From Copenhagen to Miami, 10 famous design festivals of the world

From Venice to Tokyo and Paris to Dubai, the global design calendar for the upcoming year is packed with the culmination of ideas, innovation and art. With themes spanning artificial intelligence, sustainability, heritage, and instinctive beauty, these festivals and fairs invite audiences to broaden their horizon and view design from a refined lens. HELLO! maps how each city becomes a stage and how design transcends to be a discourse for change. 

1. Venice Architecture Biennale
When: Till Nov 23, 2025
Where: Venice, Italy
The 19th International Architecture Exhibition, titled ‘Intelligens. Natural.  Artificial. Collective.,’ will be curated by Carlo Ratti and organised by La Biennale di Venezia. The theme this year is an invitation to experiment with intelligence beyond today’s limited focus on AI and digital technologies, featuring over 300 contributions from more than 750 participants for the first time.

2. Maison&Objet
When: Sept 4-13, 2025
Where: Paris
The centrepiece of Paris Design Week, the trade fair showcases exquisite events and exhibitions for interior design, decoration and lifestyle. With Amélie Pichard as its artistic director, their September edit is set to be a discourse between AI and craftsmanship.

3. London Design Week
When: Sept 13-21, 2025
Where: London
Promoting the city as a hub of creativity, the nine-day festival will engage patrons with a diverse range of installations, exhibitions, and programmes curated by some of the world’s most influential artists, designers and architects. Large-scale installations, part of their Landmark Projects, often transformed into London’s most iconic public spaces, such as Southbank Centre and St Paul’s Cathedral.

4. Staging
When: Till Oct 11, 2025 
Where: Studio Oliver Gustav, Copenhagen
There’s a new exhibit spotlighting Rick Owens’ sculptural furniture designs, organised by Michèle Lamy and Oliver Gustav. The collection showcases works by artists Scarlett Rouge, Giovanni Bassan, Kaare Golles, and Rasmus Rosengaard, as well as several of Rick’s new designs.

5. Dutch Design Week
When: Oct 18-26, 2025
Where: Eindhoven, Netherlands
With the prime focus on the design of the future as well as the future of design, Dutch Design Week is the largest design exhibit in Northern Europe. Here, Mission Days serves as a platform for meaningful discussions, with each day focussed on core missions. These include Living Environment, Thriving Planet, Digital Futures, Health and Wellbeing, and Equal Society.

6. Designart Tokyo 2025
When: Oct 31 - Nov 9, 2025
Where: Tokyo, Japan
One of Japan’s largest citywide festivals, Designart Tokyo is a culmination of art, fashion, design, interiors, and technology. This year, the event will draw global creatives to showcase multidisciplinary exhibitions across Tokyo, exploring the theme, ‘Brave – The Pursuit of Instinctive Beauty.’

7. Art Deco Alive!
When: Oct & Nov 2025
Where: Miami & Mumbai
Celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Art Deco movement, this new multidisciplinary festival will entail a series of Deco-inspired multimedia exhibitions, symposiums, guided tours, fusion dance and music shows, and community engagement programmes.

8. Dubai Design Week 2025
When: Nov 4-9, 2025
Where: Returning for its 11th edition, this event aims to transform Dubai Design District into a vibrant hub of creativity. The festival will feature installations, exhibitions, talks, and workshops, along with the region’s first limited-edition fair, Editions.

9. Salone Internazionale Del Mobile 
When: April 21-26, 2026
Where: Milan
A flagship event of Milan Design Week, Salone Internazionale del Mobile is a playground of design and innovation where experimentation reigns supreme. The fair boasts a full spectrum of furnishing — from expressive, sculptural pieces to cutting-edge, functional design. Case in point: over 2,000 exhibitors from around 37 countries and more than 700 emerging creatives showcased the best in material science and sustainable technologies in 2025. 

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10. NYCXDESIGN
When: May 14-20, 2026
Where: New York City
This annual citywide celebration will feature everything from exhibits and trade shows, to talks and tours. Organised by NYCxDESIGN, an independent non-profit, it aims to present NYC as a global destination for design across all its forms and disciplines.  

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