The Best of Design Miami 2025: Material Magic, Sculptural Seating, and Iridescent Worlds

Design Miami 2025 delivered a fair charged with imagination—where material experimentation, collectible design, and spatial storytelling merged for a fun “Make. Believe” theme. From sculptural seating in bronze and iridescent installations to historic tapestries and boundary-pushing lighting, the 20th presentation revealed an industry in creative bloom. Below, Whitewall highlights the presentations that shaped the Design Miami 2025.

Solo Booths with Unforgettable Energy

At David Klein Gallery, the Detroit-based creator Jack Craig unveiled a striking suite of carpet-based sculptural furniture, turning textile into architectural form. Sharing the booth, Tina Frey’s “Orbit” collection offered three bronze seats that balanced mass with softness, while Stephen Burks, in association with Friedman Benda, presented new works bridging craft traditions and contemporary design. Together, the trio mapped a dynamic conversation between material, form, and function.

The New York– and Paris-based designer Mathieu Lehanneur presented “Palazzo,” a poetic, architecturally inspired installation blending classical references with futuristic serenity. Lehanneur’s mastery of proportion and atmosphere made the booth a meditative standout—an oasis of geometric shapes and quiet opulence.

Ornamentum Gallery—based in Hudson, NY—brought a display of works by Jiro Kamata and Iris Eichenberg, where wearable objects and sculptural forms explored color, translucency, and emotional resonance. Across the walkway, London’s Charles Burnand Gallery delivered a polished suite of collectible design, spotlighting refined materials and hand-finished detailing. The gallery’s presentation underscored its commitment to modern craft excellence.

Immersive Installations We Can’t Forget

Drenched in a radiant yellow, 1882 Ltd’s booth glowed across the floor—celebrating the British ceramics house’s embrace of color, innovation, and expressive form. Around the bend, we were then immersed in the French design platform Theoreme Editions’s booth, revealing sculptural, contemporary sofas that blended architecture with comfort. Its neighboring Parisian gallery also caught our attention: Lefebvre et Fils, presenting “Pacific Dreams”—a suite of five large sculptural works by Laurent Dufour. Each over six feet tall, the pieces were fired in a single session in extra-large kilns.

Mindy Solomon’s booth is a regular favorite, but this year’s bright “A New Dawn: The Fundamentals of Making” booth brought a strong curatorial hand to ceramics, furniture, textiles, and sculptural objects, displaying emerging and mid-career voices who push craft boundaries, including Amber Cowan, Dee Clements, Donté Hayes, Frances Trombly, hettler.tüllmann, Jaiik Lee, Jane Yang-D’Haene, Jiha Moon, Vadis Turner, and Yuki Ando, among others.

Opposite, Rome’s Achille Salvagni debuted a showstopping collection of works, including a spider-inspired bronze light dotted with onyx. The piece, entirely handmade in Rome, embodied Salvagni’s signature blend of imagination and impeccable craftsmanship. On the artisanal thread, Todd Merrill Studio also wowed us with a striking mix of sculptural furniture and bespoke lighting, underscoring the gallery’s ongoing devotion to material research and artisan excellence.

From Milan, Delvis Unlimited offered a high-polish selection of Italian design, balancing expressive materials with refined modular forms; the Madrid-based Alvaro Catalán de Ocón presented new iterations of his celebrated PET Lamp project—woven by global artisan communities using recycled PET plastic; and at Boccara Gallery, exceptional tapestries by historic names like Alexander Calder, Joan Miró, and Man Ray bridged 20th-century masterworks with contemporary textile appreciation.

The New York-based space Tuleste Factory, founded by sisters Satu and Celeste Greenberg, revealed a playful booth named “Keep It Curious,” featuring unmissable works by Marina Abramović, Pilar Zeta, Miranda Makaroff, Karen Atta, Facture Studio, Ian Alistair Cochran, Merve Kahraman,  Bert Furnari, Courtney Kinnare, Brandi Howe, and more.

