Recap: ICFF + WantedDesign Manhattan 2022

ICFF, North America’s leading platform for contemporary furnishing design, and WantedDesign Manhattan, a trade event for high-end North American studios and international emerging designers, held May 15-17, 2022, at New York’s Javits Center, finished with a rave response from exhibitors, editors, manufacturers, academics, buyers, architects and designers, and members of the design industry.

In combination, the two fairs hosted 378 established and emerging design brands, 107 of which were first-time participants, from 23 countries, presenting furniture, seating, materials, lighting, flooring and rugs, kitchen and bath, wallcoverings, accessories, and assorted objects for commercial, residential, and hospitality environments. ICFF + WantedDesign Manhattan coincided with the specially devised city-wide offering NYCxDESIGN now celebrating its 10^th anniversary, offering programming and activations open to the public in all five boroughs.

“Hosting exhibitors and attendees from all parts of the globe in our traditional spring dates reaffirmed that ICFF and WantedDesign Manhattan are seminal offerings on the international design industry calendar,” said Phil Robinson, ICFF Show Director. “The breadth of new product launches generated an energy and buzz on the trade fair floor that verified the collective resilience of the industry post-pandemic.”

WantedDesign co-founders Odile Hainaut and Claire Pijoulat, said: “WantedDesign Manhattan provides a critical platform for celebrating high-end and emerging designers and exhibiting their work in New York City. By presenting in tandem with ICFF once again, we are extending designers the opportunity to be seen and experienced by thousands of influential members of the industry and provide exposure and visibility. We are convinced that no other forum in North America spotlights designers in this way, providing the essential tools to explore and navigate the industry and, ideally, forge a path to the future. Despite recent challenges, we remain optimistic and look ahead to 2023 with anticipation.”

Highlights

Together, the two design fairs gathered some 7,000 architects, interior designers, and contemporary retailers in the Javits Center. The total number of visitors at both shows topped 10,000, a strong indication of the industry’s desire to engage and re-experience design once again.

Major market content themes included sustainability, original design, and providing out-of-box thinking to pressing global issues including climate change, political unrest, urban planning, and other challenges related to the pandemic and beyond.

ICFF + WantedDesign Manhattan Talks, sponsored by Mercato Place and American Standard, were presented at the Main Stage, at Oasis, by Float Studio, and at Wescover. The Main Stage was designed by Rodolfo Agrella with the support of Turf Design, Midgard Licht, and Be Original Americas, and Oasis was sponsored by Gabriel North America, Mohawk Group, and Normann COPENHAGEN.

In honoring traditions of the past, ICFF hosted the ICFF Editors Awards where representatives from leading design publications chose winners in 12 categories for outstanding design as well as a Best in Show from the 378 exhibitors.

Winners of the 2022 ICFF Editors Awards are:

• Accessories: Ethnicraft
• Best Booth: ECO Solidarity
• Body of Work: Mana Sazegara Carpet & Flooring: Warp & Weft Furniture: Simon Johns Kitchen & Bath: Uniq-E Lighting: Anony
• Materials/Textiles: Alfonso Verduzco Design
• New Designer: Piscina Outdoor Furniture: Dedon Seating: Tomoki Design
• Wallcovering: Astek Wallcovering
• Best in Show: Piscina

WantedDesign Manhattan Initiatives

Launch Pad, the awards program specific to WantedDesign Manhattan’s emerging designers, honored Erika Cross for Best of Launch Pad for Furniture and Tianning Zhao for Best of Launch Pad for Lighting. Launch Pad was sponsored by American Standard and presented with media partner Design Milk.

Look Book serving WantedDesign Manhattan’s established upscale designers, makers, and studios from North America, served as an in-person portfolio for the A&D community. A selection of Look Book designers participated in Look Book Live, a new talks program hosted by William Hanley, editor in chief of Dwell Magazine.

New this year, WantedDesign Manhattan launched the Schools Showcase, a new area presenting young students from design schools worldwide and supporting the next generation of designers. As presenting sponsors of the Best of Students and Best of Schools prizes, Design Milk and Alessi chose the Dust Chair by Bill Caroll from Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) as the Best of Students winner and Re-Actors by the School of Visual Arts (SVA), MFA Products of Design as the Best of Schools winner.

Wanted Interiors, sponsored by Ultrafabrics, returned this year with participants including Turf Design, Mohawk Group, 3M, Ressource+Rezina, Precious Woods, Midgard Licht, UTOPIA presented by Winton Cuevas, Ultrafabrics, and Visual Magnetics, and created immersive installations to demonstrate how innovative solutions can create healthy spaces. New this year, ECO Solidarity, a multidisciplinary hybrid project, initiative, and movement initiated by the Polish Cultural Institute New York in collaboration with WantedDesign, which seeks unity and solidarity through design and architecture, focused on Ecology, climate emergency, and circular economy. ECO Solidarity featured the work of 9 design studios from 9 European countries and was the winner of Best Booth in the ICFF Editors Awards.