It is a known fact that design can never be linear. The process of creating art is spontaneous, flexible, creative — all at once. A part of this process involves designers experimenting with new materials and innovative solutions, and bringing to the fore such creators is Design Mumbai. The upcoming second edition of the design event — founded in 2024 by Ian Rudge (co-founder of UK’s design event, 100% Design), Michael Dynan (co-founder, Design Shanghai), and designer Piyush Suri — will bring together architects and design experts from India and abroad.
A design by Studio Saar at the 2024 edition of Design Mumbai
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Special Arrangement
Alongside key exhibits by brands, the event’s itinerary includes the Design Mumbai Exchange talks with expert-led discussions on emerging sustainable and intelligent materials, architecture, design and well-being, climate-responsive workspaces, and how to open up cities to the public, among others.
Design Mumbai highlights
The entrance tunnel to the show, titled Journey Through India, is designed by Venezuelan artist Juan Gerstl, and features colourful geometric panels of UV-printed aluminium.
British designer Chris Lefteri will be at the helm of the Smart Materials Lab called Materials! Do Touch!, aimed at encouraging curiosity about and engagement with new and innovative materials. It will focus on three stories: Uplifting Tales from Nature (sponsored by Royal Enfield) will explore natural materials such as intricate networks of mushroom roots and the reinvention of wood; Unrefined Stories will look at the aesthetic of brutalism via grey stone, rough concrete; and Distorted Dreams will draw on themes of artificial intelligence.
The Park Hotels’ on-site cafe designed by Spanish designer Lucas Muñoz Muñoz will be crafted using repurposed materials from the hotel group’s refurbishment projects.
Hospitality major Soho House will host the second edition of its members’ club pop-up titled The Soho House Lounge. It will feature sculptural artworks by Soho House member and Mumbai-based artist, Vinita Mungi, alongside craft pieces by other local artisans.
“We have talks over each day of the show, tackling exciting, meaningful topics with speakers from India, the UK, Italy, and more,” says Piyush, who is excited about the international brands coming to the show this year. “We are hosting brands from all over the world including The American Hardwood Export Council that will showcase their collection of furniture with Phantom Hands, alongside Korean brand Mycel Inc, Covestro from Germany, LUX Temporis, the French lighting company, Baccarat, Swedish icon String, and Natuzzi, Poltrona Frau, Crassevig, and Ceccotti will represent Italy.”
Spanish designer Lucas Muñoz Muñoz
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MICHELE MARGOT
Piyush explains how India has always had “this incredible depth of craft, materiality, and storytelling in design, but what we’ve needed is a global platform where all of that creativity can meet the work that’s happening on an international level”. Hence, events like Design Mumbai are vital because they create that space for the exchange of ideas, techniques, and perspectives, he adds.
Here are our picks of Indian and international debutants at Design Mumbai 2025:
A carpet from the ‘Bahya’ Collection
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Special Arrangement
Rugs from PET yarn @ Venjara Carpets
A capsule featuring rugs crafted with the brand’s signature hand-tufting process wool, bamboo silk will be the highlight of the Mumbai-based brand’s showcase at the event. “What sets this collection apart is the sculptural finishing. Every rug is hand-carved, featuring curved edges, high and low piles, embossed patterns, and architectural carving,” says Aishaa Nensey, the fourth generation owner of the legacy brand. “It is a deeply personal chapter that captures what I envision for our 1961 brand in the years ahead: a fusion of heritage with a creative twist.”
Also on display will be the recently-launched ‘Bahya’ Collection that features rugs from PET yarn that has been created with recycled plastic bottles. “Engineered for the elements, these rugs can withstand sun, rain, and everyday wear. They are lightweight, durable, and versatile.”