Friedman Benda drew crowds with Fernando Laposse’s Patachon and Patachin—known as his “monster lamps”—made of agave fibers, Nicole Cherubini’s unforgettable sculpture, Javier Senosiain’s Tecomate installation, Wendell Castle’s A New Seeing, Andrea Branzi is represented by his Tree 9, a large-scale screen by Joris Laarman named Space Exchanger, and more. 

Design Rooted in Meaning and Memory

At Tomsen Gallery, a presentation of Japanese baskets, gold lacquer boxes, folding screens, and porcelain vessels by the Japanese porcelain sculptor Sueharu Fukami honored traditional craft and surface design; Cristina Grajales Gallery presented a standout group of metalworks, including “Sunrise Japan” by Jorge Lizarazo, which received the fair’s “Best of Show” distinction; The Future Perfect’s presentation of Autumn Casey’s Susan stained-glass floor lamp stopped us in our tracks; R & Company’s curated mix of contemporary icons balanced rarity and relevance; and Ray & Gufram’s playful Fiore di Cactus—a squishable floral version of Gufram’s iconic cactus coat rack, created with artist Francesco Vezzoli for Ray Phoenix, accompanied by a backdrop designed by Alex Israel. 

For its seventh consecutive year as the official university partner of Design Miami 2025, the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) returned with a dynamic presentation that highlighted the innovation and artistry of its global alumni network. This year’s showcase, situated within the fair’s prestigious design platform, explored the intersections of fibers, lighting, and furniture design, and sculptural installation, featuring an environment of thousands of small plaster-cast objects by Sarah Fonzi (B.F.A., Sculpture, 2008); a solid wood desk by Christian Dunbar (M.F.A., Furniture Design, 2016; B.F.A., Furniture Design, 2013); felted tapestries by Adrian Pepe (M.F.A., Design for Sustainability, 2010; B.F.A., Architecture, 2008); and sculptural light fixtures by Carl Johnson (B.F.A., Fibers, 2021).

From Mexico City, Sten Studio continued its exploration of natural stone, using mineral formations to immortalize flowers within compositions that felt both scientific and spiritual; Gaggenau, the luxury appliance brand, installed a sculptural stove installation, elevating functional design into experiential architecture; and designer Nick Thomas debuted standout lighting pieces defined by sculptural silhouettes and atmospheric glow.

Partnerships and Collaborative Booths 

Malaparte and Gagosian staged a warm installation named “Casa Malaparte: Furniture,” marking the first time that furniture designed by the late writer Curzio Malaparte was shown at an international design fair. Italian glass artist Simone Crestani, shown by Galerie Scene Ouverte, revealed poetic botanical glassworks; a sleek collaboration between Technogym and Patricia Urquiola reimagined wellness equipment through high-design ergonomics; and a booth from Tokio, by design studio Asobi, showcased futuristic lighting and modular design systems marked by crisp lines, precision, and sculptural minimalism.

The Miami Design District’s annual design commission invited Katie Stout to create the fantastical “Gargantuan Thumb”—a humorous yet monumental mirrored installation that captured her signature blend of whimsy and subversion. It drew lines and countless photoshoots. An iridescent standout, as well, was Kohler’s collaboration with Harry Nuriev of Crosby Studios, introducing the new Pearlized ceramic finish through a fully immersive installation of shifting light, reflective surfaces, scent, and sound. Guests were encouraged to sit and stay a while, and enjoy the private, calming atmosphere tucked behind the booth’s facade. 

Last but not least,  Fendi presented its “Fonderia Fendi” design project in collaboration with the artist Conie Vallese, who shaped the installation as a “salotto” inspired by Italy’s role in the Decorative and Industrial Modern Arts exhibition in Paris 100 years ago. The space showcased a palette of bronze, yellow, and pale blue, soft light, opaque glass textures, glazed tiles, tufted surfaces, and hand-shaped lines. Throughout, lilies and orchids bloomed in bronze furnishings cast in Milan, complementing ceramic pedestals, wool rugs, and pastel Barovier & Toso vases.