11th Anniversary of Design Shanghai: Celebrating Design Excellence Across 600 International Brands
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In partnership with Audi this year, Design Shanghai, Asia’s largest international design fair, welcomed its 11th edition from the 19-22nd of June. Over the course of the four-day event, the show witnessed a total of over 80,000 visitors descend upon the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Convention Centre - a mecca of furniture and product design - which showcased 600 international and local brands across 40 countries, from both emerging and established designers. Constantly breaking new ground, the show has set a precedent in China’s ever-growing design community.
Expanded by a third for this year’s edition - with the introduction of a brand new hall exploring new materials and applications - the show explored the collaborative synergy between eastern and western design philosophies across all four halls. A robust series of design forums and workshops allowed visitors to witness intellectual exchanges and exploration of future design trends from renowned domestic and international designers and brands including Thomas Heatherwick and Masiero. This year’s Features focused on topics spanning traditional craftsmanship from the global design industry to sustainable design and cutting edge materials. Outside of the show, the annual Design Shanghai @Xintiandi Design Festival saw Shanghai’s trendy and modern district Xintiandi transformed by immersive and interactive installations.
Features - Craft and Emerging Talents
Features - a series of curated installations by leading design and creative studios - is an annual highlight and through their immersive nature, ignited conversations around Chinese and Japanese traditional craft, sustainable design and young talent.
Above: Talents (Hall 1)
Curated by acclaimed designer Frank Chou, TALENTS aims to consistently foster the creative force of young designers. This year, emerging designers were invited to explore the theme "The Quest For The Question" and showcase the importance of rational perspective and strong-decision making, amidst the pursuit of creativity and innovation.
Above: neooold (Hall 3)
Curated by designer Chen Min, neooold featured "Art·Extension" as the theme for 2024. Encompassing ceramics, metalworking, weaving, lacquer, and other traditional crafts, these devoted works converge the origins of modern art with the deep roots of traditional craftsmanship. During the exhibition, works by artists and craftsmen from both domestic and international realms, including Alao Bakker, Makoto Suetomi, and Hans Tan, were showcased.
Above: Zhuo Tan, General Manager, Clarion Events China & Brand GENGORO (L) , Masiero (R), Beyond Craft Japan (Hall 3)
Bridging the gap between Japan and China, Design Shanghai unveiled “Beyond Craft Japan” for the first time, offering an opportunity to experience the depth and creativity of Japanese design through materials and craftsmanship. Other notable features included GORGEOUS JEWELLERY 1.0, a feast of contemporary jewellery presented by more than 80 designers; In The Texture of Crafts, a revitalisation of traditional crafts through design collaborations; and finally, Rong Casting Exhibition, dedicated to deconstructing traditional crafts into materials and techniques.
Rong (Hall 4)
Celebrating Chinese Talent and Design
Placing a global spotlight on emerging and established Chinese designers, Design Shanghai has contributed to the unprecedented growth of numerous Chinese designers, many of whom have become pillars of contemporary design in China.
Above: GID, PRECIOUS HOME (Hall 1)
This year’s show continued to highlight the advancement of Chinese design and craftsmanship, with more domestic brands emerging in Design Shanghai, showing the continuous rise of China as a global powerhouse in design. Exhibitor highlights include Frank Chou Collection, from the namesake acclaimed designer who also curated the TALENTS Feature; U+, one of China’s most popular furnishings brands, which has always been committed to the design, development and manufacture of contemporary Chinese furniture; and home furnishings brand GID, which presented ‘Precious Home’, a curation of personalised and artistic pieces.
Brand and Collection Debuts at Design Shanghai
From globally renowned to independent design practices, each recognises the global impact and authoritative voice Design Shanghai holds in the design and architecture space and selects the show as a platform to launch their collections and cutting-edge designs.
Above: WHYGARDEN (Hall 1)
Unveiled in Asia for the first time this year, WHYGARDEN is the brainchild of acclaimed Chinese designer Meng Ye. Collections on display were inspired by the theme “AIR FLOW”, celebrating the revival of life, and its awakening with the breath of nature.
Above: GUBI, Bagdad (Hall 1)
Danish furniture brand GUBI, based on Mathieu Matégot’s classic design, showcases the new upgraded version of the BAGDAD portable lamp, a retro design and sculptural signature piece that brings depth and character into a space. Introducing another new launch to the show, the Multi-Lite Portable Lamp by Louis Weisdorf represents the ‘golden era’ of Danish design, featuring two adaptable, characterful shades that instantly become the focal point of any room.
Above: HC28 (Hall 1)
HC28 is an innovative design brand that creates high-end furniture, dedicated to looking at design through a cross-cultural lens. In collaboration with HC28, Hanne Willmann presented two new collections at Design Shanghai this year: ORIGAMI (pictured above) a Japanese-inspired collection led with a minimalist design ethos; and COLOS, a furnishing range that draws inspiration from historic columns, featuring flowing and delicate silhouettes.
Above: (L) Stellar Works (Hall 1), ® Sandriver (Hall 3)
Uniting the East and West, Stellar Works crafts timeless furniture that blends tradition with innovation. Over the past 10 years, Stellar Works has experienced exponential international growth, transitioning from commercial to consumer audiences, all while consistently delivering some of the world's most iconic bespoke hospitality projects. Showcased above is the Swivel Bar Chair from the Mr. B Collection. Founded in 2012, Sandriver is the creation of Chinese designer Juliet Guo, who is passionate about sustainable development, traditional handicrafts of nomadic cultures, and innovative cashmere products. Using raw materials from her family-owned steppe in Inner Mongolia, she works with many craftsmen in the workshops in Shanghai and on the Tibetan plateau to create cashmere products of excellent quality. This year’s show saw Sandriver unveil a beautiful range of cashmere and felt products.
