Photo courtesy of NYCxDESIGN
Each spring, New York City takes its turn as the epicenter of global design during the NYCxDESIGN Festival. The 2025 festivities run from May 15 to May 21, drawing industry professionals, innovators, tastemakers, and design lovers from around the world. From iconic trade events like ICFF and WANTED to a city-wide constellation of exhibitions, studio tours, discussions, and product debuts, the festival offers a first look at the ideas shaping tomorrow’s design landscape. It’s a brilliant opportunity to discover emerging talent, explore cutting-edge trends in furniture, lighting, textiles, and objects, and experience the energy of the city’s design scene. Keep reading for an overview of what not to miss.
In addition to being home to 10 of the nation’s top design and architecture schools, NYC has the highest concentration of architects and designers per capita when compared to other world cities. The not-for-profit umbrella organization NYCxDESIGN is instrumental in promoting the success of the diverse creative design community.
Alongside the crowd-magnet tradeshow, showcases, and exhibitions, the annual Festival offers intimate cocktail parties and sunset soirees city-wide. Brand shops and upstart studios open their doors to visitors. Vital cultural and environmental issues are discussed in well-informed panel discussions and workshops. Visit the Festival website for a complete schedule.
1. ICFF and WANTED design fairs
ICFF NYC
North America’s leading platform for contemporary furnishing design welcomes the international design world to New York City. ICFF 2025–along with the fair-within-a-fair WANTED–celebrates the best of original design, and what’s on the horizon, from 450 established and new design brands in the residential, contract, and hospitality furnishings environments from over 35 nations. The fair takes place at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center from May 18-20.
WANTED
WantedDesign’s curated showcase for innovative design includes Look Book, the best of North American design, Launch Pad, celebrating international emerging talent, and the Schools Showcase and Schools Workshop, introducing the world to international school and student work.
The official kickoff of the 2025 Festival is happening on May 15 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the newly reimagined Refinery atop the historic Domino Refinery building; meet the city’s design community and visitors as the sun sets against a backdrop of the Manhattan skyline, while sampling bites and cocktails by Pinch Food Design.
Showrooms, stores, and studios city-wide will stay open late to offer cocktails and other treats; open studios provide a rare chance to go behind the scenes with designers and artisans.
Always a highlight of Soho Design Day (May 17), the Mercer Street Block Party, led by Orior, is a collaboration of showrooms and galleries on Mercer Street, between Grand and Canal, and surrounding blocks. Participating brands will feature new product launches, design collections, and site-specific installations.
Participants include Amelie du Chalard, BDDW, Blue Green Works, Calico Wallpaper, Henrybuilt, Kasthall, Meljac, Nordic Knots, Orior, Petra Hardware and Sight Unseen at HOST on Howard, Roll & Hill, Stellar Works and Uprise Art.
Back for the second year, the NYCxDESIGN xSouvenir exhibition returns in the Canvas Gallery at the Oculus with a collaboration with Cool Hunting, sponsored by Kikkerland Design, with an exhibition design by Boym Partners. Its intent: Redefining what a souvenir can be.
This year’s exhibition showcases 73 celebrated artists and designers, including Joey Zeledon, Karim Rashid, Scott Henderson, and David Weeks, who have created one-of-a-kind, collectible objects inspired by New York City (you can even purchase some of them). This immersive event happens from May 15 to May 21, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.
May 21 is Dumbo’s day in the spotlight. Check out Dumbo’s most exciting design firms—from BIG to Henrybuilt—during special open studios, as well as talks and exhibitions.
The official closing party for the festival, known as DUMBOxDesign, will be held at Superfine from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. This free event is a chance to chill with leaders from over 40 architecture firms, designers, and artists to close down the festival. Outside, a spectacular projection show, Dumbo Projection Project, happens on the Manhattan Bridge from the Archway Plaza.
The Brooklyn Navy Yard’s 300-acre campus hosts a seemingly endless list of creatives and innovators. During NYCxDESIGN, the Navy Yard welcomes the design community on May 17 for Design Day at the Yard with events and activities that give the public a chance to explore the expansive campus and visit cutting-edge design studios, working factories, and bespoke design firms. This year’s highlights include robotics, engineering, technology, and creative organizations representing the intersection between art and industry.
This district-wide celebration, happening from May 16 to May 21, will focus on the best in furniture and lighting, underscoring NoMad’s role as a destination on the global design scene. On the evening of Friday, May 16, Nomad Design District will host an exclusive evening of design, inviting professionals to visit a variety of curated showrooms representing over 20 brands.
On May 17, Industry City open studios celebrate the many artists, makers, and artisans that make the district a year-round design and artisan hub. The public is invited to visit, explore, and meet the IC’s small business owners in a rare peek inside the busy studios that are usually closed to the public.
At her shop at 400 Atlantic Avenue in Downtown Brooklyn, designer and store owner Michele Varian will lead a dynamic conversation with fellow design professionals about the nuts and bolts of producing a design book. Learn from Brownstone Boys, Hilary Robertson, Malene Barnett, and Studio DB and find out about the inspirations behind their books and their creative processes.
From May 16-24, IFC will be presenting “E.1027 – Eileen Gray and the House by the Sea,” a hybrid docu-fiction film exploring E.1027, the masterpiece of avant-garde architecture built as a lovers’ refuge on the French Riviera by the celebrated Irish designer Eileen Gray in 1929, and the drama surrounding it. Celebrated architect Le Corbusier became obsessed with the house, resulting in a battle for creative control, ending with the more-famous architect building his Cabanon house directly behind E.1027. This new hybrid documentary is a tribute to Gray’s life and her legacy.
Hosted by Transform Magazine, this special technology event introduces the meeting of machine intelligence and human creativity, where boundaries are pushed. The event will explore real-world examples of AI’s recent impact on design: Mastercard will showcase its AI-powered music studio; Monotype will guide attendees through its AI-driven font pairing generator; Work & Co will offer case studies from client projects.
In celebration of NYCxDesign, join celebrated architect and interior design star Elizabeth Roberts on May 20th from 5-8 PM at the Egg Collective showroom in Tribeca to introduce her new monograph, “Elizabeth Roberts Architects: Collected Stories.” The evening promises refreshments and a conversation with Stephanie Beamer, a reading by Christine Coulson, and a book signing, as well as wine and other refreshments.
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