brynjar Sigurðarson, this mushroom-shaped lighting collection goes by the name of "Mystic Garden", and sees bright colors combined with ghostly forms. The form of each is created by a master glassblower, and despite looking simple – is the result of an intensive and immersive process taking place at Cirva, The International Glass and Visual Arts Research Centre in Marseille, France. The colors and patterns across the surface of the lamps appear differently when switched on or switched off – transforming them from bold shades to painterly pastels.
Flap chair
Chamar
Displayed during this year's Design Miami – where it was loved by Rihanna – the Flap chair from Mumbai-based Chamar makes use of reclaimed rubber and turns it into a sculptural red form. The studio's founder Sudheer Rajbhar works alongside leather artisans in Bombay to apply their skills to the material – a relationship that stems from the Dalit community in Dharavi, India’s largest slum located in Mumbai. The process sees a fine layer of mesh placed between two sheets of rubber to help shape the robust forms, with pigments applied to create the strong hues.
Recycled fabric sofas
Vetsak & Aspesi
For Milan Design Week, Vetsak teamed up with Italian fashion brand Aspesi to dress its sofas up in recylced garments.The initial collection was made up of three sofas, each featuring an accompanying blanket, cuddly toys, and pillow sets. The bold colours of Aspesi's nylon parachute puffer jackets are seen across the full collection – ranging from popsicle brights to utilitarian green, as well as shades of blue, grey, pink, and black.
Communion table
Giles Tettey Nartey
Giles Tettey Nartey's "Communion" table was on show at the V&A museum as part of the wider London Design Festival, which took place in September. The collection of tables, chairs, and tools are designed for making fufu. Each section of the table serves a different function in the preparation and eating process of the West African dish, and is seen by the designer as not only a practical object, but a performance facilitator. "The work looks to create and reframe a traditional Ghanian process of pounding cassava and plantain with mortar (woduro) and pestle (woma) as a communal act where multiple people can collectively engage," he said.
Flasher Lamp
Studio Elementaires
The Hypnotic “Flasher” lamp from Studio Elementaires takes its inspiration from both nightclubs and fairgrounds. "While its form is borrowed directly from stage spotlights, its effect is fundamentally based on the notions of rhythm, repetition, and movement that characterise dynamic light games,” says the Belgium-based studio, which was founded in 2013 by Apolline Couverchel and Gauthier Haziza.
Stedelijk chair
Sabine Marcelis
Dutch designer Sabine Marcelis has had a prolific few years – and yet, 2024 was the year she released her first chair. Commissioned by the Stedelijk Museum, the designer has translated her minimalist style into a seamless, lightweight design that utilizes just one material: 100% aluminum. Functionality and timelessness were key to the design brief, since the museum commissioned the piece for its entrance area, which was recently opened to the public this Fall following a redesign by Paul Cournet.
Record storage
USM & Symbol
One of a string of collaborations from USM in 2024, this one with audio brand Symbol was one of our favorites from the past year. The collection includes a vinyl storage cabinet, a vinyl display cabinet, a record stand, and a record cart, and each is crafted from USM’s modular component system – made up of steel tubes and panels that are held together by connecting balls.
UPS – Under Pressure Solutions
ECAL
ECAL – the École cantonale d’art de Lausanne – always presents exciting projects during Salone. This year, the students came together to showcase “UPS – Under Pressure Solutions” – an experimental research project aimed at “reducing the environmental impact of the furniture industry” through the use of shape memory materials. The results themselves were beautiful, with the exhibition design ensuring it a place on 2024's best of list.
Click here to view full gallery at Hypebeast
