Design Leads the Way, Setting Sail for Global Horizons. The 2025 China International Furniture Fair (Guangzhou) unlocks infinite possibilities for global home aesthetics.  

As 2025 dawns, the technological wave ignited by Deep Seek and the cultural confidence sparked by the animated film Ne Zha have refocused global attention on China. The convergence of technological transformation and multicultural narratives is reshaping industries worldwide, pushing China’s vast home furnishing sector into a landscape of both opportunities and uncertainties. Since the 1980s, when China first entered the international market through OEM production, the home industry has undergone significant transformations: from mass manufacturing and homogenization challenges to independent branding, design-driven industrial upgrades, and global brand expansion.

Now, in 2025, as the era of “Chinese Home Brands 2.0” unfolds, the industry faces critical questions:

How can Chinese home brands comprehensively expand overseas across design, culture, and production while forging their own distinct design language amid cultural differences?

How will the industry adapt to AI-driven technological shifts and evolving productivity structures?

How can international brands decode cross-cultural design strategies and effective entry into China’s market?

These urgent themes will anchor discussions at the 55th CIFF Contemporary Design Fair.  

Centered on “Converging Global Inspiration, Leading Chinese Design,” the exhibition assembles 60+ commercial design brands (e.g., HC28, DAaZ, HIK, CHIC CASA, MY JUST, AGGLOMERATE, RECASA, MEXTRA, MZEN, CARBINE, GORDON GU, JIANZE, DEMORA, M&D, HALO, YINSHI, BASHA HOME, HT CASA, A2STONE, GESE, MESH, MENOIR, INNOVATION LIVING, DASHHOME, MODIMILAN, OODLES, JOSEPH, ZAOOYE, RONGYI, MRS, NOVA, YIAN, HOOZ, GENTLE LIVING, ANCIENT, POESY, KINWAI, CHANG SHI, ARTSOME, NOTTING HILL, P&L, HONGBIN, MANITTA, AIMEIXUAN, RETRO MASTER, MODA CASA, DANDOU, ARTOPIA, JOYWICKHOME, DAWOOD LIFE, CENTROCASA, DAFU, DGL, MK, ANDREA, MINGMEIXUAN, RIVE GAUCHE, FG, MIFAN), 20+ designer labels (e.g., OPAL by Zhu Xiaojie, AGGLOMERATE by Jiang Baiming, KARROOM by Yang Guanjie, XIRUI by Kong Dezheng & Xu Jiamin, MINGDU by Liang Chen, DAKHAAN by Zhou Anbin, SHIYUE LIFE by Liu Yi, INSTEEL by Chen Wei, ZAOSU by Li Xuanji, FILE by Gu Fanqi, MMR by Zhang Zhongyu), and 40+ international design brands/studios (e.g., VITRA, MAGIS, BULO, GUBI, GAN, GUFRAM, MEMPHIS, GERVASONI, KARIMOKU, ARIAKE, OLUCE, FOGIA). Together with 100+ design ecosystem partners and 200+ designers, the event will dissect three industrial dimensions and four stylistic trends. Seven thematic showcases such as East Design Show, Design United, CMF Trends LAB_2025, Design Dimsum, Design Export, Intangible Heritage Aesthetics Exhibition, and Green Oriental will interweave brand displays, forums, and salons to construct a multidimensional “production, education, research and application” ecosystem. Aligning with CIFF’s mission of “Design Inspiration, Internal & External Circulations and Entire Chain Collaboration,” this edition promises to spark cross-industrial dialogues and define 2025’s design trajectory.

Industry Dialogues Across Three Key Dimensions

In an era of economic uncertainty, leading international brands, especially Milan’s top-tier furniture houses are more eager than ever to tap into the Chinese market. This sentiment was one of the most striking observations among Chinese industry professionals at Milan Design Week 2024. As a gateway for global design brands entering China, Guangzhou offers unparalleled resources and hands-on expertise. Li Ximi, curator of the Design United exhibition, emphasizes that early exhibition planning is key to securing market footholds.

At this year’s exhibition, designer and URBANCRAFT founder Li Ximi will curate the Hall 4.1 exhibition under the guiding concept of Design United, while Wang Hongchao, founder of Benwu Studio present the special exhibition Design Dimsum will explore frameworks for merging international design thinking with Chinese industrial resources.  

Concurrently, HC28’s “Global Designer Lounge” will provide an immersive experience to highlight design differentiation, addressing the industry’s evolving needs.

How can Chinese furniture brands harness design innovation to drive industrial transformation?

Zhou Anbin, creative director of DakHaan, addresses this through the Design Export showcase. Featuring 13 original brands like XIRUI, MINGDU, and MMR, the exhibition employs targeted strategies to catalyze sustainable industrial upgrades, transforming China from “world factory” to “creative powerhouse.”  

