The List: Our Editors’ Guide to What to See, Where to Go and What to Read in 2025 and Beyond
The biannual briefing from Design Anthology’s editors on the most interesting things to see, places to go and books to read
Book
Stillness by Norm Architects
Gestalten
The design cultures of Japan and Scandinavia seem to have developed in parallel over centuries, with mutual respect and shared philosophies emerging that have been celebrated and emphasised in design and popular culture for decades. In Stillness, Copenhagen-based Norm Architects traces its journey of discovery in Japan, which has seen the office work in varying locales, typologies and scales with collaborators that include Keiji Ashizawa, Karimoku, Ariake, Kojima Shoten, POJ Studio, Maana Homes, Trunk Hotel and Bellustar.
And not unlike the firm’s oeuvre, Stillness presents ‘an exploration of Japanese aesthetics in architecture and design from a Scandinavian perspective’. The book’s content spans places in Japan that the team has visited, Norm Architects projects exemplify the strong aesthetic kinship between Scandinavia and Japan, and a series of portraits of influential Japanese individuals who have helped shape Japanese creative culture. Co-founder Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen’s distinctive imagery, at once graphic, restrained and emotive, fills the pages, giving the tome a serene feel that encourages contemplation.
Lamp
VL 45 Radiohus portable lamp
Louis Poulsen
Louis Poulsen has launched the VL 45 Radiohus portable lamp, an evolution of modernist pioneer Vilhelm Lauritzen's iconic 1930s pendant design. This new interpretation of Danish design heritage maintains the modernist spirit of its predecessor and incorporates new portable functionality. The lamp's appealing silhouette is made from mouth-blown multi-layered glass with brass details and a handsome leather strap, and comes in shades of opal white, pale rose or yellow. Drawing from Lauritzen's functionalist principles, the weather-resistant lamp works for both indoor and outdoor spaces, is dimmable and gives five hours of ambient lighting.
Collection
Jota
Fredericia
Jasper Morrison’s Jota lounge collection for Fredericia draws on Danish design history, specifically the work of seminal modernist designer Børge Mogensen. Marrying Mogensen’s classic formal language with Morrison’s modern approach, the Jota sofas are characterised by clean lines and refined details like French seams on the pillows and cushions, the solid oak legs, and the juxtaposition of softness and rigidity.
Table
Bolete
Henry D'Ath and Batten and Kamp
All hailing from Aotearoa New Zealand, architect-sculptor Henry D'Ath and design-art duo Batten and Kamp continue their collaboration with the launch of the Bolete coffee tables, hand-carved Camphor wood atop natural Taishan granite that are an extension of the series of side tables launched in 2023. Produced across time and space, the Bolete — named for its mushroom-like form — combines Paris-based Batten and Kamp’s proclivity for monolithic stone with Hong Kong-based D’Ath’s gruelling hand-carving methods. The wood is then finished with many layers of calligraphy ink to create a glossy black surface, or left to expose the natural grain, and sealed with varnish. The table surfaces are supported by solid Taishan granite stones, which are commonly used in Zen gardens for their subtle grey-white colours and likeness to karst mountains. The stones are sourced individually and their surfaces left raw, so no two tables are the same.
Image by Pier Carthew
Lighting
Me and You
Volker Haug Studio
Following the Milan launch of its collaboration with Flack Studio, decorative lighting practice Volker Haug Studio has expanded the Me and You collection, with six new pieces that continue the studios’ partnership. The collaboration started out somewhat spontaneously: during a Flack Studio installation, a vintage wall sconce broke and was beyond repair. With the back plate already mounted, Volker Haug was implored to quickly design a new, site-specific fitting. The moment catalysed a new, ongoing collaboration that would eventually become Me and You, which debuted at Milan Design Week 2024 with 13 fixtures. Six new pieces have been developed, including the fibreglass, cast glass and brass Tux pendant and wall light, which join the existing Tux table lamp, a smaller version of the Fleur pendant and three new configurations of the gridded Bruce wall light, an evolution of the original lighting designed by Flack Studio for Ace Hotel Sydney.
Chair & Ottoman
Makuri
Koyori
Michael Anastassiades blends comfort and a minimalist sensibility in the Makuri lounge chair and ottoman for Japanese brand Koyori. The invitingly curved plywood seat and backrest encourage repose, while refined joinery and an uncluttered design create a sense of lightness. The upholstered version incorporated natural, untreated leather in a thin cushion that works beautifully with the chair's oak frame.
