Photo by Jens Liebchen, courtesy Messe Frankfurt Exhibion GmbH
With a global audience cruising thousands of miles of inspiring aisles, it’s safe to say the design industry got its steps in this year in Frankfurt. The Ambiente fair covered living, dining, lifestyle, décor, international craft and much more.
Highlights from around the fair included “Shades of Space: A Radical Vision for Hospitality,” an exhibition curated and designed by Ambiente Designer of the Year 2025, Fabian Freytag. A self-described maximalist, Freytag called his rich and layered installation “a statement against the interchangeable, soulless designs that too often define hotels, bars, and lounges.”
The juried Emerging Talents area highlighted inventive work from newer names on the product design front and proved the creative future is bright in Frankfurt and beyond.
And special presentations from craft groups — like the German Crafts Association (Bundesverband Kunsthandwerk), the umbrella organization for professional craftspeople in Germany; Made 51, a United Nations Refugee Agency-supported organization dedicated to bringing refugee craftsmanship to the world; and design and craft organizations from around the globe, including Tunisian Handicrafts and Design Phillipines rounded out a truly global showing of design and creativity.
Emerging Talent:
- Atelier lvdw
- Jung Woon Lee
- Pablo Ejarque Gonzalez
- Studio Lotte Schoots
- Tuli Puro
- Viktorija Kuliavaite
German Craft Association:
- Alexander Seitz
- Friedemann Bühler
- Manfred Braun
- Simone Fezer
The Lounge at Fabian Freytag’s Shades of Space installation.
Tunisian Handicrafts
Made 51
Hand-painted glass by Italian artist Perle d’Arte.
Handcrafted scents and products that summon traditional folk wisdom, modern perfumery, and candle craft from Smells Like Spells.
Like what you see? Get it first with a subscription to aspire design and home magazine.