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What’s New In Decor, Maison&Objet, January 2025. © Anne-Emmanuelle Thion

The year 2025 will be polychrome or not: a fantasy of lively, joyful patterns, optical games, wavy and distorting stripes, geometric, abstract and even psychedelic shapes, in a new interpretation of cubism and futurism. A luminous language is emerging, fighting against gloom, with the energy of positive colours and the dynamism of non-conformist influences. In terms of form, freedom of imagination and creativity is back, with a wave of neo-surrealist ideas. The materials evoke vibrant, experimental textures with uneven surfaces, like handmade products that are always unique. The world of this year’s guest, British designer Faye Toogood, reflects this theme, for which she has created the Surreality Pavillon Walnut Head. The practice of this atypical artist, multidisciplinary and avant-garde, extends from interior decoration to object design, via visual arts and fashion.

What’s New In Decor, Maison&Objet, January 2025. © Anne-Emmanuelle Thion

New creative perspectives

Sur/Reality sketches a surreal universe in a contemporary way, replacing the automatic writing of André Breton or exquisite corpses with AI. Sur/Reality shakes up the established order by bringing the wonderful and unexpected into our daily lives. Illustrated in trendy spaces by the expert Elizabeth Leriche, who draws whimsical universes, the shapes are nourished by dreams, myths, childhood memories and journeys into the unconscious and surreal. We are immersed in a parallel and wonderful world. In the ready-made style, everything is possible, based on the principle of the doubling of function: organic shapes and animal forms, with references to human anatomy, informal volumes in homage to Dali’s soft watches, objects that are re-examined and reinterpreted, trompe-l’œil materials, the creations reveal their sources of inspiration, with a sense of humour and irony. We preferred the new products issued by Serax, “Les Objets Mouleversants” by Wouters & Hendrix, who revisited the codes of the 1920s.

“Les Objets Mouleversants” collection, designed by Wouters & Hendrix for Serax (serax.com)

A courageous and playful guest

The talented British designer Faye Toogood was named designer of the year and was already the star of design week at the Salone del Mobile in Milan in April 2024. In addition to her Toogood Homeware brand, Faye Toogood is developing her own ceramics brand, focusing on traditional pottery practices in cream tones and black charcoal. She also collaborates with some of the biggest names in design, including CC-Tapis, Tacchini and Poltrona Frau, as well as smaller but highly creative brands such as Maison Matisse. In New York, she is represented by Friedman Benda gallery. Inspired by the English countryside where she spent her childhood, Faye Toogood draws organic shapes and often colours them with a palette inspired by dark skies. Whether it is a door handle made from a skull found in nature, a light suspension made from crumpled paper with a “diffuse glow placed in the middle like an egg yolk” or a chair with a shape made by pressing fingers into clay, Faye Toogood’s ideas are not conceived by a computer but shaped by her hand. Her unbridled imagination produces objects with surprising, biomorphic volumes.

Woman Manifesto, Landscape, Espace Faye Toogood, Maison&Objet 2025. © Celia Spenard

An international star

Since the worldwide success of his Roly-Poly armchair, with its curved seat on four sturdy legs, published in 2014 by Driade, the road has been impressive. The Cosmic collection, his first collaboration with Tacchini, includes a sculptural sofa as soft as a pile of cushions, a table in the shape of a pebble, an oval shelf… While the third line of Rude rugs, designed with cc-tapis, explores materials, their raw beauty, their relief, combined with a harmony of strong, provocative colours – hot pink, blood red, orange and lilac – borrowed from the paintings of painter Francis Bacon. The pieces of the Squash line, designed in collaboration with Poltrona Frau, exploit the comfort and casual allure of upholstery, wrapped in sumptuous curved lines. Taken out of its classical context, the quilted effect is used in a non-conformist way to dress an armchair and a footstool, a side table, mirrors… Just like a piece of leatherwork, a bag is destined to age and develop a patina. Faye Toogood has emphasised the folds in the leather, like wrinkles that symbolise the beauty of the passing of time. The pieces will be even more beautiful in 20 years!

A “monsoon” full of promise

At the Rising Talent Awards, six young designers from South Korea were selected to represent a new generation of designers who are moving with the times and rediscovering age-old traditions, such as Dahye Jeong, who weaves horsehair in wooden molds inspired by antiques and old ceramics. Hwachan Lee and Yoomin Maeng of Kuo Duo develop a series of experiments, from limited editions to industrial creations and spatial installations: ideas intersect and feed each other, with a preference for natural materials and recycled plastic. Minjae Kim explores materials such as quilted fiberglass. The studio Niceworkshop reuses industrial materials and has designed a collection of steel furniture that is bolted together according to the Meccano principle. Woojai Lee has set his sights on recycled paper and appreciates imperfection. In Yeonghye, she makes furniture from 3D weaving. These multidisciplinary profiles, flirting with the boundaries of art, craft, science and technology, testify to the evolution of design, a highly inspiring playground fueled by paradoxes and eclectic influences.