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Inside Collectible 2025: Highlights from New York
From September 4 to 7, New York hosted the Collectible design fair for the second time, bringing together designers, architects, sculptors, and gallerists from around the world to showcase 21st-century collectible design. First launched in Belgium in 2018, the fair aims to highlight contemporary design practices on a global stage.
This year, as part of Armory Week, Collectible took place on the 39th floor of Manhattan’s Water Street Associates building. Raw concrete walls and panoramic views of Brooklyn created a striking backdrop, while the fair’s layout favored curated sections over traditional booths.
The MAIN section featured leading contemporary designers, including Tuleste Factory with the dreamlike Afterglow collection and Mexico City’s Toro Manifesto, blending sculptural forms with functionality. BESPOKE presented works made specifically for the fair, including the international debut of Colombian artist Marcela Cuére, whose Materia Colectiva explores memory, Latin American culture, and hand-colored resin.
Young designers appeared in NEW GARDE, exploring childhood memories through materials and form. Venezuelan designer María Laura Camejo reimagined wooden furniture as metal objects, creating a playful contrast between warmth and the passage of time. Other sections included FASHION, highlighting the intersection of design and style, and VIGNETTE, featuring immersive mini-scenes curated by interior designer Michael Hilal.
Special projects included Table Top by Michael Yarinsky and Allan Wexler, inspired by the rituals of mealtime and the 1932 Futurist culinary manifesto.
The most talked-about section, CURATED, titled In Praise of Folly, was curated by Hannah Martin of Architectural Digest. Drawing on the 18th-century European concept of the folly—objects created as aesthetic gestures rather than functional items—the section featured works like Othém Casey’s Tiffany-inspired lamp-sculpture and Thomas Yang’s cherrywood Fika table with a base decorated with nail motifs shaped like wildflowers.
Collectible 2025 revealed a clear trend: contemporary collectible design increasingly engages with memory, emotion, and personal experience. Immersive, sensory, and emotionally expressive objects are at the heart of this evolving practice.
This year, as part of Armory Week, Collectible took place on the 39th floor of Manhattan’s Water Street Associates building. Raw concrete walls and panoramic views of Brooklyn created a striking backdrop, while the fair’s layout favored curated sections over traditional booths.
The MAIN section featured leading contemporary designers, including Tuleste Factory with the dreamlike Afterglow collection and Mexico City’s Toro Manifesto, blending sculptural forms with functionality. BESPOKE presented works made specifically for the fair, including the international debut of Colombian artist Marcela Cuére, whose Materia Colectiva explores memory, Latin American culture, and hand-colored resin.
Young designers appeared in NEW GARDE, exploring childhood memories through materials and form. Venezuelan designer María Laura Camejo reimagined wooden furniture as metal objects, creating a playful contrast between warmth and the passage of time. Other sections included FASHION, highlighting the intersection of design and style, and VIGNETTE, featuring immersive mini-scenes curated by interior designer Michael Hilal.
Special projects included Table Top by Michael Yarinsky and Allan Wexler, inspired by the rituals of mealtime and the 1932 Futurist culinary manifesto.
The most talked-about section, CURATED, titled In Praise of Folly, was curated by Hannah Martin of Architectural Digest. Drawing on the 18th-century European concept of the folly—objects created as aesthetic gestures rather than functional items—the section featured works like Othém Casey’s Tiffany-inspired lamp-sculpture and Thomas Yang’s cherrywood Fika table with a base decorated with nail motifs shaped like wildflowers.
Collectible 2025 revealed a clear trend: contemporary collectible design increasingly engages with memory, emotion, and personal experience. Immersive, sensory, and emotionally expressive objects are at the heart of this evolving practice.
Gallery
By Julia Bikbulatova