GLIMPSE INTO THE FUTURE
A sustainable design approach, innovation and the culture of collaboration will take centre stage at this year’s fair. From seemingly superfluous trends such as colour palettes, to those that will critically influence our interaction with our surroundings, Downtown Design maps how design will be created, and experienced in the new year.
Coveted international brands such as Normann Copenhagen, Baxter and Gebrüder Thonet Vienna among others will present the key colours for 2019 — sage greens, dusty pinks and mature greys. Balancing our need for calm and rejuvenation, this colour palette will be punctuated with energising primary colours.
A key trend moving forward lies at the intersection of tradition and technology. Designers such as the porcelain artist Andreea Braescu and Sophie Mallebranche who is known for her premium, woven-metal materials, will join Preciosa Lighting and Saint-Louis among others, as they explore the confluence of artisanship and progressive production technologies.
Be it through new-age materials, lending new visual vocabularies to traditional materials or digital interventions in traditional crafts, brands such as Antonio Lupi, BeatWoven, Matteo Brioni, Moroso and Studio Cast Glass among others, will demonstrate the latest in design innovation.
Understanding the creative impact of an ever-shirking world, the fair highlights the power of partnership. International brands such as Lasvit and Cosentino will present never-seen-before works developed in collaboration with regional talent. Masters of creative collaborations such as Ini Archibong, Matthew McCormick and others will talk about the growing culture of creative code-sharing.