The Inner Circle The third edition of Maison & Objet Asia was a well-curated and exclusive affair. zooms in on the latest offerings from the design industry’s best

Returning to Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre for the third time, this year’s Maison & Objet (M&O) Asia felt more like an intimate soiree of the inner circle of the design and lifestyle industry than a trade fair. M&O Asia 2016 made a strategic decision to trim down the number of exhibiting brands from over 300 previously to just 180 this year. “M&O Asia is a highly curated show that allows people from the design industry to explore all design disciplines under one roof,” says M&O Asia’s Designer of the Year André Fu. “Its focus on the hospitality arena also sheds light on the design community’s new generation.” The new generation of design communities Fu mentions doesn’t just make and sell finished products, they are big on crossdiscipline collaborations, long-term relationships, and meetings of minds to generate new story-telling through design. “This year’s fair is more focused, and the fewer number of exhibitors works for us,” says Ross Hamilton Englisbe of Hamilton Conte. “And in its third year, you begin to see the result of the relationships we have built over the past three years through the fair.” Comprising a curated exhibition, an interior design and lifestyle summit, and an award showcase, the four-day fair attracted 7,200 visitors, 62 per cent of whom were key industry specifiers such as property developers, hoteliers, restaurateurs, interior designers and architects. The percentage of interior designers who visited the fair this year was 11 per cent higher than in the previous year, clear evidence of its appeal to specifiers who benefit from a more curated and focused experience.

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The audience at one of the many talks at the fair; Local designer Terence Chan’s booth display