Top 20 under 40: the stars of tomorrow

To mark the not insignificant occasion of our 200th issue, we at Wallpaper* have expanded our Power 100 list of the world's pre-eminent design talent into a leviathan and (even more) comprehensive Power 200.

Inevitably, our list is stuffed with consistent old-hands and longstanding design royalty. But as part of this exploded approach, we've also curated a concise selection of the finest practitioners under 40 – not so much the stars of tomorrow as precocious dazzlers. Some have nudged and shunted design in new directions, others have laid claim to tropes and traditions, refining and redefining as they go.

Among the ranks are familiar faces such as (Wallpaper* award winner) Philippe Malouin, Paul Cocksedge, Fabien Cappello and Daniel Rybakken, as well as the cutting edge likes of Studio Glithero (who revel in reimagining design as performance art), Formafantasma, mischer'traxler and Alexis Georgacopoulos, the director of ECAL – Europe's most innovative design school.

Unsurprisingly for a generation so imbued with an appreciation for natural asceticism, minimalism and sustainable practice are a common theme here, from the artisanal excavations of Max Lamb, Anglo-Japanese duo Studio Swine's found-object product design, the recycled wooden birds of Lars Beller Fjetland and the deceptively simple designs of Nicolas Le Moigne, Nao Tamura and Konstanin Grcic alumnus-turned-accessory designer Pauline Deltour.

There's playful decadence here too, though, be it in Bethan Laura Wood's flamboyant work with pattern and marquetry, the midcentury-leaning designs of Beirut duo David & Nicolas, the unabashed modern glam of Lee Broom, Sebastian Herkner's elegant technicolour creations or the reliably skewed designs of London's Raw-Edges, designers of the iconic 'Stack' drawer.

Finally, Gesa Hansen – founder of The Hansen Family – tops off the pile with a smattering of warm Nordic modernism.

Our 20 under 40 are already designers on the top of their game – where they'll go from here (and where they'll end up in next year's list) is anyone's guess.

See the Power 200 in full here

INFORMATION 
See the Power 200 in full