International Talent
Due to its popularity in 2023, this year, Hall 3 expanded and upgraded with many European fragrance and accessory brands heading to Shanghai to unveil their latest collections. In Hall 3, Visitors saw collections from Belgian high-end luxury home fragrance BAOBAB, Italian fragrance design brand Dr.Vranjes, Danish home accessories brand Reflections Copenhagen, Italian national treasure blown glass lighting and accessories brand Venini, British porcelain brand Wedgwood, German porcelain pioneer Meissen, Hungarian national treasure porcelain Herend, as well as Turkish glassware Nude.
Above: Reflections Copenhagen (Hall 3)
Assembling the very best furniture and lighting design brands from across the globe, Hall 1 showcased a roster of renowned, international brands, including Italian furniture brand EMU, French Lalique known as the "Sculptor of Light", Italian lamps and decoration brand Icone Luce, outdoor furniture Ethimo, furniture and lighting brand Gervasoni, innovative Italian lighting Masiero, Italian furniture brand Monography, and Japanese furniture brand Karimoku.
Above: Monography (Hall 1)
Above: (L) LAUFEN , (R) Villeroy & Boch (Hall 2)
Kitchen and Bathroom Design Hall 2, showcased high-end bathroom and cabinet brands from the likes of Poggenpohl，Siematic，Leicht，Laufen，Villeroy&Boch，ASKO， Liebherr，and Porcelanosa. The innovative application of materials has always been one of the core topics in the design field and in Hall 4, the latest materials and application solutions were displayed from many international brands including Italian leader in wood dyeing TABU, the world’s leading synthetic fibre manufacturer Aquafil, and international lighting group L&S Lamps.
Design Forum & Workshops
Over four days, the KOHLER · Design Shanghai Design Forum, CMF Conference, Workplace Conference, Presentation Zone, Innovation Workshop, and the Sustainable Design China Summit brought together the advanced ideas of leading designers worldwide, offering a platform for insightful exploration of future trends through design thinking. This initiative reflects Design Shanghai's commitment to professional excellence, fostering a space where creativity, innovation, and sustainable practices are seamlessly integrated and shared with a global audience. Always the main stage for intellectual exchanges, the Kohler · Design Shanghai Design Forum is one of the best attended and comprehensive seminar programmes in Asia. The theme for this year’s forum was ‘The New Universal Language of Design’. As the world becomes increasingly smaller, the forum explored how the East and West are interacting in ways they never have before; through the use of AI and highlighting our duty of care for the planet.
Notable speakers included Thomas Heatherwick, founder and design director of Heatherwick Studio, who shared his unique understanding of Chinese and Western culture and emotional design in his new book ‘Humanise’; Ed Ng, co-founder and chief designer of AB Concept, shared his views on "turning invisible emotions into tangible reality"; Luke Pearson, co-founder and director of Pearson Lloyd, explored the close connection between design and the world, and Aldo Bakker, founder of Aldo Bakker Studio, delved into the similarities and differences of design language from the perspective of "personal language".
Above: Aldo Bakker (L), Tomas Heatherwick (R)
Above: ED NG (L), Luke Pearson (R)
“My overall impression of Design Shanghai was the professionalism and energy - the quality for this year was outstanding. The incredible features and forums have given me a different perspective on the design industry, which I'm completely passionate about. It's not just about selling products, it's about producing culture.” Luke Pearson, Co-founder and director of Pearson Lloyd
Long term partner, Audi, participated in Design Shanghai by presenting an interactive installation themed ‘Language of Light’. The showcase demonstrated how Audi is pushing the boundaries of automotive lighting technology and design to transform the relationship between the car and its surroundings. Audi’s latest masterpiece created specifically for China in the era of intelligent and electric mobility – the Audi Q6L e-tron – made a stunning appearance as the latest proof point of the brand’s long legacy of design and ongoing story of progress.
“2024 has been a challenging year for designers, architects, brands, and everyone in the design industry. Design Shanghai has always embraced change and faced challenges head-on. This year, the show was buzzy and dynamic, resembling an annual grand gathering for designers, with many discovering new directions for the future. This is exactly our aim - to instil confidence in the design industry and give designers a much-needed boost.” Zhuo Tan, Event Director, Design Shanghai
After celebrating 10 years of success, Design Shanghai’s 11th show concluded with a spectacular display of global design excellence, uniting eastern and western design and showcased a stellar lineup of exhibitors, speakers and engaging features. Design Shanghai is comfortably the most significant international design show in Asia and not only will it return next year for its 12th edition, it will also launch Design Shanghai Collectible (October 31 - November 2, 2024); a brand new show championing collectible design.
Notes to Editors
For further information, hi-res imagery and coverage opportunities, please contact
design@bacchus.agency
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Exhibition location: Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Convention Center
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Official website: https://www.designshanghai.com/
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Headline partner - Audi: As a design-driven brand, Audi feels right at home at
design events around the globe and has forged long-term partnerships with some of the world’s most prestigious design events. Since 2020, Audi has been the exclusive top-tier partner of Design Shanghai, and is participating in the prestigious event again this year with its forward-looking design driven by cutting-edge technologies. Audi has also actively participated in Design Shenzhen as the event’s exclusive headline partner in 2023 and 2024, and has also actively participated in the Milan Design Week for many years.