Vessel
Viola
Lim + Lu
Hong Kong duo Lim + Lu has launched Viola, a collection of vessels crafted from leftover pieces of Calacatta Viola marble they found during their visits to quarries around Italy. The collection’s five different vessels each showcase the material’s natural beauty, with deep shades of burgundy and bold veining. Hand-sculpted by skilled artisans in Xiamen, the vessels are functional sculptures that can be displayed as objets or used as bowls or valet trays.
Image by Masaaki Inoue, Styling by Yumi Nakata
Art
Moment
Shizuka Tatsuno
Tokyo-based creative director and designer Shizuka Tatsuno created a collection of sheet metal artworks titled Moment for Designtide Tokyo’s relaunch at the end of 2024. The project formed part of metal manufacturer Japan Benex’s Eetal project, which explores new possibilities for sheet metal. The one-millimetre thin steel sheets used to make the six pieces in Moment resemble strips of paper that have been cut and folded, their delicate appearance belying the material’s strength. Tatsuno’s geometric designs are intended to showcase the maker’s skill: in sheet-metal processing, distortions and misalignments are more obvious in geometric forms than in more organic shapes, so the uniformity of the six pieces in Moment highlight the precision and expertise of Japan Benex’s metalworkers.
Collection
Togetherness
Origin Made
Porto-based design brand Origin Made, run by Singaporean husband-and-wife duo Gabriel Tan and Cherie Er, has launched the Togetherness collection — a series of eight larger furniture items and rugs that mark a new chapter for the brand as it evolves from producing smaller homewares. The collection brings together Asian, Scandinavian and European sensibilities, with designers such as Jenni Roininen, Chris L Halstrøm, Hallgeir Homstvedt and Tan himself. Swedish interior architect Kajsa Melchior’s Duna coffee table is a highlight of the collection, its tinted glass top and undulating brushed aluminium base inspired by the properties of sand.
Brand
Arsene
Founded in conjunction with furniture manufacturer CVP, Indonesian newcomer Arsene designs and produces everything in-house with the aim of making design accessible and affordable. Its ethos of ‘aesthetic, functional and unobtrusive designs’ is realised in its debut catalogue of almost 30 items, mostly made from hard-wearing and timeless materials such as teak, rattan, marble and steel. At a time when democratic design is often synonymous with mass production, imitation and cheap materials, Arsene is refreshing in its commitment to design, quality and accessibility in equal measure.
Chair
Eternity
United Strangers
Hong Kong-headquartered United Strangers was founded by Aotearoa New Zealand furniture designer Logan Komorowski, and now boasts a design team spread across Aotearoa New Zealand and Bali and in-store galleries across 17 countries. The brand blends international design sensibilities with local manufacturing and product development expertise, with a focus on small-run production. United Strangers’ items are characterised by interesting details and material combinations, such as the stainless steel, oak and leather Eternity occasional chair. Embodying the brand’s philosophy of ‘casual luxury’, the 70s-inspired seat is characterised by the contrast between the soft, oversized cushions, sleek stainless steel floating base and solid wood leg.
Image by Lillie Thompson
Rugs
Odyssey Series
Sally Caroline
Melbourne-based interior design studio Sally Caroline’s Odyssey Series weaves personal narratives into floor coverings, with founder Sally Knibbs translating her travel experiences and memories into four rugs: the hand-tufted Marley, with its checkerboard edge inspired by Marylebone's terrace houses; Albert, echoing the urban grid of its namesake Melbourne suburb Albert Park in contrasting wool textures; Saint-Marc, a refined take on Chinese Art Deco with minimalist bird motifs in bamboo silk; and Monte, which captures Milan’s haute couture embroidery in hand-knotted Aotearoa New Zealand wool. Each piece in the collection demonstrates a deft balance of craft and contemporary design sensibility.
Image by Martien Mulder
Collection
The Geoffrey Bawa Collection
Phantom Hands
Geoffrey Bawa's furniture designs of the 1960s to 90s emerged as quiet companions to his pioneering tropical modernist architecture. These pieces, often unsolicited by clients and born from specific project constraints and cultural contexts, reflected the same thoughtful adaptation to climate, materials and local craft as his buildings.
