Voted for by the 28 international editions and announced in a ceremony held in Tadao Ando’s Teatro Armani (the location for this shoot) during Milan design week, this is a truly global celebration of the brightest and the best of furniture, lighting, fabric, interiors and more. Please join us in congratulating the winners in every category – and we are proud to see another good year for Brit-based talent with plenty of homegrown success stories…
Designer of the year: Cristián Mohaded
The colour of the earth, and the contours of the mountains and sand dunes of Argentina, Mohaded’s homeland, are this craft-led designer’s biggest inspiration. They appear time and again in the sophisticated pieces he creates alongside talented local artisans. Think back to the ‘Apacheta’ collection he produced in collaboration with Loro Piana in 2023, which transformed armchairs, sofas and tables into textural, transportive landscapes of wood, upholstery and lacquer. Or there’s last year’s ‘Folds’ rug for CC-Tapis and the extensive additions to Louis Vuitton’s ‘Art of Living’ collection, which included the ‘Aventura’ sofa, ‘Pegase’ chair and ‘Sunset’ blanket – designs that deftly combined Mohaded’s own heritage with that of the fashion house.
‘I grew up in an environment where the art of making things was so important,’ Mohaded explains. ‘My mother worked with textiles, my grandmother painted watercolours and there were old craftsmen producing handmade pieces on every street corner of our town. The curiosity of doing something new has always been, and still is, a driving force in the work I do.’ It prompted his decision to study industrial design at the National University of Córdoba, as well as his move to found his own workshop in Buenos Aires, where, alongside furniture, he creates artworks and masterminds installations. During this year’s Milan design week, he unveiled a collection created for Brazilian design brand Etel, underlining his desire to champion South American brands. cristianmohaded.com
Floorcovering: ‘Walled Garden’ by Eagle + Hodges for Nordic Knots
London-based design duo Alex Eagle and Sophie Hodges have a shared love of British craft, but it’s the dreamy ambience of the British garden that was the inspiration for the trio of rugs that include this striking design. None of the patterns, which are handmade from New Zealand wool and produced by Scandinavian brand Nordic Knots, offer an expected perspective on English florals. Instead, they aim to represent the ephemeral beauty of nature in a more abstract way. For ‘Walled Garden’ that meant a palette of warm beige and earthy reds depicting artistic symbols and wild forms. nordicknots.com
Seating: ‘Butter’ sofa by Faye Toogood for Tacchini
Winning Designer of the Year at the EDIDAs in 2025 did not encourage this designer to rest on her laurels. Instead, she followed up her ‘Cosmic’ furniture collection for Tacchini with ‘Butter’ – a sofa that began life on the breakfast table, moulded from blocks of the foodstuff from which it takes its name. It’s a playful origin story for a design that feels true to Toogood’s experimental approach, and its modular structure consisting of large volumes and generous padding has proved such a hit that the collection was expanded during this year’s Milan design week to include new modules, end units and complementary pieces. tacchini.it
Fabric: ‘Under Way 1963’ by Anni Albers for Dedar
‘An aimlessly meandering line’ is how pioneering Bauhaus designer Anni Albers described this textile creation, with its thick ondé-wool yarn that carves a path across the warp and weft of the jacquard fabric made up of satin and jute weaves. It is one of five iconic designs by the artist that were, last year, translated into a new collection in collaboration with the Josef & Anni Albers Foundation. The way in which Dedar transposed these very graphic creations, originally produced between 1936 and 1974, with the utmost sensitivity is inspiring, using contemporary techniques applied in ways that don’t affect the essence of the original. dedar.com
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Tableware: ‘Silver Set 2025’ by Rachel Whiteread for Puiforcat
British-born artist Whiteread was the first female winner of the Turner Prize (for House, the cement cast of a Victorian terraced home) and her style has been described by UK gallery group Tate as ‘minimalism with a heart’. It’s that sensibility that she brought to this collection with the historic French luxury-silverware brand that’s owned by Hermès. The set includes a water pitcher, napkin rings, tumblers and a tray (all pictured) – the result of an unprecedented creative process in which corrugated cardboard is formed into models of the pieces before they are exactingly reproduced, grooves and all, in sterling silver. puiforcat.com
Wallcovering: ‘Le Chemin Des Etoiles’ by Jean-Charles de Castelbajac for Pierre Frey
The French fashion designer also sometimes known as JC/DC is a cultural powerhouse who has dressed Madonna in a coat of teddy bears and Rihanna in a Donald Duck costume. His imagination is vivid and his approach to creativity always playful and colourful, so the name of his textile collection for Pierre Frey, which translates as ‘the colour of our dreams,’ seems fitting: after all, his dreams are brighter than most. ‘I imagined it as an immersion in my world, made up of colours, poetry, rhythm and dreamlike images,’ he says of the fabrics and wallpapers that comprise the range and include this joyful toile de Jouy. pierrefrey.com
Kitchen: ‘Cina’ by Vico Magistretti for Schiffini
Italian brand Schiffini celebrated its centenary last year and, under the creative direction of architect Marco Costanzi, chose to mark the occasion by updating one of its classic designs. The ‘Cina’ by Vico Magistretti was released in 1986, but has an extraordinary modernity. This updated version now features even more advanced technology and natural quartzite, marble resin or Sahara Noir marble worksurfaces. One of its key features is the steel hood that revolutionised the feel of the 1980s design, with a recessed handle made from the groove in the upper part of the doors completing its iconic profile. schiffini.it
Young design talent of the year: 6:AM
After having wowed the design crowd last year with its ‘Two-Fold Silence’ installation housed within the abandoned changing rooms underneath Piscina Cozzi, for this year’s Milan design week the contemporary-glass brand, founded by Edoardo Pandolfo and Francesco Palù, graduated to a showcase beside the glistening water of the city’s Guido Romano pool. Inventively rethinking and breathing new life into Murano’s glassblowing traditions, the duo has created furniture (like its ‘Float’ tables and shelving), lighting and accessories.