The Divine Light Cabinet
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Special Arrangement
Artist collabs @ Chacko
At this Mumbai-based furniture and design studio founded by Vipin Joe, the team will showcase a series of collaborative works created with artists and craft studios. “This format excites us deeply and is something we plan to build upon in the coming months,” says Vipin. He has worked with artist Nikunj Patel of Studio Moebius to create The Native Console and The Divine Light Cabinet — featuring brass-etched doors and ornamental detailing — that he will showcase at the event. “We are also debuting our Art Deco wall mirror titled King of Spades, created in collaboration with Ashwin Mallya, along with a wall-hung precious cabinet developed with Italian artist Gaia Cairo and marquetry by Sampigé & Co. in Mysore.”
The Native Console
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Special Arrangement
Vipin is eager to hear how people respond to the pieces, and to “understand their interpretations, and receive feedback from industry experts”. “We are also looking forward to building new relationships and introducing our studio to architects and designers in the hospitality sector,” says the designer whose upcoming collection will include a three-sided wall mirror, a wall-hung cabinet with intricate marquetry, two brass-etched pieces, and a bench inspired by the historic Port of Muziris, all crafted in reclaimed teak.
Amod, a cluster lighting installation
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Special Arrangement
Threads meet metal @ Prayaan
Artists Rahul Jain and Gunjan Arora have been creating art out of textile waste and collected threads for several years, and have now included metal to this list. At the design event, the duo of the Delhi-based brand will present a range of sculptural collectibles such as screens/partitions, lighting installations, spatial lights, vases, and planters. Highlights include a brass lighting installation, Avaia, that has been hand-tempered to shape and also has hand carved glass lighting fixtures; a cluster lighting installation called Amod; and Yamal, a set of stainless steel planters. With this showcase, the designer aims at showing that artists “can think practically too and aspire to create conversational forms that can be seen and experienced on a daily basis”.
A product from the Tad Ekam range
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Special Arrangement
Expressions of Nature @ Sarvata
Known for their furniture and home decor that draws from the vedas, this Chandigarh-based brand by Iteesha Agrawal will present Tad Ekam, a range of side tables, arm chairs, coffee tables, console tables, and couches. The collection is inspired by a hymn from the Rig Veda ‘that contemplates the creation of the universe not as a scientific phenomenon, but as a deeply philosophical and spiritual unfolding’. “Designs have been brought to life by craftsmen of Saharanpur, whose ancestors began this 400-year-old legacy when their handcrafted furniture adorned the royal palaces of the Mughal dynasty. Each piece reinterprets the region’s traditional wood-carving techniques through a contemporary lens,” says Iteesha.
She adds that the designs go beyond direct depictions of Nature such as flowers, leaves, and figurines. “We explore its more subtle expressions, like the flow of water. The collection is crafted from MP Teak, a hardwood sourced from the heart of India,” says the designer who will next explore wood inlay crafts from Punjab’s Hoshiarpur and metal carving from Chamba, Himachal Pradesh.
Placyle Sustainable Studio’s portal arc
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Special Arrangement
Recycled core @ Placyle Sustainable Studio
At this design-led initiative from Nashik, co-founder Aliasgar Aboojiwala has been at the helm of transforming post-consumer and industrial plastic waste into outdoor furniture, home décor, and lighting. “We reimagine discarded materials into functional art pieces that blend recycled plastic with natural textures and refined detailing to make sustainability aspirational and beautiful,” he says.
At the event, the team will present The Torii Bench that is inspired by the tranquil form of Japanese shrine gates, and crafted with layered recycled plastic lumbers; The Shark Fin Sling Chair shaped after the silhouette of a shark’s fin, and made with a soft sling fabric; and a three-seater sofa with a matching glass-topped centre table designed using recycled plastic sheets. “The collection is complemented by the Portal Arc Lighting Series: a table lamp and a four-foot floor lamp crafted with curved recycled forms and diffused warm lighting,” says Aliasgar.
Designs by Lux Temporis
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Special Arrangement
INTERNATIONAL DEBUTANTS
Robotics meets design @ Lux Temporis
Pia Pijselman brings her love for the sciences, mechanical physics and robotics together at her French design house. “I bring these seemingly opposing worlds into dialogue to create a form of technological poetry that sets matter into motion by designing bio-inspired kinetic light sculptures that bring a sense of life into our interiors,” she says.
