Highlights from Design Shanghai 2021
One of few design events to be held in 2021 thus far, Design Shanghai recently returned for its eighth edition. Here, our editor-in-chief rounds up her highlights from the exhibition’s stellar line-up
Exhibitors
As Asia’s largest and leading international design event, Design Shanghai is an extensive showcase of the world's top design brands, but it was those from China we had our eye on — here are a few standouts.
Isabelle Peng Zhao
Award-winning designer Isabelle Peng Zhao’s Seesaw Roundtable installation was located in the Contemporary Design hall. The piece is a metaphor for harmony and balance in our daily lives and aims to explore the relationship between humans, objects and society. Zhao has always displayed a strong sense of her cultural heritage in her work, and a unique combination of local insight and style within a global context
Shang Xia
Also in the Contemporary Design hall, Shang Xia showcased new tableware and tea sets in a curated Tea Space that was an homage to the ancient Chinese tradition. The luxury brand from Hermès and designer Jiang Qiong Er has become synonymous with high-quality products that are a contemporary twist on traditional Chinese aesthetics and crafts
Stellar Works
Stellar Works launched three new collections at Design Shanghai this year: acclaimed Italian architect Michele De Lucchi’s Float; Host by German designer Sebastian Herkner (seen below); and Everyday by Stellar Works’ creative directors Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu of Neri&Hu. Each piece adds to the Shanghai-based design brand’s already extensive range of covetable yet affordable pieces for the home
Sun at Six
A Brooklyn-based studio that works with artisans and traditional joinery masters from Guangzhou in China, Sun at Six specialises in ancient Chinese woodworking techniques, continuing a long history of craft. Their furniture is made using classic Chinese joinery, a fading traditional art form that uses intricate interwoven joints to create furniture without the use of any nails or screws
U+
Dedicated to the design, development and manufacture of contemporary Chinese furniture, first-time exhibitor U+ showcased its Shan Qiu Zhi Ge sofa collection in the Contemporary Design Hall
ZaoZuo
Named after the words for manufacturing (zao) and design (zuo), ZaoZuo is the brainchild of Chinese graphic designer and entrepreneur Shu Wei. The brand produces modern, sophisticated furniture and home decor for urban families. The Dada sofa, designed by ZaoZuo’s own in-house design team, exemplifies the brand’s approach to modern affordable furniture.
Read more about ZaoZuo in this story from the Design Anthology print archive
TALENTS
The TALENTS section was once again curated by established Beijing-based designer Frank Chou. This showcase has become an invaluable platform for connecting younger or emerging designers with industry. Out of the 14 designers, together considered to be the best from across the country, these were some of our favourites.
Suomu Design
Hangzhou-based Suomu Design was founded in 2017 by product designer Zou Mengmeng and architect Wang Liyan. The duo’s Tofu ceramic tea set was inspired by the traditional namesake food item, as well as the constant balance of geometry found in Eastern philosophies.
Leijie Zhou
Leijie Zhou, who established his studio in 2020, works primarily with computer software to ‘deconstruct’ well-known objects and recreate them with the help of computer-aided technologies and CNC machine work. Zhou’s Ming Dynasty chair is based on the iconic Southern Official's Hat Chair from China’s most celebrated period of design and decorative arts.
dorisofia studio
doriasofia studio was founded in 2019 by designer Doris Wang. Her Cassette lounge chair is inspired by the cassette tapes she would use to record and play music when she was a child, and there’s a sense of playfulness and intrigue to the piece, which has ultimately been designed with comfort in mind
BANG OFFICE
Shanghai’s BANG OFFICE was established by designer Gong Ban in 2019 following his graduation from Central Saint Martins. With the Ju table, the designer’s starting point was traditional wooden architecture, and the beauty of the final product lies in its simplicity of form and materiality
Emotive Soil
Jingdezhen-based studio Emotive Soil was established by designers Yefeng Lyu and Kai Li, who met at London’s Royal College of Art. Their Shadowy Bloom project aims to create a dialogue with craftspeople of the past. Half of the objects are made up of fragments of thousand-year-old shadowy-blue Yingqing, the other half is newly created by Emotive Soil, using sagger clay to bind the fragments to create new forms.