20 emerging designers shine in our ‘Material Alchemists’ film

Wallpaper’s exhibition for Milan Design Week 2025 took up residence in a sweeping celestial space in the Triennale, a museum that's the home of design, in the world’s design capital, no less. ‘Material Alchemists’ (of which we gave a brief overview at the time) brought together the work of 20 emerging designers and studios, each demonstrating a passion and prowess for material exploration in their practice. Fittingly, we partnered for the show with StoneX, a global patron and purveyor of the world’s rarest natural stone.

Here, coinciding with our annual Design Directory issue, on sale now, and its look back at Milan Design Week highlights, we delve into the material alchemy behind the show in a new video (see above – Wallpaper* interiors editor Olly Mason and I were filmed at the Triennale) and showcase the work of our exhibitors (below) – a truly global collective, together forming our ‘Class of ’25’.

Hailing from as far afield as Antwerp to Adelaide, and from Vancouver to Vietnam, their creative identities, born through upbringing, education and professional practice, all feed into their perspectives on life. Working with everything from paper and plastic to rope and raffia, they stood out for their inherent curiosity about how matter can be coaxed, manipulated and transformed to become something so much greater than we might expect.

Our exhibits spanned a spectrum from craft and artworks to high-performing quotidian objects, revealing an interplay between expression, process and function. As such, ‘Material Alchemists’ reflected our evolved understanding of the power and potential of design: it is no longer an industry, but rather a force that both encompasses and expands all aspects of creative endeavour in the service of experimentation, improvement and progress.

Meet our 20 ‘Material Alchemists’ through their designs

Kodai Iwamoto, Morii Design, and Yoon Shun

Kodai Iwamoto 'Arrow’ floor lamp

Tokyo-based designer Kodai Iwamoto’s lamp is made from aluminium, a commonly used construction material in Japan. However, by carving it with a hand planer and hammering it into shape, it begins to exude a minimal beauty akin to sculpture. @kodaiiwamoto

Morii Design ‘Chir Batti’ textile

Gujarat studio Morii Design was founded in 2019 with a deep reverence for Indian craftsmanship and contemporary design sensibility. This textile uses Rabari embroidery on handwoven kala cotton, indigenous to the Kutch region. @morii.design

Yoon Shun ‘Goshun’ bench

Antwerp-based designer Yoon Shun creates objects that achieve a balance between raw essence and refinement. His bench is made by lightly charring the oak surface, then finishing it with layers of tung oil, giving the wood an almost wet appearance. @yoon.shun

Federico Stefanovich, and Dina Nur Satti

Federico Stefanovich ‘Folia’ wall lamps

Mexican designer Federico Stefanovich’s wall lamps are crafted from cast bronze and aged brass to give off a soft, indirect light that highlights the raw beauty of the materials, showcasing their natural patinas. @federico.stefanovich

Dina Nur Satti ‘Shendi’ / ‘Ripple Lotus’ vessels

Originally from Sudan and Somalia, Brooklyn-based ceramic artist Dina Nur Satti makes clay vessels using the coiling method. Each piece is burnished with a river stone, a traditional method to smooth its surface. @dinanursatti

Marc Sweeney

Marc Sweeney ‘Ingot’ chair

Loch Lomond native Marc Sweeney’s chair is made from a condemned aluminium boat gangway, each piece cast, open-mould, at a precise temperature to preserve the top pour surface of the metal. The tension lends a playful inflated quality to an otherwise geometric form. @marc__sweeney

Michelle Jiaxin Huang

Michelle Jiaxin Huang

Vancouver-based artist and designer Michelle Jiaxin Huang’s piece considers how materials function as active participants in constructing meaning. Through the process of inflation, steel is transformed, allowing for the object to transcend its earthly materiality. @michjxh

Alfred Lowe

Alfred Lowe ‘Idols 411-24’ ceramics

Adelaide artist Alfred Lowe’s work explores identity and his relationship with the landscape, as well as his life as a First Nations person. He uses clay and fibre to hand build forms, applying underglazes and a range of mark-making and woven fibre elements to the surface. @aforalfie

