From January 19 to 23, 2025, Maison&Objet delves into the theme “Sur/Reality,” a journey into new Surrealism that ignites imagination and creativity.
Maison&Objet 2025, scheduled for January 19 to 23, 2025, is set to explore new forms of creativity through the inspiring theme Sur/Reality. This edition of the fair aims to immerse visitors in a new Surrealism, abundant in imagination, distortion, and poetry.
In a complex global context, Sur/Reality serves as an unexpected pause from routine, offering daydreams that invite escape and joy. During the fair, this trend manifests in unexpected objects and dreamlike settings, catering to the renewed appetite of consumers for the unusual and the surprising.
From Surrealism to Sur/Reality
A century after the birth of the Surrealist movement, the legacy of iconic figures like Magritte and Dalí continues to inspire and influence contemporary creativity. Sur/Reality not only pays tribute to this tradition but also explores its current vitality. The aesthetics of Surrealism, now reinterpreted, manifest in works that evoke deep emotions and awaken the unconscious, diverting attention from rationality.
This contemporary approach to Surrealism aims to reveal how the unreal and the absurd can serve as creative tools for discovering dreamlike worlds.
Distorting Reality to Reinvent It
An emblematic example of distorted reality is vividly represented by the film Poor Things by Yorgos Lánthimos, winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. This distortion, according to Peclers Paris, a consultancy agency specializing in trend forecasting, style, and innovation, stimulates creativity by creating extraordinary experiences that defy social conventions.
The Anomalous and the Bizarre: New Horizons of Discovery
Philippe Starck, a renowned pataphysicist, explores the creative possibilities of pataphysics, posing bold questions such as “What if the Seine were a lake?” This kind of reflection stimulates urban reinventions, generating a delightful formal disorder. At the same time, the Italian brand Seletti pays homage to René Magritte with the Attic-Window lamp, following the trail of contemporary Surrealism.
Poetry Enters the Home
With Sur/Reality, Maison&Objet promotes everyday objects that transform into genuine poetic experiences. Designed to stimulate the imagination, these items liberate art from rationality, proposing a connection between the ordinary and the fantastical. For example, Bordallo Pinheiro presents ceramics that become containers, while Jonathan Adler reinterprets clouds as floor seating.
The Dreamlike Experience of the Customer
The element of surprise plays a crucial role in the customer experience, marked by unexpected shifts in scale and playful proportions. The new Camper store in London, for example, features a giant foot, while Jacquemus’s pop-up store, Le Café Fleurs, showcases how Surrealism can influence retail.
Hospitality and Theatricality
In the hospitality sector, the theme of Sur/Reality translates into a blend of artistic influences that express luxury through the irrational. The Turkish brand Kaimakk creates deceptive universes, while Café Prada in London offers a visual experience that oscillates between romanticism and the fantastical.
A New Mission
Sur/Reality and its interpretations will thus be at the heart of events such as What’s New? In Decor, In Retail and In Hospitality where inspiration will take center stage. Maison&Objet 2025 will celebrate the centenary of Surrealism, inviting attendees to explore fantastic worlds through innovative technologies and discover a new ecosystem rich in discoveries and opportunities for all industry professionals.
Faye Toogood Designer of the Year 2025
Maison&Objet announces Faye Toogood as Designer of the Year 2025. A prominent figure in British design, she stands out for her polymorphic and unique career, serving as an inspiration for the international product and interior design community.
As one of the few female names in design in her country, Faye Toogood serves as a benchmark for promoting women’s representation on the international stage—a central focus of Maison&Objet 2025’s Women&Design initiative.
The Success of Faye Toogood
Faye Toogood sculpts forms and celebrates raw materials. In 2014, she gained worldwide recognition with the Roly-Poly, a curved chair supported by four sturdy legs. In New York, she is represented by the Friedman Benda gallery, and her works are included in the permanent collections of various museums around the world. She has collaborated with several design brands, including Italian rug manufacturers cc-tapis, Maison Matisse, New York wallpaper designers Calico, and furniture brands Tacchini and Poltrona Frau.
Driade produces a series version of the Roly-Poly chair, which is also available as a handmade product from the studio. Her latest collection, Assemblage 8, features furniture assembled like a set of building blocks for children.
Rising Talents Awards 2025: The International Influence of South Korea
Following the trend of ‘hallyu,’ South Korea’s cultural ‘soft power,’ the peninsula has become home to many established international architects working in this highly inspiring environment. The new generation of designers explores the paradoxes between Western influences and the roots of their artisanal heritage, innovating with ancestral materials and blurring the boundaries between design and art—or vice versa.
For the 2025 edition of the Rising Talents Awards, Maison&Objet sets its compass toward this hub of creative activity. As usual for the awards, all winners are under 35 years old and have opened their studios within the last five years. Together, they represent an aesthetic that is both modern and respectful of the rich history of the dynasties that once ruled the shores of the Yellow Sea.
The Jury of This New Edition
The jury for the 2025 Rising Talents Awards brings together established talents and experts from each country. On the Korean side, Jonghwan Baek, CEO of WGNB and winner of the IF Awards, FRAME Awards, and Dezeen Awards, is joined by Youngshin Jang, Creative Director of the Hyundai Department Store and a lecturer at Keimyung and Konkuk universities. They are joined by Jeongman Song, Global Business Director at the Korean Design Promotion Institute and a former researcher at the University of Washington, as well as Teo Yang, whose luxury interiors in Amsterdam and Berlin are featured in two Phaidon volumes and won the 2022 AD100 award from Architectural Digest. Lastly, Kang-Heui Cha, CEO of the Seoul Design Foundation, rounds out the jury.
