On Tuesday, Design Miami organizers will cut the ribbon on the latest edition of the collectible design fair, which after 20 years has become even more global and celebrity-studded. Last year’s event drew musicians Rihanna and A$AP Rocky, Joe Jonas and DJ Khaled, as well as NFL player Stefon Diggs, just to name a few design-curious attendees. This year, singer Robbie Williams will make his debut as a furniture designer.
According to Bank of America, Design Miami is a driving force behind the collectible design market, which is outperforming other luxury categories.
The bank’s Art Markets Trend Report for 2025 confirmed sales of jewelry, design and novel collectibles have stood out against a more tempered art market. “Most notably, design and furniture sales saw a 20 percent year-over-year increase in [the first half], signaling that collectors are placing increasing value on a category once overlooked as ‘decorative’ rather than artistic and conceptual,” the bank said, adding that the growing popularity of contemporary design fairs has created tailwinds for the market.
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Alongside an uptick in new design events emerging around the world, Design Miami also continues to expand. It launched its Paris fair in 2023 alongside Art Basel Paris and opened its inaugural Seoul event in September.
This momentum is expected to continue, according to the 2025 edition of the biennial Deloitte Private and ArtTactic Art & Finance Report. An estimated $992 billion in art and collectibles is expected to change hands over the next decade, it said.
A Strategic Midpoint
Beyond the numbers, Miami is widely viewed as a strategic position for design’s expansion and retail endeavors. A midpoint between Europe and the West Coast of the U.S., it’s also in the throes of a branded real estate boom, which was spurred by the COVID-19 migration of wealthy consumers from both U.S. cities like New York and from abroad. The city is home to a growing number of high-net-worth individuals, including some of the world’s biggest billionaires, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Citadel hedge fund founder Ken Griffin.
According to Altrata’s proprietary Wealth-X and RelSci databases, Miami tops the list of major cities for second homes. That figure is expected to rise, according to the city’s developers.
“Miami still has room to grow. The post-pandemic boom was big, obviously, but what we’re seeing now is a transition into a more stable cycle. It’s really driven by global wealth migration — people coming from everywhere,” said Fernando de Nuñez y Lugones, chief executive officer of Vertical Developments, the developer behind Fendi Casa’s first interiors-led project in Aventura, Fla., as well as Naftali Group’s JEM Residences in downtown Miami that feature Fendi Casa Sky Villas.
Internationally, Design Miami Stands Out
Design Miami was founded in 2005 by entrepreneur, real estate developer, and art and design collector Craig Robins. The event, together with Miami Art Week and Art Basel in Miami, which all run concurrently, has enhanced Miami’s cultural fabric and led to the global appeal of the city’s Design District.
This edition of Design Miami, a six-day fair set to take place at the city’s Pride Park, has incorporated the theme of “Make.Believe” and will see a significant rise in exhibitors up to 70 from 54 last year. Design Miami is still bigger than its satellite editions. By comparison, Design Miami Basel 2024 hosted 25 exhibitors. “As our programming expands and with such a dynamic mix of gallery presentation and activations, we expect to see this reflected in our visitor attendance this year,” Design Miami CEO Jen Roberts told WWD.
Roberts contends that Design Miami remains a strong forum for collectible design enthusiasts and distinguishes itself from other key events on the international design calendar. “Our audience leans towards a collector base who consider their furniture and decor much in the way they are collecting art,” she said. The only difference, she explained, is that design is functional. “The works you discover at the Design Miami event have a history and provenance of being collected previously,” she said.
Here, WWD compiles a list of key events at the upcoming Design Miami.
Robbie Williams Furniture Debut With Moooi
Williams’ reputation as an artist culminated earlier this year with the exhibition “Radical Honesty,” a solo show at the Moco Museum in London. At Design Miami, Moooi will unveil his foray into furniture design with the Introvert Chair. “Williams offers a surprising and tender perspective on privacy and personal space. Introvert Chair reflects his own lived experience, capturing the quiet desire to disconnect from the world without disappearing completely,” said the Dutch firm founded by Marcel Wanders & Casper Vissers. Introvert Chair is available in Moooi stores and online with prices starting at $4,395.
Victoria Yakusha at Design Miami 2.0
Taking part in Design Miami’s 2.0 museum-quality showcase, Victoria Yakusha, the Ukrainian interior designer and architect behind Yakusha Studio, will unveil the next chapter of her ongoing exploration of light with “Land of Light II.”
Yakusha’s project brings together four Ukrainian figures from design, fashion, science and art — each paired with a mythical creature hand-sculpted in Yakusha’s sustainable material, Ztista — a mix of clay, flax, wood chips and recycled paper.