Miranda Keyes

Miranda Keyes Candelabra

Miranda Keyes founded her London glass studio in 2018 to serve as a test bed for new and intuitive approaches to the medium. Her candelabra series with artist Karum Friel focuses on the synthesis of aluminium and glass to transcend the material limits of both. @miranda.keyes

Jiri Krejcirik

Jiri Krejcirik ‘Kalokagathos’ table

Prague-based designer Jiri Krejcirik reimagines European cultural heritage through a contemporary lens. His table was handcrafted from ash using traditional Czech woodworking techniques, then hand-sanded, stained green and coated with a transparent matte lacquer. @jiri_krejcirik

Sheyang Li

Sheyang Li ‘Elemental Patchwork’ table lamp

The Eindhoven-based Sheyang Li works with cast aluminium for its versatility in form and its sustainable sourcing from a scrapyard near his studio. His lamp appears chaotic yet is imbued with an intentionality that serves as a reflection on the unpredictable nature of life. @_sheyang_

Ajay Shah

Ajay Shah ‘Sit’ bench

Mumbai-based designer Ajay Shah founded his furniture brand Industrial Playground in 2008, its collections characterised by graphic forms, a material construct and a bold use of colour. His bench is made from fibreglass, which allows for complex form development. @ajayshah @industrialplayground

Lennart Engels

Lennart Engels ‘Altar’ modular candelabra

Lennart Engels focuses on material innovation and experimentation under the banner of his Helsinki-based Sauna Stone Lab studio. His candelabra are crafted from a geopolymer material that he developed using discarded public sauna stones. @lennart.engels @saunastonelab

Abid Javed

Abid Javed ‘3-Way Junction VI’ / ‘Endosome XVI’ ceramics

East London-based sculptor and designer Abid Javed imagines abstract, biomorphic forms inspired by biological narratives. His sculptures are primarily coiled by hand. When sanded, their white ceramic surfaces gain a soft luminescence that’s reminiscent of stone sculptures. @abid.jav

Liam Fleming

Liam Fleming Transitory Vessels

Liam Fleming is based in Adelaide, where his rule-breaking experimentation into glassblowing sees him breaking down the boundaries between art, design and architecture. His abstract, curvaceous vessels drape and fold, at once both daringly playful and elegantly precise. @fleming_liam

Pauline Leprince

Pauline Leprince ‘05-FP-23’ chair/side table

Paris-based designer Pauline Leprince’s creations often blur the lines between art, architecture and storytelling. Her stainless steel side tables, seating and tabletop objects invite users to engage with space, form and materiality in new ways. @_pauline.leprince

Astraeus Clarke, and Agnes Studio

Astraeus Clarke ‘Darning’ chandelier

Founded in 2022 by Chelsie and Jacob Starley, New York creative studio Astraeus Clarke specialises in lighting fixtures. Its chandelier, which features two laser-cut metal tubes sewn together with cord and a calfskin parchment shade, marries craftsmanship and innovation. @astraeusclarke

Agnes Studio ‘Obsidiana’ bench

Based in Guatemala City, Agnes Studio, the design practice of Estefanía de Ros and Gustavo Quintana-Kennedy, explores and defies the boundaries of traditional and experimental craft. Its bench, made from solid oak tinted with natural food dye, pays homage to earth and nature. @agnesstudio.co

Steffany Tran

Steffany Tran ‘Re Cây’ lighting collection

The founder of New York- and Vietnam-based design studio Vy Voi, Steffany Tran’s lighting collection pairs a ceramic base with a lampshade made of dó, a heritage paper handmade in Vietnam, creating quietly compelling objects that feel both familiar yet contemporary. @vyvoistudio

Olorunfemi Adewuyi

Olorunfemi Adewuyi ‘Omi Series 2’ stool

The founder of Lagos-based studio Omi Collective, designer Olorunfemi Adewuyi explores timber, in both slender and chunkier forms, which he then elevates by incorporating metal hardware, from brass and bronze to copper, cast in a foundry in Benin City. @olorunfemi.adewuyi

Also see our photographic ode to Milan Design Week

Exhibition coordinator: Ian Cibic

Lighting assistants: Luca Baldini, Alessio Pinna

Digital assistant: Marella Bessone

Assistant: Isabella Casiraghi

Retouching: Studio Wolfram