Seven Special Exhibitions: Building a Comprehensive Design Ecosystem

01 East Design Show  

This year’s theme, “Craftsmanship = Design,” bridges traditional artistry and contemporary lifestyles, integrating handicrafts into daily living.  

02 Design United 

The Design United exhibition at Hall 4.1, curated by URBANCRAFT founder Li Ximi,  fosters open dialogue between international and domestic brands through an innovative curatorial approach.  

Named Design United, it embodies both “Design Force” driving the shift from manufacturing to creation and “Design Stance” reflecting the perspectives of curators and exhibitors. The exhibition introduces global brands as catalysts for domestic innovation, with the Design United Concept Exhibition featuring international brands in a Seven Symphonies showcase. Positioned at the hall’s center, it reinterprets brand expressions through design, strengthening their impact in the local market.  

03 CMF Trends LAB_2025  

The “CMF Trends Lab”, hosted by CIFF Guangzhou, is an annual special exhibition focused on material innovation and application since its launch in 2021. It aims to be the industry’s leading CMF platform, showcasing cutting-edge research on design trends, material technologies, and home products.  

For CMF Trends Lab 2025, renowned industrial designer Yang Minjie will serve as the chief curator, joined by Markus Frentrop (RAL Colour & RAL Academy Global Head), Chris Lefteri (founder of Chris Lefteri Design Studio), and Huang Xiaojing  (Strategy Director at YANG DESIGN) as co-curators.  

The exhibition will take place in two phases:  

– Phase 1: CMF Trends Lab 2025 (March 18-21).
– Phase 2: CMF Trends International Material Gallery (March 28-31)  

Bridging perspectives from designers and material suppliers, the exhibition provides an in-depth look at the latest CMF trends with both expertise and foresight.

04 Design Dimsum  

The “Design Dimsum” special exhibition, curated by Wang Hongchao of Benwu Studio, returns in 2025 with the theme “The Joy of Home Living.” Featuring 12 global brands in furniture, lighting, and home fragrances, it explores cross-cultural design adaptation and localization strategies for China’s market. More than a showcase, it serves as a strategic incubation hub, bridging international design with China’s evolving consumer landscape.  

05 Design Export  

“Design Export” symbolizes China’s contemporary design setting sail, driven by cultural confidence and innovative practice toward global recognition. This exhibition challenges the traditional “Made in China” perception, showcasing a new wave of original designers who redefine “Designed in China” as a mark of value in the international market. No longer just the world’s factory, China is reshaping its narrative positioning design as a key vehicle for cultural exchange and young creativity as a bridge between Eastern and Western aesthetics.

06 Intangible Heritage Aesthetics Exhibition  

This year’s Intangible Heritage Aesthetics Exhibition is designed around the concept of a “Lost Garden.” The exhibition seamlessly integrates traditional Chinese craftsmanship such as Canton embroidery, velvet flowers, enamel, ceramics, Xiangyun silk, bamboo weaving, tie-dye, floral arrangement, papercutting, and bonsai into modern garden design. Within nature’s vibrant yet harmonious palette, these heritage crafts come to life, creating an immersive and dynamic experience.

07 Green Oriental: Bamboo Culture  

Green Oriental brings together industrial hubs, leading enterprises, and designers through themed exhibitions and forums to transform a single bamboo stalk into a thriving industry. Emphasizing sustainability and the beauty of Eastern culture, the exhibition explores how green trade can turn ecological resources into economic value.

Four Trends Shaping 2025  

01 Color in Motion: The Pulse of Life  

In the wake of global challenges such as the pandemic, wars, and economic downturns, color trends in home design have evolved beyond aesthetics, they now reflect emotions, technology, nature, and social culture. From soothing tones to tech-inspired hues, from sustainable palettes to personalized expressions, color has become a key medium linking functionality and emotion. At the 2025 CIFF Guangzhou Contemporary Design Fair, brands like M&D, RECASA, and Jianze will present their unique interpretations of color. 

RECASA: The Flow of Color  

Celebrating its fourth anniversary, contemporary Chinese design brand RECASA introduces the theme Flow of Color, blending artistic expression with dualities, abstract and figurative, deliberate and spontaneous, reality and dreams. Through bold, vibrant hues, RECASA showcases the power of Chinese original design.  

M&D: Colors of Nature  

With a 70-year legacy in Italian craftsmanship, M&D specializes in premium leather sofas. This exhibition highlights humanity’s innate connection to nature, where touch enhances sensory experiences. Inspired by organic forms, M&D’s designs embody sustainability, seamlessly integrating natural elements into modern living.  

Jianze: Rules of Space  

Since its debut in 2021, Jianze has championed design as a means of self-expression, bringing together diverse global influences to create inclusive, eco-friendly home solutions for the younger generation. For CIFF 2025, Jianze’s exhibition concept reflects its name, featuring minimalist geometric architecture in white, the showcase introduces a vibrant world of color, rich textures, and dynamic silhouettes, unveiling new collections for the first time.

