ICFF + WantedDesign Manhattan created ‘a show within a show’ at NYCxDESIGN 2023

In the past decade, design fairs have become an essential element of our industry. From Sweden’s Stockholm Design Week, Italy’s Milan Design Week, Australia’s Melbourne Design Week, and Copenhagen’s 3daysofdesign, to the UK’s own London Design Festival, happening across the year, there’s something to look forward to every month. For the United States, a year’s creative energy finds a home at the annual design festival, NYCxDESIGN. The significance of design in New York City’s DNA is a known tale. Therefore, across the eight days of events, exhibitions, workshops and fairs, the festival showcases the talent and diversity of the city’s designers, makers, and manufacturers, along with cutting-edge design businesses and districts, and world-class cultural and academic design institutions. As part of NYCxDESIGN, every year, ICFF (International Contemporary Furniture Fair) along with WantedDesign Manhattan bring together over 400 established and emerging design brands from more than 25 countries. ICFF + WantedDesign Manhattan focuses on giving a platform to original and sustainable design that engages in the conversations of the design world’s NEXT.

For the 2023 edition of the ICFF + WantedDesign Manhattan at New York’s Javits Center from May 21-May 23, 2023, the trade fair created a more cohesive floor plan to enhance the visitor experience. The 2023 presentations included designs from established and emerging brands worldwide, new country pavilions, a special American design exhibit called The Crossroads and an array of insightful talks.

One of the main highlights and focal points of the show this year was The Crossroads, designed and curated by David Rockwell of Rockwell Group, and Pei-Ru-Keh. At the centre of the show was the design exhibition unwrapped in a playful and immersive space celebrating American design through the works of 17 established and emerging designers. “The Crossroads celebrates the union of two great American design shows: ICFF and WantedDesign Manhattan. For the installation, we wanted to explore the notion of duality and contradiction in American design—the strengths that are inherent in the established and the emerging; the merging of technology with hand-craftsmanship; the need for practicality to go hand-in-hand with fantasy. I think American designers are constantly trying to meld those worlds," stated Rockwell, founder and president of Rockwell Group. The Crossroads translated how much importance collaborative approach means to ICFF and WantedDesign, and to everyone involved in the making of it.

The Oasis space, sponsored by Material Bank returned to the fairgrounds this year with The Oasis X Material Bank, a space furnished by Normann Copenhagen, FilzFelt, Ressource, and Kasthall, where exhibition and various panel discussions were hosted across the three days. ICFF's floorplan, organised by theme and category, also featured eight international pavilions—Argentina, Brazil, Italy, Morocco, Norway, Portugal, Romania, and The UK—presenting innovative, inventive and creative designs from various brands of each country. The new 'Welcome X Moooi' space designed by the Dutch design company Moooi, presented the brand’s latest collection by Slovenian designer Nika Zupanc.

For the 2023 fair, Rodolfo Agrella also designed a series of new spaces for ICFF + WantedDesign including 'The Restaurant' where visitors and exhibitors were able to purchase food from New York-inspired food stands, highlighting the diversity of the city, ‘WDM Café X Caesarstone’ which was one of the main meeting points at the show, 'The Oasis X Material Bank' space and the ‘WantedDesign Manhattan Lounge.’ “Rodolfo Agrella translated the design of the different areas of ICFF + WantedDesign Manhattan using the notion of conviviality, wellbeing, and optimism that are so important to us,” commented Odile Hainaut and Claire Pijoulat, brand directors of ICFF + WantedDesign Manhattan.

At the Talks this year, ICFF + WantedDesign Manhattan emphasised discussing the spirit of American design, diversity in design, emerging design and innovations in technology. The eminent lineup for the conference included design leaders and innovators such as Snøhetta, Patricia Urquiola, David Rockwell, Sharon Prince of Grace Farms Foundation, Young Huh, Karim Rashid, Jean-Jacques L’henaff of LIXIL, Giulio Cappellini, Deborah Wang of DesignTO, Ayse Birsel, John Edelman, Pamela McNally of NKBA, Jeanine Hayes and Bryan Mason of AphroChic, and 2023 Designer of the Year Morris Adjmi, founding principal of MA Architects, to name a few. The talks extended relevant discourses on designing the future we want to live in, ethical design, and sustainability. A series of conversations under 'Dialogues at The Crossroads with Tiffany Jow' witnessed emerging designers talk about Place, Technology and Time. Across the three days, the talks were presented at the Main Stage, sponsored by Turf and Natuzzi, and at The Oasis x Material Bank.

In addition to the exhibitions, designed spaces and talks, the design fair also hosted its famous Editors Award. For the ICFF Editors Awards 2023, leading design editors chose winners in 12 categories for outstanding design as well as Best in Show from the 476 exhibitors. The Best in Show winner was furniture artist Caleb Ferris, who also won the award for the furniture category. For the award of the New Designer, Kim Swift was announced as the winner.

“Our plan this year as first-time brand directors for both ICFF and WantedDesign Manhattan was to bring more curated, creative, and immersive design spaces to the Javits, to deliver a more cohesive floorplan, and to improve the experience of the shows overall. And we were simply blown away by the enthusiasm and positive response from exhibitors and attendees alike. This proves to us that we are on the right path, and we will continue improving on this as we plan for 2024,” stated Hainaut and Pijoulat.