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The Fair
Words by: Laura Joralemon May 30, 2023

The International Contemporary Furniture Fair brought the best of the design industry to New York City over three days in May.

This year’s ICFF kicked off on Sunday, May 21st at the Jacob K. Javits Center in New York City, bringing some of the best products, makers, innovators, and experts of the design industry to the three-day event that anchors New York Design Week. See the highlights of this year’s edition, filled with inspiration, insightful conversation, and celebration, in our recap below.

Outdoor furnishings from Mexico-based brand Mexa, winner of the Editors Award for Outdoor

  • Stripes on stripes from Minna Goods

  • Playful color from Shore

The Designs

The fair was the place this year for new products to launch, brands to exhibit for the first time, and emerging designers to showcase what the future of design may hold. Immersive experiences were at the heart of the event, with makers offering demonstrations that gave attendees a peek into the process and designed spaces that invited you in and encouraged interaction with the pieces on display.

Products from emerging designers on display through the Launch Pad program from WantedDesign Manhattan

Hand-folded lighting from Ameico

A comfortable place to connect at Design Quarters

  • Innovative designs from Graff

  • An installation from Samantha Sandbrook

  • Opiary, a biophilic design/build studio from Brooklyn

Admiring a rug from JD Staron

  • Obakki, winner of the Editors Award for Accessories

  • Pieces by An Aesthetic Pursuit shares space with Eny Lee Parker

  • An interactive installation at the co-located DIFFA by Design event

Left: a chair from Caleb Ferris, winner of two Editors Awards; Right: Constellation light fixtures from Lasvit

The Spaces

The much-lauded core of ICFF 2023 and it’s show-within-the-show, WantedDesign Manhattan, was The Crossroads, an exhibition space dedicated to American design in an ode to the diverse and expansive talent of studios found across the country. The Crossroads, along with the ICFF + WDM Talks Stage, furnished by Turf and Natuzzi, and the Oasis x Material Bank space, furnished by Normann Copenhagen, FilzFelt, Ressource and Kasthall, played host to inspiring discussions and insightful presentations.

Other spaces dotted the fair floor as well, with the Welcome Lounge x Moooi greeting attendees at the entrance to ICFF with playful designs, and The Restaurant and The Café x Caesarstone offering space to regroup and recharge. The WantedDesign Manhattan Lounge and The Little Café from EQ3 rounded out the installation with a comfortable place to rest or connect.

The Welcome Lounge x Moooi

The Crossroads

Look Book participants' booths are anchored by The Lounge, a space furnished by Ligne Roset, David Weeks Studio, Kasthall, USM, and Ressource

The Little Café, from EQ3

The Talks

Nearly 100 change-makers and visionaries shared insights and ideas and joined in lively discussions about creativity, influences affecting the design community, and what the future looks like for design across 20-plus ICFF + WantedDesign Manhattan Talks this year. See the topics on the agenda here.

Stacy Shoemaker Rauen, editor-in-chief of Hospitality Design magazine, and Jenn Tuetkin from the Luxury Division of Pella chat with the Designer of the Year Morris Adjmi on the ICFF + WDM Talks Stage

  • Patricia Urquiola on designing for—and with—the next generation

  • David Rockwell discusses American design with Wallpaper* magazine's Pei-Ru Keh

Tiffany Jow hosts a series of talks titled Dialogues at The Crossroads

Paul Clemence leads a discussion on Diversity in Design with IDSA Chair Ana Mengote Baluca and Marvel's Yadiel Rivera-Diaz (pictured) and AphroChic's Bryan Mason and Jeanine Hays (not pictured) in the Oasis x Material Bank space

The Celebrations

There were plenty of reasons to celebrate this year, with awards ceremonies, design showcases, and cocktail celebrations to fête a post-pandemic return to New York City design events.

This year, DIFFA by Design co-located with ICFF at the Javits Center and hosted the ICFF + WantedDesign Manhattan Opening Celebration on this first night of the fair. Immersive designs offered intriguing spaces to explore and interact on the DIFFA floor.

Sunday night also played host to the 43rd Annual Interiors Awards, where another year of exceptional work in the field of interior design across twelve categories was celebrated along with honoring the Designer of the Year, Morris Adjmi. (You can see the list of winners and read more about the event here).

The Interiors Awards celebration at Neuehouse Madison Square, presented with the support of our partner, Caesarstone.

The 2023 Designer of the Year Morris Adjmi, whose awards was presented by Stacy Shoemaker Rauen with Jenn Tuetkin and the support of the Luxury Division of Pella

LIXIL's Jean-Jacques L'hénaff and the 2022 Designer of the Year Kia Weatherspoon celebrate a new generation of design in the WantedDesign Manhattan Emerging Designers Showcase

  • Odile Hainaut and Dezeen's Ben Dreith present the Editors Award for Lighting to Daniel Shapiro

  • The Best of Launch Pad awards await their recipients

The Respite Pod installation at DIFFA by Design, created through a collaboration by HOK, Mohawk Group, Urban Office, Svend Nielsen, Arktura, Maharam, Blondie’s Treehouse, and Design Within Reach

And that's a wrap!

A huge thank you to all of our exhibitors, attendees, sponsors, and partners for an incredible and inspiring ICFF. We look forward to seeing you all again next year—save the date for ICFF 2024! We’ll be back at the Javits May 19th through 21st in 2024.

Until then, keep up with the latest in our stories about the designers, makers, and producers that define good design on icff.com for year-round access to what’s happening in the world of design.

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