Design Miami to Start as Appetite for Collectibles Grows
With Design Miami kicking off Tuesday, its organizers are aiming for an even better edition in terms of sales, visitor turnout and exhibitions.
Due to the growing interest in the collectible design market, coupled with the fair’s program of international galleries and brand collaborations, Design Miami’s chief executive officer Jennifer Roberts and her team have been busy lately, after launching the inaugural Los Angeles edition in May, another Basel fair in June, and its second edition in Paris in October.
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Now that the showcase has returned to its home city with its 20th edition, it is expected to “exceed expectations,” she said, noting that Design Miami once again will welcome the global community of design’s “greatest thinkers and makers.”
And fashion is taking notice. This edition of Design Miami, which will run until Sunday, will welcome back Fendi along with a roster of brands including Bottega Veneta.
Design Miami will unfold in a six-day period that takes place during Miami Art Week, along with Art Basel in Miami, which began Monday. There is also the 20th edition of its flagship Miami Beach fair, under the curatorial direction of Glenn Adamson’s “Blue Sky” theme at its flagship location in Pride Park. Here are some of the key fashion brand presentations:
Bottega Veneta
Bottega Veneta’s creative director Matthieu Blazy commissioned the Ark, a limited-edition lounge chair collection inspired by the Zanotta Sacco, which was originally designed for the Italian furniture firm in 1968 by designers Piero Gatti, Cesare Paolini and Franco Teodoro. The same chairs were featured at Bottega Veneta’s spring 2025 show in Milan in September.
The Sacco shares the same softness, anti-formalism, and fluidity integral to Bottega Veneta’s earliest bag designs. Evoking childlike creativity, this new collection features 15 animal versions: dog, panda, rabbit, ladybird, snake, bird, chicken, dinosaur, otter, elephant, cat, fox, bear, horse, and whale. The light gray rabbit and white chicken will be exclusively available at Design Miami.
Fendi
Fendi is set to return to Design Miami with Aenigma by London-based designer Lewis Kemmenoe. Known for his abstract, patchwork technique on furniture and functional design, Kemmenoe will present a collection of collectible furniture items including two chairs, a cabinet, two wall panels, three lamps, and a coffee table. Kemmenoe also reimagined Fendi’s iconic Peekaboo soft bag: employing a unique process in which Fendi leathers were cut into a jacket pattern then patchworked together, while timber used throughout the Aenigma furniture collection was fashioned into the internal handbag bar.
Alcova
After making waves in Milan during Design Week with its envelope-pushing designs, Alcova unveiled its inaugural Alcova Miami edition last year. The second Miami edition of the itinerant project founded by Valentina Ciuffi and Joseph Grima will be showcased at the city’s oldest hotel, Miami River Inn in the South River Drive Historic District of East Little Havana.
Among the more than 40 exhibitors presenting new work in this edition of Alcova Miami, a number of emerging talents will be showcased, including Mexico’s Panorammma with their domestic multidisciplinary explorations; Athens-based studio made by Astronauts, a collaboration focused on reused marble and stone by Italian collective Parasite 2.0 and Bianco67, and the work of Turkish interior architect and designer Sema Topalo?lu with her “The Nonconformist Tropical Garden,” a kaleidoscopic, dreamlike showcase.
Cassina
Inside the new Cassina store, which opened last year in the Miami Design District, a celebration honoring the 20th anniversary of the Charlotte Perriand Collection will take place Thursday. Perriand was a French architect and designer who rose to the fore in the age of Art Deco and launched her career with design legend Le Courbusier. Her daughter and sole heir Pernette Perriand will attend to cut the ribbon on a special window installation and a presentation of select pieces by Perriand, including the Chaise Longue Indochine, Rio Table, and Table Montparnasse.
Meritalia’s Ode to Gaetano Pesce
Italy’s Meritalia, which is owned by the Italian Radical Design group, will showcase a tribute collection originally envisaged by late Italian icon Gaetano Pesce, who died earlier this year at 84. During Design Miami, Meritalia will unveil a revival of his Edizioni del Pesce (Italian for “editions of the fish”), a collection of rare vases, candelabras, mirrors and more that Pesce envisaged to challenge the conformity of mass production, a vivid manifestation of his radical philosophy. His legacy was first honored at Design Miami Basel by Paris’ Pulp Galerie with a selection of other rare pieces that explore Pesce’s free-spirited vocabulary.
Pearl Jam
Miami Design District, in collaboration with Design Miami Curatorial Lab, recently revealed that urban and architectural designer Nicole Nomsa Moyo received the 2024 Annual Design Commission award.
Now in its 10th edition, this year’s Design Commission, titled “Pearl Jam,” will be showcased throughout the Design District during the month of December with displays at the entrance of Design Miami’s 20th edition flagship fair in Miami Beach.
Moyo’s Pearl Jam is a vibrant tribute to the intricate patterns and bold colors of South Africa’s Ndebele tribe, reflecting a universal language of creativity and identity that transcends cultural boundaries. At the heart of Pearl Jam is the artistry of the Ndebele women, who meticulously handcrafted more than 1,000 earrings using locally sourced materials.
Visionnaire
Visionnaire, the Italian company founded by the Cavalli family in Bologna in 1959 and which includes collections by leading Italian and international designers, will present Narrazioni Intrecciate (Italian for woven narrations) by multidisciplinary design firm Draga & Aurel, the envelope-pushing studio that was founded by Draga Obradovic and Aurel K. Basedow. This time, the duo, who burst onto the Milan design scene in 2019 with their Transparency Matters collection, will present a selection of Visionnaire’s design pieces reimagined in bespoke fabrics meant to evoke a sensory and visual experience where the lines between art and design are blurred giving way to a dialogue between perception, media and more.
Nuova Group
“When done well, design can make you travel through time,” said Nuova Group as it heads to Design Miami with its “Time Travel, 1971” showcase. After debuting in Milan in April, Los Angeles-based luxury design group Nuova will bring its time-travel experience to Design Miami. Founded by Rodrigo Caula and Enrico Pietra, the design-forward firm is known for its 360-degree immersive spatial experiences and has collaborated with Tesla, Yeezy and Rimowa with Cafe Rimowa at Spazio Maiocchi during Milan Design Week. “Time Travel, 1971” invites visitors to step into a retro world with a range of carefully designed retro elements, including refined furniture pieces, lighting, bespoke garments, fragrance, music, gastronomy, and more.
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