A lighting fixture by Lux Temporis
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Special Arrangement
Signature pieces at the event will include their three signature kinetic lighting modules: Aves, that evokes the graceful flight of a bird; NYCTI, inspired by the opening of a flower; and Sabelli, that echoes the delicate emergence of a sea anemone. “Each of these designs are available in various typologies such as desk lamps, floor lamps, etc. We will also exhibit two of our signature pieces: NYCTI Louvre, a solid-wood piece presented at the Musée du Louvre during the French Heritage Days, and Sabelli Reef ‘Jalaja’ crafted with 25 metres of ostrich feathers and ostrich leather sourced from Maison Hermès.”
Following the brand’s pre-launch at the 2025 Milan Design Week, Pia is excited to showcase her creations in India. “We wish to demonstrate that it is possible to imagine a technological future that neither rejects the human hand nor the memory of gesture,” she adds.
A product by Mycel
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Special Arrangement
Materials that breathe @ Mycel
Next-generation biomaterials derived from mushroom mycelium are at the core of this Korean white-bio startup’s creations. “By engineering the natural 3D network structure that mycelium forms as it grows, we create Celmure, a premium sheet-type material designed to replace leather, textiles, and certain foam-based applications,” explains Gigi Jung, the brand’s chief strategy officer.
At Mumbai, the brand will present a sculptural work that highlights the materiality and expressive potential of mycelium. “The piece reflects our design philosophy: the harmony between the organic and geometry by showcasing the natural textures, fibers, and structural forms unique to Celmure,” says Gigi, adding that the piece has been crafted entirely from their in-house developed mycelium sheets. In their work, the brand also incorporates other natural materials such as cotton, jute, banana fibre; and pigments extracted from Ott, a lacquer tree native to Korea.
Through a collection of mycelium and joining techniques that both cover and reveal the exhibition space, visitors will be invited to glide their hands across mycelium-covered tables.
‘Able’ by Blå Station
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MARCUS LAWETT
Recyclable chair @ Blå Station
From the Swedish furniture studio, founder Johan Lindau will bring products “that work in the so called ‘third room’ — the room that is a mixture for meeting and work in a more relaxed, but still for an inspiring, creative, and progressive mindset”. These workplaces, he says, have emerged post-pandemic.
Chairs by Blå Station
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MARCUS LAWETT
He will showcase Able, which he says is “more than a chair”. “We have been addressing issues such as sustainability, durability, and timelessness since we launched in 1986, however, could all questions and demands be addressed in one product? Could one product be sustainable, recyclable, upgradeable, changeable, renewable, dismountable, traceable, serviceable, adaptable, and still lovable?,” says Johan, as he describes the polyfunctional chair that is 100% recyclable. It is crafted with 50% recyclable steel, die-casted zinc, armrests in lacquered or chromed steel tubes, and recycled textiles.
The Wave by Nuflow Designs
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Special Arrangement
3D printed @ Nuflow Design
“Many of our designs are inspired by natural, sculptural forms,” says Alex James-Saleh, owner- director of the UK-based brand that was launched to “push the boundaries of 3D design”. Their 3D printer was built in-house by Alex’s brother Chris James-Saleh over a year ago. “We source 100% recycled plastic and extrude it at around 200 degrees Celsius. The machine extrudes the hot plastic precisely to our design file. The high digital precision contrasts perfectly with the natural forms of our designs,” says Alex.
He will be exhibiting a 3D printed dining table inspired by coral, a wood-finished coral coffee table, and their Wave lamp. “The latter is made from a plastic called PET-G and is sourced from 100% post-industrial waste. We processed it further to give it a clear finish. The coral table is made from the same plastic and takes around 18 hours to print,” says Alex, who also works with a bio-plastic which contains recycled saw dust.
Design Mumbai 2025 will be held between November 26 and 29 at Jio World Garden, Mumbai