At Maison&Objet 2025, young designers prove that function and authenticity matter more than provocation or fleeting trends.
September 8, 2025 — The halls of Maison&Objet Paris buzzed with energy, bringing together more than 2,000 exhibitors, from established names to rising talents pushing boundaries and prompting reflection. The fair felt especially alive with the voices of a younger generation, whose projects experiment with form and material.
In a talk entitled, Nouvelle Vague : Comment Les Jeunes Designers Prennent La Scène ? (New Wave: How Are Young Designers Taking The Stage?) experts came together to talk about the future of design through the lens of the young, ambitious designer. Journalist Laetitia Nallet moderated the discussion, welcoming sculptor and designer Theophile de Bascher, designer and artist Marlène Huissoud, Co-founder and Artistic Director of Theoreme Editions David Giroire, and Director of the School of Decorative Arts – PSL Emmanuel Tibloux.
What Already Exists: Prioritizing Function Over Provocation
The use of material is something that was brought up right away, as many young designers taking up their rightful space navigate the challenges of today with a genuine ecological awareness, using tools that are sustainable and innovative.
“Young designers today care about what already exists. They look at the materiality, then work from there,” commented David Giroire.
“It is important to prioritize function over provocation, and to choose materials based on their impact on the environment,” said Marlène Huissoud, who talked about one of her unique projects, Please Stand By, a series of sculptural clay chairs with holes 5 – 10 centimeters deep, meant to serve as homes for insects. “My project was a human-sized chair, but it also gives back to nature because insects can find shelter and hide in it,” she adds.
An object design graduate of ENSAD in Paris, Theophile de Bascher also has a similar respect for his environment and the materials around him.
“My Fracas collection started when I was in Le Havre, taking a walk on the beach, and found brick remains left in the sea. They were fragments from the old city, destroyed during the Second World War. They were artifacts. Being presented with these materials was almost like a meditation,” he shared.
De Bascher went on to explain how he used manual shaping to experiment with the best techniques, eventually turning the brick pebbles into vases and bowls rich with memory.
Social Media: The Artist as Influencer?
Giroire, who first discovered de Bascher’s work on Instagram, shared that the social media platform is a “wonderfully direct window” into new talent. True to his words, it is far from surface level: Instagram can also reveal how designers engage with materiality, offering glimpses of their commitment and process.
On the other hand, Tibloux brings up an important point about using social media, highlighting its potential pitfalls.
“In Paris, we have a library of materials and we emphasize their importance,” he noted, warning that “Instagram and other platforms can be risky because the question of material can disappear behind the question of image.”
Still, he acknowledged that the medium, when used thoughtfully, can deeply inform and contribute to visual culture.
Ultimately, the panelists agreed that sincerity and lived experience matter most. De Bascher underscored this idea, stressing that a designer must not only care about uses but truly know them:
“Nothing is better to discover those uses than to live them and experiment with them directly.”
Emerging Talent at Maison&Objet’s Design District
At the Design District, a vibrant showcase within Maison&Objet that brings together talents from Factory by Paris Design Week and Future on Stage, emerging creatives are stepping into the spotlight to showcase innovative design.
Here are two additional designers to keep a close eye on for their new, one-of-a-kind designs:
1. ARCEO Flow by Studio Joachim-Morineau
As part of their new light, fluidity, and movement exploration, Studio Joachim-Morineau presented their lamp series ARCEO Flow. Crafted from beautifully curved plexiglass tubes with a 360° LED neon and anchored in sleek aluminum bases, the lamps cast a luminous, sculptural glow that animates any room.
2. Lounge Chairs by Coozus
The idea for Coozus first came to founder Kristof Verhoeven when he couldn’t unwind outdoors after a long day of work—every cushion was either packed away inside or still damp from a rain shower. His solution became the Coozus 1.1 lounge chair: a durable yet comfortable outdoor seat featuring stainless-steel covers that pull open to reveal three-layer dryfoam cushioning designed to stay dry and ready for use.