02 The Healing Power of Natural Oriental Aesthetics  

As climate change continues to reshape our world, the influence of nature extends into every aspect of life, from fashion and food to home design. The concept of biophilic design integrating plants, natural wood, and sunlight into interiors has been proven to enhance well-being and focus. This philosophy aligns with the Eastern principle of harmony between nature and humanity, fueling the rise of traditional craftsmanship, new Chinese aesthetics, and Zen minimalism in modern living spaces. In this fusion of nature and Eastern culture, a new era of healing design emerges, where homes are no longer industrial or purely functional but serve as serene sanctuaries.  

DAaZ: Decoding the DNA of Nature  

Since its founding in 2014, DAaZ has explored the boundary between furniture and art. At CIFF 2025, the brand presents themed DNA, a retrospective of its evolving design philosophy over the past decade. The E-edition collection, inspired by children’s drawings, distills the essence of proportion, structure, and texture through a raw and intuitive perspective capturing the soul of furniture.  

KYFZ Studio: A Fusion of Eastern & Western Aesthetics  

Founded by Finnish design legend Yrjö Kukkapuro, Chinese craftsmanship master Yin Hongqiang, and architects Fang Hai and Zhou Haoming, KYFZ Studio embodies a deep dialogue between East and West. With the theme Heritage & Rebirth, their collection fuses traditional Chinese craftsmanship with Finnish ergonomic design, blending millennia-old wisdom with modern aesthetics to create timeless, uniquely crafted furniture.  

MZEN: Light • YUAN  

Tracing light back to its origins, MZEN, a cultural home brand since 2018, has dedicated itself to showcasing Eastern aesthetics through contemporary design. With form as a vessel for meaning, and objects as a medium for storytelling, the brand pays homage to the East, the birthplace of light, renewal, and vibrant life. Through refined craftsmanship, MZEN reinterprets the essence of traditional Chinese objects, illuminating a distinctive design philosophy rooted in culture and emotion.

03 Digital Cambrian Lab & Symbiotic Relationship Lab  

At the dawn of 2025, Deep Seek emerged, accelerating the ongoing technological revolution to unprecedented heights. AI, digital economies, renewable energy, low-altitude aviation, biomanufacturing, quantum technology, and life sciences, these advancements are reshaping material applications and energy structures, triggering a fundamental shift in productivity. As new industrial species and ecosystems emerge, we are witnessing a Cambrian explosion of technology.

CMF Trends LAB_2025: Digital Cambrian Lab 

Curated by renowned industrial designer Yang Mingjie, CMF Trends LAB_2025 explores the intersection of digital aesthetics and symbiotic living, two forces shaping the future of design.

Digital Cambrian Lab focuses on cutting-edge manufacturing, customizable parametric design, and energy-efficient lightweight structures. Highlights include the Mobius Loop Sofa, which embodies multidimensional space transformations, and minimal surface parametric lighting, which merges resilience with elegance, each piece reflecting the digital revolution in design.

Symbiotic Relationship Lab redefines humanity’s role within the ecosystem, not as conquerors, but as cohabitants maintaining Earth’s balance. Through themes of carbon reduction, biomimicry, and geocentric evolution, the exhibition presents Wasslat’s zero-waste furniture crafted from recycled walnut wood chips, illustrating the essence of coexistence and shared prosperity. This design philosophy plays a crucial role in global sustainability, fostering a future where nature and humanity thrive together.

04 Green Oriental Aesthetics in Intangible Heritage  

Design has never been a novel concept in this ancient land. Across dynasties, artisans, craftsmen, and architects have passed down traditional techniques, symbolic patterns, and color systems, each infused with deep cultural heritage and national identity. In contemporary home design, intangible cultural heritage breathes new life into living spaces, bridging past and future, tradition and modernity.  

Hidden Gems Lab: Treasure the Vibrant Touching Moments in Travel 

The CMF Trends LAB_2025 special exhibition presents the “Hidden Gems Lab,” highlighting vibrant folk aesthetics, childhood crafts, and local materials. A standout showcase is the Kite Series Lighting, which reimagines the bamboo-framed craftsmanship of Weifang kites, blending traditional flat and three-dimensional kite structures into contemporary lighting designs. Through intricate patterns and artisanal techniques, the collection transforms cultural heritage into modern-day monuments.  

Both the East Design Show and the Intangible Heritage Aesthetics Exhibition will continue to explore how traditional craftsmanship and heritage techniques integrate into contemporary daily life.  

In 2025, Chinese design is redefining global aesthetics, with culture as its core, technology as its tool, and sustainability as its vision. The China International Furniture Fair (CIFF) Contemporary Design Exhibition is more than just an industry event; it is a key window into China’s evolution from follower to leader in design. Through the fusion of diverse themes and cross-disciplinary collaborations, Chinese design is crafting a new narrative, where tradition and the future converge.