Opinion
Which furniture brands would you like to see here in future? These are my top 5
by Pia Seidel
Strange, but important: why we need more quirky design
23.12.2025
Translation: machine translated
Pictures: Pia Seidel
Weirdcore shows how experimental design can push the boundaries of the familiar - from furniture made from mushrooms to carpets with surreal shapes. Why these unusual approaches are important.
2025 was packed with exciting design highlights. I've been to some of Europe's hottest trade fairs in Paris, Milan and Copenhagen. What particularly caught my eye? Weirdcore at its finest.
Tables wrapped in fringes or wall shelves made of mushrooms - the brands have come up with a lot. And certainly not always with the intention of being «weird», but to celebrate the feasible more than the practical. But that is precisely what divides opinion.
Between art and commerce
While strange pieces are celebrated at the fairs and later in the press, critics criticise three aspects in particular:
- Too detached: Many designs look more like works of art.
- Expensive: A chair that costs as much as a month's rent? Affordable for very few people.
- Sustainability? Rather difficult: new materials are often not yet fully developed.
In the Galaxus Community, too, opinions on the Weirdcore article by this or last year. While some celebrate the creative approach, others criticise the lack of suitability for everyday use:
You can't buy taste ;-)
It's just overpriced junk, what's supposed to be interesting about it?
Many things seem so cramped, original at all costs, that the practical everyday use is lost (...).
Of course, design should make our lives easier. But is that really the only aspiration?
Courage that shapes the future
Furniture made of steel, moulded plywood, recycled products or 3D-printed furniture - all of this only exists because creative minds were willing to try out new things.
An early example of this is the Wassily chair by Marcel Breuer, who designed the first chair made of bent tubular steel at the Bauhaus in the 1920s. At the time, tubular steel was considered an atypical material for furniture and was viewed with scepticism. Many considered it cold and impractical. But Breuer proved the opposite: his design became a milestone of modernism and shows how bold experiments can shape the future.
A successful current example is the «Duk» collection from Studio Tooj. The pieces of furniture made from wood and the organic material reishi, which is grown from mycelium, look like draped cloths. They combine extravagant looks with sustainable materials to create artistic accents that add depth and character to any room. Such ideas show how experimental design opens up new creative possibilities and creates space for technological innovation.
Handmade as a counter-movement
Organically shaped designs such as the rugs from CC-tapis combine traditional craftsmanship with modern technology. The exhibition «Ways of Seeing», inspired by John Berger's BBC series, presented carpets made using a variety of techniques. Surreal silhouettes create an aesthetic that is both familiar and alien, celebrating the analogue in modern design.
No new paths without strange ideas
This year's designs show how exciting contradictions can be: Uncertainty meets creative freedom. Maximalism and unusual shapes stand for optimism and personal expression.
Jean-Remy von Matt puts it in a nutshell: «Creative minds are expected to be suitable for the masses, but they strive for uniqueness.» This is exactly what makes experimental design so valuable. It breaks boundaries, opens up new perspectives and encourages us to think differently. What seems strange today could be completely normal tomorrow. But it can also disappear again.
Weirdcore in particular shows why experimental design is so important: it drives innovation - visually and functionally. But it needs to be made for people again, not just for glossy magazines. The task of the often quirky pieces? To find a balance. Between ideas that stand out and things that fit into our everyday lives.
What do you think? Is experimental design like weirdcore art for collectors or does it have what it takes to enrich our lives? Which designs would you like to see in your everyday life?
Header image: Pia Seidel
Pia Seidel
Senior Editor
Pia.Seidel@digitecgalaxus.chLike a cheerleader, I love celebrating good design and bringing you closer to everything furniture- and interior design- related. I regularly curate simple yet sophisticated interior ideas, report on trends and interview creative minds about their work.
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