This gathering will offer a first look at her new concept store in the Miami Design District, ahead of its official opening in early 2026.
Achille Salvagni Atelier
Achille Salvagni Atelier, the collectible design atelier with galleries in Rome, London and New York, will feature prominently at Design Miami’s Special Projects section. The installation will bring forth 1950s Italian masterworks in conversation with the contemporary creations of Italian architect, artist and designer Achille Salvagni.
A 1951 cabinet born from the first collaboration between Gio Ponti and Piero Fornasetti will take center stage and represents “the historical inflection point where the memory of classicism begins to morph into modernist exploration,” the gallery said.
Lasvit’s Fragment of Time
Lasvit, known for preserving the heritage of Czech glassmaking and forging collaborations with leading creatives, including Zaha Hadid, Nendo and the Campana Brothers, will unveil “Fragment of Time.” An exploration of how glass can hold fleeting moments, memories and emotions within its fragile clarity, it will bring together works by designers Martin Gallo, Jana Růžičková, Alessandro Mendini and Maxim Velčovský, each transforming glass into a vessel for meaning and reflection.
Within the exhibit, Splash by Dubai-based Martin Gallo will make its U.S. debut — a sculptural representation of the moment water meets air.
Clive Christian Perfume and Crosby Studios
Independent perfume house Clive Christian Perfume and Paris- and New York-based practice Crosby Studios — led by designer Harry Nuriev — will unveil “Perfume Transformism.” An immersive installation, the concept will merge artistic minimalism with perfumery heritage. Nuriev is known for his work with unexpected materials from modern times: defunct computer keyboards, T-shirts with advertising slogans, aluminum barbecue trays and luxury shopping bags among them. This time he has envisaged a monochromatic space that invites visitors to imagine scents in physical form. The exhibit will mark a new chapter for the U.K.-based Clive Christian Perfume, offering a first glimpse into the brand’s new creative direction ahead of the opening of its global flagship at 118 New Bond Street in London.
Objects of Common Interest
Objects of Common Interest’s Holy Mountain, a bubblegum-pink cabinet bar with a built-in speaker, will be on show within Design Miami’s gallery program and with Milanese gallery Delvis (Un)Limited. The New York- and Athens-based research and design studio is known for drawing inspiration from the cosmic wonders of outer space. This time they used pink resin, evoking the raw geometry of an otherworldly rock formation.
Conie Vallese x Fendi
Fendi is set to return to Design Miami with Milan-based Argentinian designer Conie Vallese, known for her work with a variety of mediums, including bronze, textiles and ceramics. In celebration of its 100th anniversary, Fendi will present Fonderia Fendi, incorporating the work of five Italian ateliers to fabricate one-of-a-kind Fendi pieces in bronze, ceramic, glass, carpet and leather, around which Vallese has recreated an intimate salotto setting (salotto is Italian for “living room”). As part of the collaboration, Fendi will also unveil a limited-edition Peekaboo bag designed by Vallese.
The Golden Factory by Piaget
Earlier this year, Piaget teamed with The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts for a limited-edition collage watch, which is a tribute to the late artist. Within Design Miami, Piaget will present an immersive space at which the watch will be placed at the heart. Adorned in gold to celebrate The Factory, Warhol’s iconic studio will be reimagined through Piaget’s own signature lens.
Stephen Burke and Alpi’s Lost Cloth Object
U.S.-based industrial designer Stephen Burks and wooden surfaces firm Alpi joined forces with the Friedman Benda gallery for the Design Miami 2.0 Special Project. Together they will present The Lost Cloth Object, which interprets the textile traditions of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s ancient Kuba Kingdom, bringing the embroidered geometric patterns of Kuba cloths to life. The project was conceptualized after a weeklong workshop in Kinshasa with the contemporary Kuba collective Kilubukila.
Alcova Miami
Now in its third edition and with the support of well-known talent, Alcova Miami, which was founded in Milan by Valentina Cuff and Joseph Grima in 2018, has grown to become an important showcase on the Miami art and design calendar.
Independent collectives such as Alcova now offer a clear path for younger designers to make their entry into the market and meeting galleries for represented,” Roberts explained.
This year, Holland, Mich., based Haworth will officially run during Miami Art Week, alongside Design Miami. Haworth is the showcase’s main sponsor and will present a new collaboration with famed Spanish architect and designer Patricia Urquiola within the venue’s central plaza.
Alcova Miami will be showcased once again at the city’s oldest hotel, Miami River Inn in the South River Drive Historic District of East Little Havana.