Theirs is a rich and varied body of work, which also includes collaborations with names such as Luca Guadagnino (the ‘Frenesi’ lamp), Patricia Urquiola (striped ‘Sestiere’ vases) and Hannes Peer (the instantly recognisable ‘Paysage’ range of lighting creations). They’re no strangers to the world of fashion, either, having recently created a collection of glass stools for Bottega Veneta’s Milan catwalk show.
‘Over the past few years, 6:AM has evolved into a varied and complex entity that combines technical experimentation with artistic spontaneity,’ say Pandolfo and Palù of their approach. It’s a combination of precise knowledge of their chosen material and tongue-in-cheek flair that continues to disrupt the design world. 6am.glass
Sustainable achievement: ‘The Power of Biochar‘ by Holcim and Elemental
Swiss building-materials company Holcim and Chilean architectural firm Elemental, led by Pritzker Prize-winner Alejandro Aravena, unveiled a highly sustainable building prototype at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025. At its core lies a zero-emission biochar concrete made from organic waste and mixed with recycled cement and aggregates to offer a low carbon, high-performance solution for the construction industry. ‘This new technology for decarbonising materials allows us to respond quickly and with precision to the serious housing crisis that Latin American countries in particular are experiencing, while also offering a very eco-friendly alternative,’ Aravena explains. holcim.com; elementalchile.cl
Outdoor: ‘Dream View’ bench by Lise Vester for Muuto
Copenhagen-based designer Vester collaborated with a Danish hospice during her studies and it is an experience that has shaped her style, which focuses on wellbeing. This
new chair for Muuto is intended to encourage sitters to take a quiet moment of contemplation, gazing up at the sky. The stainless-steel bench, which is produced in Denmark, is characterised by its smooth yet ergonomic outline that hugs the contours of the body and invites you to stretch out. ‘It allows us to feel in touch with nature and let our thoughts flow freely,’ the designer explains, turning the act of sitting into a meditative experience. muuto.com
Bathroom: ‘Massicci’ basin by Marco Zito for Agape
The result of innovation and research with artisans working in Murano, this design pushes the boundaries of glasswork. Product designer and lecturer at Venice’s IUAV University Marco Zito says of the process that makes this unique basin, which is cast rather than blown: ‘It’s not just about shaping a form, but about working directly with the material itself. Solid glass absorbs light and interacts with the environment in a way that borders on the magical.’ Available in transparent and amber versions, the basin’s uneven surface creates ripples of light, making it a functional design with a truly expressive nature. agapedesign.it
Furniture: ‘Teahouse’ by Christophe Pillet for Ceccotti
Taking the unrushed beauty and communal quietude of traditional Japanese and Chinese tea ceremonies as a starting point, French designer Pillet has created a collection made for enhancing the charms of all everyday rituals. The chair, table, console and cabinet all convey the natural beauty of solid walnut (four different finishes of the timber are available) and, interestingly, the chair and table are both offered in a choice of two heights. The lower suggests a style more characteristic of tea ceremonies, ensuring greater comfort over longer periods of time (such as family meals or extended business meetings). ceccotticollezioni.it
Lighting: ‘Cascade’ by Lee Broom for Lladró
The evanescence of paper lampshades was the aesthetic influence for this collaboration, with British designer Lee Broom aiming to push the boundaries of what is possible with porcelain, advancing on the processes he had witnessed in action at Lladró’s workshop in Valencia. ‘I was captivated by the translucency of porcelain, which reminded me of lanterns illuminated by candlelight, so I decided to create shapes and forms incorporating these qualities in a modernist way,’ he explains of the process that saw him approach the lighting designs (three pendants and a table lamp) with a remarkable lightness of form and the poetic quality that is always apparent in his work. lladro.com
Bedding: ‘Rosary’ by India Mahdavi for Bolzan
Headboards became the new focus of the bedroom last year when designers Zanellato/Bortotto invited four internationally renowned names to design artisanal examples for ‘Woven Dreams. A Story of Artisanal Headboards’. Among the creations by Julie Richoz, Martino Gamper and Sam Baron at the exhibition for Bolzan, one by French-Iranian architect India Mahdavi was particularly enchanting. Upholstered in her ‘Chroma’ velvet for Pierre Frey, it’s topped with a bar of glazed ceramic bead-like rings. Bright and playful, it’s the kind of Technicolor dream we’d expect from a colour-literate designer like Mahdavi. bolzan.com
Interior designer of the year: Festen Architecture
Even this Paris-based studio’s name is a statement of intent: festen is a Danish word meaning ‘feast’ or ‘banquet’. It’s a choice that speaks to the feeling of warmth and conviviality for which projects by architects and founders Charlotte de Tonnac and Hugo Sauzay have become known. The pair met at Paris’s Ecole Camondo school of decorative arts, before going on to become partners both in life and work, opening their studio together in 2011. Together, the pair have developed a sophisticated, poetic style incorporating natural materials, soft shapes and exquisite details, with the ability to merge different looks and periods.
The Hôtel du Couvent in Nice, a 17th-century convent that Festen transformed into a luxury destination that maintains its historic monastic character, is a prime example of the studio’s respect for sense of place. And, among the private residences that bear the studio’s stamp, the Verneuil apartment, set in a Haussmann-style building, offers a contemporary take on the most classic understanding of Parisian interior design. ‘We are very humble in our work,’ say de Tonnac and Sauzay. ‘We tiptoe into the context and attempt to integrate what we do with great ease,’ they add of their projects, which impress thanks to a deceptive simplicity, elegance and relevance. festenarchitecture.com
