Dutch Design Week 2020

As the largest design event in Northern Europe, Dutch Design Week (DDW) is a prolific platform for disciplines and mediums that are affecting the way we live, work and socialise today. This year’s event took place last week and presented an inspirational and insightful virtual deluge of trends, insights,  and predictions.

The Dutch are renown for their tell it like it is attitude and general anti-laissez faire approach to life. When it comes to design, this archetype translates to profoundly progressive buildings, products and aspirational ideals from which the rest of the world react. Dutch Design Week is the perfect platform for shining a spotlight on the design trends that are currently dominating both cognitively and physically. Here are a few standouts from the week that was…

1. Sabine Marcelis

Image courtesy of DDW – Sabine Marcelis

Left: Soap Table photographed by David Stjerholm, Pim To. Right: Burberry x OC installation photographed by Floor Knaapen

The visually stunning and highly covetable appeal of dutch designer Sabine Marcelis’ products is like nothing else. Her ability to conjure self described “magical moments” through furniture, lighting and installation work is a reminder that the ability for design to incite joy and happiness is profound and fundamental. Aside from the joyful nature of Sabine’s work, her exploration of and experimentation with cutting edge sustainable materials and practices introduces a whole new facet to her work that see’s it transcend trend and resist deterioration. 

2. Scarlett Yang

Left: Garment made from biodegradable materials (algae extract and silk cocoon protein) awarded @lvmh @maisonzero Green Trial Prize and @themillshk Sustainability Prize. Right: Physical Bio Serpentine Lace

Central Saint Martins graduate Scarlett Yang has created a completely biodegradable material with properties that allow it to break down after contact with water within hours while retaining an aesthetic beauty of form that makes it entirely applicable in the fashion space. In a world that is heavily depleted in resources and negatively dependant on detrimental processes, the studious outcomes of designers like Scarlett are of vital importance. 

3. Paper Gardens by Studio Ossidiana

Paper Gardens by Studio Ossidiana | Winner of Dutch Design Awards Habitat section | Photography by Federico Ciamei

Paper Gardens by Studio Ossidiana – Photography by Federico Ciamei

Paper Gardens is a scenography for The New York Times Style Magazine’s annual Salone del Mobile. It consists in a series of installations inspired by elements of the garden, in a scale between large architectural models and miniature buildings. 

Based in Rotterdam, Studio Ossidiana is an architectural and design studio focused on playful, highly tactile outcomes that invite interaction and provoke engagement and delight. 

Words | Tiffany Jade