Apple's 2026 Designers of Tomorrow Exhibition Opens in Paris
Apple's 2026 Designers of Tomorrow exhibition opened at Hôtel de Maisons in Paris during Design Miami Paris, featuring four emerging designers responding to the theme 'presence'.
Apple announced four designers as recipients of its 2026 Designers of Tomorrow award. The exhibition opened on October 20, 2026, at Hôtel de Maisons in Paris during Design Miami Paris.
This marks the program's second year. The display was curated by Rodman Primack, founder of AGO Projects and former creative director of Design Miami. The theme emerged from a recognition of how busy modern life has become. It explores what still holds attention amid the haste.
Designers and Their Works
Four emerging designers were selected. Their works explore presence through material and form.
Isabel Rower created the Padded Chair 1860. It draws from 18th- and 19th-century papier-mâché furniture. The chair features exaggerated proportions and a high-gloss finish. A fringe of ceramic beads lines the seat. These beads make a sound when brushed, turning sitting into a mindful encounter.
Yoonjeong Lee presented New Form. It is a combined table and lamp. The base is built from roughly 5,000 thin sheets of stacked veneer. The lampshade is made from sheets of paper. It is held by three worn-down pencils that act as nails.
Salem S. Charabi designed The Eminence of Light. This lantern features a banana paper veil over hand-stacked date palm fronds. The fronds rest on a grooved limestone base. Each palm strand is three millimeters wide. They are split by hand, drilled, and sharpened with a chisel to interlock.
The studio Parafernalia, founded by Sebastián Zorrilla and Genki Matsumura, created MonoAmbiente 1. This multifunctional piece explores conviviality. It has an acid-etched stainless steel surface that forms a landscape when closed. When expanded, it reveals stools, a table, and a chess board with pieces. The piece allows two people to talk, play, or share a drink within a single object.
Design Process and Technology
The designers leverage Apple devices and platforms in their creative workflows. This integration reflects the exhibition's focus on contemporary practice.
Parafernalia's designers work from Monterrey and Mexico City. They rely on iPhone and iPad Pro to trade sketches. They use Messages, FaceTime, Procreate, and iCloud for collaboration. The studio states that Apple plays an integral part in how they think, design, and communicate.
Isabel Rower uses iPhone to capture thoughts and AirPods Pro to listen to music. She builds her visual archive on a MacBook Pro. She uses Keynote to juxtapose ideas and explore images and text.
Yoonjeong Lee credits iCloud, AirDrop, and Notes for keeping her process moving. She uses iPad Pro and Apple Pencil for sketches and quick thoughts. Salem S. Charabi planned and modeled his lantern on a MacBook Pro. This included carving the stone and paper molds.
Jury and Theme
A jury selected the designers for their storytelling, material innovation, and craft. The panel included Alexandra Cunningham Cameron, Fabien Cappello, Jennifer Dunlop Fletcher, Minjae Kim, Hun Chung Lee, Marion Mailaender, Nifemi Marcus-Bello, Jennifer Roberts, and Apple’s Molly Anderson.
Juror Jennifer Dunlop Fletcher, a curator at SFMOMA, noted that the works invite one-on-one sensory engagement rather than spectacle. The exhibition emphasizes how physical objects can hold attention. It focuses on mindful encounters in a hurried world.
The display at 51 Rue de l’Université presents a curated vision of emerging design. It closes on the concrete detail of objects designed to make us pause.
