Design Mumbai is back for its highly anticipated second edition, taking place from November 26 – 29, 2025, at Jio World Garden, Mumbai. Celebrated as India’s only truly international design fair, the showcase creates a vibrant platform where homegrown creativity meets global design innovation. As a media partner, STIR spotlights the standout designers, studios, brands and special projects you won’t want to miss. Find our full coverage below.

Design Mumbai 2025 to champion Indian design prowess on a global stage

Our coverage on the overarching programme of Design Mumbai 2025 explores key presentations, design showcases, studios and creatives, as well as compelling collaborations taking place at the event. From experimental lighting and material innovations to education-driven showcases and cross-continental collaborations, the fair’s scope continues to expand. Rather than tying diverse voices into a single narrative, this year’s edition will foreground their differences, creating a temporary arena where design becomes a way of questioning, experimenting and imagining futures.

Design Mumbai Exchange to explore how design builds with care and context

Across three days, architects, designers and thinkers from India and around the world will converge at the design fair’s talks programme titled Design Mumbai Exchange. The discussions will reflect on how architecture and design engage with social, cultural and ecological contexts of our time. The programme will open with a keynote address by Vinu Daniel of Kochi-based Wallmakers, and will be followed by invigorating panel discussions on themes centred on climate-responsive workspaces, rethinking hospitality, reimagining our coastlines and examining India’s green infrastructure, to name a few. Moderators, including Samta Nadeem (Curatorial Director, STIR) and Cameron Bruhn (CEO, Australian Institute of Architects), will guide these conversations, connecting material intelligence, heritage, craft and innovation. Together, the programme positions Design Mumbai Exchange as a platform where ideas, dialogue and collaboration shape the evolving trajectory of Indian design.

Brands to renew focus on craft, technology and materiality at Design Mumbai 2025

STIR highlights the dynamic mix of brands returning to—and debuting at—Design Mumbai 2025, all of whom are redefining the intersections of craft and innovation. At the fair, heritage craft traditions are being amplified with digital tools and experimental material engineering, resulting in pieces that speak equally to India’s legacy and its future. The brands on display—covering furniture, lighting, materials and spatial design—paint a dynamic picture of today’s design scene. By exploring how they navigate contemporary demands for sustainability, cultural authenticity and global relevance, Design Mumbai 2025 becomes a pivotal moment in the evolution of the Indian design industries. The participating brands include Baccarat, The American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC), Crassevig, Blå Station, Kuche7, Racconti, Emanate Home and Source Design, to name a few.

Cultural memory and material intelligence to take centre stage at Design Mumbai 2025

This year, Design Mumbai 2025 shines a spotlight on ‘cultural memory’ and ‘material intelligence’, a theme expressed through the work of Indian and international designers and creatives who root their practice in heritage, material innovation and craftsmanship. Highlights include Juan Gerstl’s immersive UV-printed aluminium tunnel, Travel Through India, Lucas Muñoz Muñoz’s experimental café for THE Park Hotels, crafted from salvaged materials and Chris Lefteri’s innovative PEELSPHERE, a material made from organic food waste. Indian artist Vinita Mungi’s sculptural clay works in the Soho House Lounge further emphasise the dialogue between art, craft and community, presented alongside the creations of local artisans. Together, these installations and offerings, among many others, showcase Design Mumbai 2025 as a platform that is at the forefront of India’s contemporary design.

Collaborative highlights from Design Mumbai 2025 that embody design as dialogue

From a game that demystifies architectural thinking to a timber pavilion that reinterpreted modernist legacies—the showcases spanned disciplines, scales and material layers. Here are STIR’s picks from the fair—projects that embody a pluralistic design culture rooted in exchange, experimentation and shared authorship.