10 Essential Design Fairs And Events In 2025, Aside From Design Miami
The ‘Objets Nomades’ installation by Louis Vuitton at Palazzo Serbelloni as part of Fuorisalone during Milan Design Week 2023. (Photo by Stefania M. D’Alessandro/Getty Images)
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“Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.” These words by Steve Jobs explain the essence of design — to find elegant solutions to improving everyday life. That’s exactly what you’ll find in the line-up of design festivals and fairs this year: beautiful and inspiring creations that enrich our lives. Here are a few creative events to bookmark in 2025.
Maison et Objet
January 16 to 20, 2025
Kicking off the year, Maison et Objet (M&O) sets out to explore the next chapter of Surrealism with a theme called “Sur/Reality”. Feeding on fantasy, humor, and poetry, the established design fair in Paris (which also holds a September edition) hopes to usher in a “narrative of new creative landscapes” through its showcase of home decor, furniture and accessories. Headlining the event is Faye Toogood, the multidisciplinary British artist who has been named M&O Designer of the Year 2025.
Mingyu Xu’s Parallel Collection at Stockholm Furniture Fair
Courtesy of Stockholm Furniture Fair
Stockholm Furniture Fair
February 4 to 8, 2025
One of the main highlights of Stockholm Design Week, Stockholm Furniture Fair (SFF) is Scandinavia’s de facto meeting place for the design industry. Led by newly-appointed managing director Daniel Hecksher, the 20th edition features another round of SFF Talks, which tackles themes like “materials of the future, the AI-volution, and the display of design during a time of climate crisis.” The 2025 fair also welcomes Finnish textile artist Kustaa Saksi as the Guest Creative in charge of their entire visual expression.
Design Biennale Rotterdam
February 21 to March 2, 2025
Rotterdam is home to leading designers and architects, but it didn’t have a dedicated design event until this year. Enter Design Biennale Rotterdam, a 10-day event in 2025 revolving around the theme “What’s Real is Unfamiliar”. Founded by Sarah Schulten-Citroen and Liv Vaisberg, the inaugural edition will showcase exhibitions in institutional and independent venues, workshops across the city, and talks focusing on sustainability, diversity and social justice — all with the goal to position the city as a hub for creativity.
Collect 2025
February 28 to March 2, 2025
Featuring work from 400 living international artist makers from over 30 countries, Collect is a well-loved contemporary craft and design fair presented by the Crafts Council. Set in the beautiful Somerset House in central London, the event showcases museum-quality artworks to the market, majority of which were crafted in the last five years and conceived especially for the fair. According to the organisers, eight new entrants will join the line-up of 40 specialist galleries from around the world.
An exhibition at Milan Design Week 2024. Centered on principles of circular economy, reuse, and sustainable practices and materials, the Fuorisalone’s 24 theme: “Materia Natura”, seeks to foster a culture of mindful design. (Photo by Emanuele Cremaschi/Getty Images)
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Salone del Mobile
April 8 to 13, 2025
An unmissable event on the design calendar, Salone del Mobile continues to grow in size and influence, attracting large crowds all donning their comfiest shoes. The main fairground is in the sprawling Fiera Milano Rho, where brands big and small showcase their newest offerings in eye-catching booths. You’ll spot the latest trends within the halls, but there’s more inspiration to be found at FuoriSalone (which generally refers to all the activations outside the fair). Stroll around the old streets of Brera, the courtyards of Tortona and the design districts of Isola and CinqueVie and to get a major design fix.
Downtown Design
May 27 to 29, 2025
Dubai’s design community comes together every November, when the city hosts its own design week of which the anchor event is Downtown Design Dubai. The leading contemporary design fair in the Middle East is expanding its reach with the launch of its new edition in Saudi Arabia in May. Located in the Riyadh Arena, Downtown Design aims to showcase the latest collections, immersive installations and innovative products, as well as pop-up events, live talks, masterclasses and more.
Design Shanghai
June 4 to 7, 2025
Asia’s leading international design event has entered its second decade, and continues to push the boundaries. The 80,000 visitors that come annually can look forward to an ambitious new format for Design Shanghai 2025. Four core sections — Furniture & Lighting, Kitchen, Bathroom & Systems Design, New Materials & Applications, and Living & Lifestyle — will spotlight 600 design pieces from around the world.
The event will also feature seven curated initiatives including Beyond Craft Japan and Collectible Design & Art, while also running three large forums where over 200 design visionaries will share their insight and experience.
3 Days of Design
June 18 to 20, 2025
Paint the town with design — that’s what unfolds during 3 Days of Design (3DD), which kickstarts the summer fun in Copenhagen. The three-day festival uses the entire city as a stage, with over 600 activities including open-door events, fireside chats, engaging workshops and more. Established over a decade ago, the 11th edition will yet again feature at least 410 exhibitors, sure to entice more than 45,000 visitors that it has welcomed last year.
An installation for London Design Festival at the V&A Museum (Photography: Peter Kelleher, copyright Victoria and Albert Museum, London 2024)
Photography: Peter Kelleher; Copyright V&A Museum
London Design Festival
September 13 to 21, 2025
Launched in 2003 in a bid to promote the city’s creative scene, London Design Festival has grown to be a yearly celebration showcasing the power of design in Britain and beyond. Featuring a series of product launches, open showrooms, conceptual installations and talks that are entertaining and educational, London Design Festival has a “choose your own adventure” approach that drew a record 600,000 visitors from 75 countries in 2019.
This year marks the festival’s 23rd edition spread out across boroughs including Shoreditch Design Triangle, The Dalston to Stokey Design District in Hackney, Battersea Design District and more.
Dutch Design Week
October 18 to 26, 2025
Last year was deemed to be one of the best editions of the annual design festival Dutch Design Week (DDW), which returns to Eindhoven in The Netherlands for nine days in 2025. Centred on “the future of design and the design of the future”, DDW promotes dialogue that finds solutions to collective problems and focuses on making a difference.
This year’s program includes exhibitions, workshops, screenings and performances in key locations including the Canal, Centre, Hallenweg, Sectie-C,, Strijp T+R and West districts. They’re also expanding their initiative, Mission Days, as well as continuing to honor talents with the Dutch Design Awards.
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