New York Design Week—also known as NYCxDesign—is back, with an energy and creative output undeterred by any expectations of industry tariff challenges. Major fair ICFF/Wanted and newcomer Shelter are anchoring a robust program of city-wide showcases exploring everything from material experimentation and cross-disciplinary collaboration to the continuous reinvention of what functionality and sustainability entail.
The extensive event—officially taking place from May 15–21 with independent shows extending well before these dates—comes on the heels of an equally jam-packed Frieze Week. This year’s design week offers a dynamic crop of product launches, thematic group shows, and a surprising number of new showrooms, bucking the trend that has seen brands move away from brick-and-mortar retail in the past decade. Here, AD PRO has put together a comprehensive guide of what to see and where to grab a bite or drink along the way.
What, When, Where
As with most international trade and cultural events held in the post-pandemic era, this roughly week-long festival is placing particular focus on an ever-resilient and creative local scene; one forged as much out of entrepreneurship as collectivity, if not also openness and resourcefulness. That isn’t to say that New York’s global nature isn’t also being highlighted. As it unfolds, NYCxDesign will reveal the latest from this evolving discipline. From the widely expressive to the carefully pared back, there’s something for everyone.
Held at the Javits Center from May 18–20, ICFF (and its integrated sister showcase, Wanted) is design week’s anchor event, hosting nearly 400 exhibitors. The convention center is easily accessible using the 7 subway line and the 34 Street–Hudson Yards subway station. With entrances on 11th Avenue, the building is also only a few minutes’ walk from rail-linked Penn Station.
What’s new at ICFF/Wanted
New staging by designer Rodolfo Agrella of New York-based studio RADS promises a more immersive experience than in previous years, including dedicated exhibitions like Rarify’s “Form & Forest,” which will highlight 1950s and 1960s furniture by legendary designers like Hans Wegner, Finn Juhl, and Sori Yanagi—works that exemplify the pinnacle of joinery and material innovation of their time. AD and AD PRO’s returning salon “Bespoke: The Art of Making” will be crafted by AD PRO Directory firm March and White Design with the look and feel of a boutique hotel lobby, hosting fireside chats and a showcase of nearly 20 international studios specializing in artisanal techniques, from furniture-making to finishing. Other brands celebrating historic design at the fair will include Bend, Oregon-based Fernweh Woodworking’s Oxbend Windsor chair, a reinterpreted traditional steam-bent wood seat, and Brooklyn-based ceramics practice Sin, debuting its Egyptian obelisk-inspired Obel and Stria lighting collections.
Innovative—and sometimes unexpected—collaborations will also be fair highlights this year. Swedish brand Layered will debut a collection with abstract artist Heather Chontos, rendering her intuitive compositions in wool sourced from New Zealand. Morpho—an Art Nouveau-inspired furniture line developed by Belgian electronic music festival Tomorrowland, furniture brand Ethnicraft, and architect Dieter Vander Velpen—will make its United States debut. And if you need a space to relax, reset, or answer a few emails throughout the week, Connecticut-based architectural lighting manufacturer Juniper will open its Recharge Lounge, designed with HBF, to all fairgoers.