Design Shanghai to start

From 3rd – 6th June 2021, Design Shanghai is set to become the first physical design show of the year to reunite the design world.

After a year of unprecedented challenges, Design Shanghai is set to become the first physical design show of the year to reunite the design world. Global business has shifted and recognized the unequivocal strength of the Chinese market and Asia’s largest and leading international design event is breaking new ground and setting a precedent in Asia’s ever-growing design community.

Celebrating its 8th year from 3rd – 6th June 2021, Design Shanghai will showcase more than 400 local and international brands from 30 countries and regions set across eight remarkable design sections. In partnership with Audi, Design Shanghai through groundbreaking ideas, first product reveals, and innovations explored through bespoke never-before-seen installations will shape and inform the global design sphere. This year, alongside China’s star designers, many of the world’s key players in design and architecture have chosen Design Shanghai to launch and showcase their work, with many brands using the show for their global reveal.

In the Contemporary Design hall, high-end renowned Italian lighting brand Flos will present a variety of modern and architectural pieces, and also from Italy, emerging brand Starset make their debut at Design Shanghai with a collection of contemporary high-quality furniture and design. Heritage Czech brand TON will showcase traditional craftsmanship with a collection of handmade, steam-bent wooden furniture, and quintessential British lighting brand, Anglepoise will present a variety of iconic lighting pieces.

Among the Danish brands, Carl Hansen & Søn will celebrate more than 70 years of collaboration with Hans J. Wegner through a display of five iconic Masterpieces.

HAY’s selection of furniture and accessories will focus on sophisticated craftsmanship for modern living and Verner Panton’s designs will be re-imagined in Verpan’s showcase of contemporary lighting and furniture.

As office design continues to be a focus, the Workplace section at Design Shanghai continues to set trends and inspire, welcoming ergonomically focussed designs from Humanscale and first-time exhibitor, KOKUYO, Japan’s leading supplier of innovative workplace furniture. Prime Works Group will present a selection of leading names who will be joining the show for the time, including Sitland, Sinetica, Mogg, and B-Line from Italy and from Germany, Konig Neurath, and Anker. The first-time exhibitor from Germany Royana will bring the brand new limited EONA Sintered stone collection to the show alongside Vitra who will be showcasing the Slow chair collection.

Italy’s Cassina will launch Cassina Pro for workplace & hospitality, a collection bringing together a vast selection of contemporary products and design icons, together with five novelties designed by Jeffrey Bernett, Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, Charlotte Perriand, Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec, and Philippe Starck. Meanwhile, Herman Miller joins the Contemporary section with their functional modern office collections, designed with wellbeing in mind.

Many established European brands have turned to Design Shanghai to present new collections to the global market. Among them, influential high-end home furnishing brand, Roche Bobois will bring their French ‘art de vivre’ to Shanghai with the launch of a new contemporary furniture collection featuring two key pieces: Sacha Lakic’s Bubble Bed and Corail, an innovative 3D printed table. French design pioneers Ligne Roset will also be presenting key pieces.

Spanish based Lladró will unveil new collections of high-end lighting and contemporary home accessories in their renowned handmade porcelain and classic style French luxury crystal brand Lalique will showcase a new contemporary collection with a historic decorative twist, Gaïa.

Within the Objects & Accessories Design Hall, British heritage tableware designer Denby will launch a new collection Modus inspired by minimal luxury, alongside iconic collections and a bespoke lighting piece made from versatile Denby bowls and designed uniquely for Design Shanghai for the first time. Swedish family-owned USM will present elegant modern home furniture and modular storage systems alongside a new collection of contemporary plant accessories entitled the ‘World of Plants’.

Stellar Works will present its latest collaboration with German designer Sebastian Herkner, and lifestyle label Departo from Yabu Pushelberg, and Yuichiro Hori, the founder of Stellar Works, will launch a new collection of furniture and tableware at the show. Known for functional and enduring design, Finnish glassware brand Iittala will launch new products as will Philips, the leading lighting innovation company.

In the Kitchens & Bathrooms section, Versace will launch a new ornate yet versatile ceramics collection inspired by Greek mythology, whilst Barber & Osgerby have designed a new modern bathroom product range for Axor. Innovations in bathroom and kitchen design will also be showcased by Villeroy & Boch and ASKO who are both launching new products at Design Shanghai. Aritco will also bring their new HomeLift and HomeLift Access collections.

French brand Maison Dada will showcase iconic pieces designed by Thomas Dariel, José Levy, and Clément Vuillier alongside a brand new handmade marquetry collection for 2021 from Rose Sélavy. Shanghai-based since 2012 gallery Arktek World will debut a curated collection of stand-out pieces from leading Italian brands including Cappellini, MDF Italia, Ginori 1735, Carlo Moretti, and Somma.

Innovative German brand Occhio will debut its hi-tech modular lighting system in the Contemporary Design hall and LG and BTicino will both join Design Shanghai for the first time in the New Materials & Applications Design Hall. Contemporary Swiss brand Laufen will join the Kitchens & Bathrooms section for the first time, bringing their functional yet stylish high-performance products.

Over at the Objects & Accessories Design hall, Amsterdam-based Pip Studio, founded by Dutch designer Anke van der Endt in 2007, will debut at the show with its homeware, bedding, textiles, and wallpaper. The striking pieces feature the studio’s iconic bold florals, subtle oriental patterns & vintage prints.

Murano glassware design brand Venini and Hungarian luxury porcelain brand Herend will also both be exhibiting at Design Shanghai for the first time.

Global industry leaders, visionaries, and innovators will grapple with the concept of “Regenerative Design” at the annual Kohler Exquisite x Design Shanghai Forum. Spanning design disciplines from across the world, the world’s most influential speakers -including Thomas Heatherwick, Sebastian Wrong, Aldo Cibic, Yinka Illori, Neville Mars, Diego Fuertes, Richard Hutten, and Michael Pawlyn- will be exploring the cultural shift towards Regenerative Design as an urgent response to social and environmental needs.