Now on View

The International Contemporary Furniture Fair, in New York, remains the best place in North America to discover fresh talent and emerging trends. In attendance this year are exhibitors from no fewer than 43 countries, as well as 15 “contingents”: professional trade groups showing as a bloc, including Ceramic Tiles of Italy, the Furniture Society, and the Industrial Designers Society of America. The crop of first-time exhibitors is especially rich and varied: the architectural-glass specialists Bendheim, Donna Karan’s Urban Zen, the Spanish luxury-outdoor-furniture company Kettal, the young New York collective Rich Brilliant Willing, and the London consultancy Studio Toogood.

For those eager to see new design trends, we have identified three of particular note. Minimalism—which never went away—has been stripped back to become “super minimal,” reflecting an increasing desire for less clutter. Take a look, for example, at Iacoli & McAllister’s Medium Frame Light, whose extreme simplicity emphasizes the beauty of its powder-coated-steel components. In addition, the wood design that dominated last year’s show returns, but this year it’s less gimmicky, with a rustic simplicity that is sophisticated and even luxurious. Lastly, we have furnishings
that straddle indoor and outdoor living, brought to ICFF by Interiors from Spain, the biggest foreign presence at the fair for the second year in a row. “Our outdoor spaces are seen as an extension of the house instead of a different category of furniture,” says Mikel Orbe, the head of Interiors from Spain. “Therefore, houses need to integrate both settings.” Fortunately, all of the following furnishings should be extremely easy to integrate into today’s homes.