The Geoffrey Bawa Collection was first initiated when the Geoffrey Bawa Trust connected with Phantom Hands to create re-editions of a handful of Bawa’s furniture pieces. Following that initial experiment, more designs were added to the project with the intention of better illustrating Bawa’s approach and oeuvre, with the final collection comprising 20 pieces encompassing chairs, sofas, tables, lamps and accessories.
As a prelude to the collection, Phantom Hands coordinated an exhibition in Colombo titled Design in the Moment — Furniture by the Geoffrey Bawa Practice, which introduced the late architect’s furniture and the philosophy behind it, as well as interrogating what it means to re-edit those works. What followed was the launch of the first chairs, loungers, tables and sofas that honour their archetypes and bring them into the current moment with care and sensitivity.
For example, the Phantom Hands team worked with Barbara Sansoni’s company Barefoot, the original fabric supplier to Bawa, on revitalised textiles for many of the pieces; a dining chair originally designed for the Bentota Beach Hotel was adjusted to make it more ergonomic; there are re-editions of the now iconic Bentota lounge chair, as well as an aluminium version of the Kandalama lounge chair, originally designed as a companion to the corrugated iron version by Australian Russell Hall; and a new mini Kandalama has been produced. The re-edition of the De Saram House centre table sees the tabletop made from recycled marble stone tiles, while new editions of the Lunuganga dining table come in two sizes, their tops made of several pieces of timber instead of the original’s single giant plank.
Image by Mattia Parodi
Chair
Luchino
Flexform
In the Luchino chair, Antonio Citterio reimagines the folding chair archetype through the lens of refined Italian craft. Inspired by the chair’s inherent qualities — comfortable, lightweight and easy to carry — Citterio’s interpretation marries traditional techniques and materials with contemporary design sensibilities, with hand-turned solid wood for the frame and premium cowhide for the supple seat and backrest. But perhaps its most distinguishing feature is the folding mechanism, a testament to precision metalwork that enables seamless mobility without compromising the elegant silhouette.
Shop
Visionnaire
Hong Kong
Italian brand Visionnaire has reopened its ‘Embassy’ in Hong Kong, with a new space on the ground floor of Soho House in Sheung Wan joining its roster of stores in Milan, London, Miami, Los Angeles and Dubai. The showroom displays some of the brand’s iconic pieces, such as Marc Ange’s Pavone armchair and the Kerwan table by Alessandro La Spada alongside newer collections, all made in Italy and designed by the likes of Steve Leung, Studiopepe, Draga & Aurel and many more.
Shop
Pern Baan
Chiang Mai, Thailand
Thai-American design studio Pern Baan has opened in a five-storey shophouse in Chiang Mai. Founder Robert Sukrachand established Pern Baan in 2024 as a platform to merge the creative practices of his two homes in New York City and Thailand. Having relocated from Brooklyn to Chiang Mai in 2021, Sukrachand spent the next three years reconstructing and renovating a Chiang Mai shophouse into the multifunctional design hub that is Pern Baan, with the mission of showcasing Thailand’s rich creative landscape and demonstrating how design can connect across cultures. Having launched with an exhibition of Thai designers in early 2025, the shophouse will continue to host rotating exhibitions, designer residencies and workshops throughout the year, and Sukrachand’s own designs are also available at the gallery and online.
Candle-Holder
La~De~Da
Nightworks
Aotearoa New Zealand lighting design studio Nightworks has launched the La~De~Da candle holder, an evolution of its popular pendant of the same name. Made locally in the studio’s home city of Ōtautahi Christchurch, the candle holder comes in hand-cast tumbled bronze or zinc, both of which will over time develop a beautiful patina.
Collection
Splendor
Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton’s homeware collections — porcelain, cutlery, glasses and decanters — bring classic French savoir faire to the dining table. The maison’s new Splendor set is a tribute to grand dining moments, combining Limoges porcelain with fine gold in 17 pieces, each of which is adorned with lively, graphic patterning derived from the letters L and V. The set pairs handsomely with the Rivet Épi cutlery set, silver-plated pieces textured with the brand’s signature Épi pattern, a motif inspired by the movement of fields in the breeze, complete with trunk-style stamping on the tips that evokes the brand’s luggage-making heritage.