It’s been a long time since the design community has had an opportunity to get together and share ideas. We have all adjusted, with virtual launches and online forums, but there is something special about coming together to see, touch and share.
Great news then that Design Shanghai will open its doors on 3 June. Running until 6 June, this event is the first physical design show since the pandemic. With 400 brands from 30 countries showcasing their pieces, including furniture, accessories, kitchens and bathrooms, it’s a welcome back with a bang.
Of course, the past year has changed so much about the world and the way we work, so it is fitting that the theme for this year’s show – the eighth Design Shanghai – is ‘Regenerative Design’.
It’s this timely subject, covering new social and environmental needs, that will be the talking point for an illustrious line-up of speakers, including Thomas Heatherwick, Sebastian Wrong, Aldo Cibic and Yinka Ilori, to name just a few.
For those of us that can’t visit Shanghai this year, the discussions at the Kohler Exquisite x Design Shanghai Forum will also be available to watch via the Design Shanghai website after the event.
Those who can attend, however, will be treated to a show that is 25% bigger than previous years, with that extra space given over to some exciting international brands. Flos will be attending, as well as Stellar Works, Maison Dada and Danish brands Carl Hansen & Søn – celebrating 70 years of Hans J Wegner’s designs – and Hay.
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There will be exclusive launches. Roche Bobois’ ‘Bubble Bed’ by Sacha Lakic is sure to attract crowds, as will new pieces by Ligne Roset. USM’s new collection of plant accessories, ‘World of Plants’, is also sure to be a highlight.
And, as the world begins to consider the prospect of going back to work in offices, Design Shanghai will include a new Workspaces section of the show to investigate what that new future will look like.
Visitor registration is open now for anyone able to visit on either the trade days (3-4 June) or public open days (5-6 June) at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition & Convention Centre . For those of us who can’t make it, it’s exciting enough that the design world is opening up again. The green shoots of hope are showing. designshanghai.com
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