The eighth edition of Collectible, the fair dedicated to collectible design of the 21st century, has concluded. It was held from March 13 to 16, 2025, in Brussels, at the venue of the Vanderborght Building. The building spans 5 floors with a distinctive balcony overlooking the ground floor – in the style of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York.
The fair was founded by Clélie Debehault and Liv Vaisberg.
Clélie Debehault worked as a director at the Galerie Vedovi in Brussels and as an associate director at the Galerie Templon in Paris. Liv Vaisberg is an artistic director based in Rotterdam. She is also a co-founder of other fairs such as A Performance Affair and POPPOSITIONS.
Collectible expands: from Brussels to New York
Collectible hosts galleries specialized in design that offer pieces in limited editions or independent projects by emerging designers.
From September 2024 Collectible has landed in the United States where it will return in September 2025, trying to conquer the Big Apple, strategically close to LA, Chicago, and other vibrant American cities.
The CURATED section
For the CURATED section, the New York writer and curator Brecht Wright Gander was called. The Reality of virtual boasts the set design by Duyi Han, who painted the floor with concentric circular shapes.
The concept of material manipulation is related to the new possibilities offered by high technology. The selected furniture objects meet at the crossroads between organic and synthetic, also thanks to the support of 3D printers, giving life to complex forms that resemble natural conglomerates.
The design works of The Reality of Virtual
In this section, the chair by studio FLINT stands out: “Spring” (on sale for €4,800.00, taxes included, limited edition of 3). It is a flat chair, composed of two stainless steel sheets. It can be easily shipped occupying minimal space and then transformed into a volume by pulling at its ends with force, like an accordion. Once opened, it reveals a reticular nest that is distributed between the backrest and the seat.
The duo composed of the Italian Sara Bologna (1996) and the German Luca Gruber (1995), Studio BGGB, arrives with a tapestry that blends new AI technologies, the sophisticated looms of Prato, and sci-fi literature. The Arquà Manuscript owes a debt to a symbolic and figurative imagery derived from medieval Bestiaries. Additionally, skyscrapers appear in the background, in a futuristic taste of metropolises. The edition is 5 + 1 A.P.
We then notice the table lamp by Adir Yakobi whose shape evokes that of an oyster – the same silhouette is replicated to create a bag or a fountain. The artist starts from the study of the exoskeleton of mollusks. Through the growth of multiple layers of nacre and calcium, the shell and the innermost layer containing the pearl are shaped. For this reason, Yakobi compares the bivalve shell to a natural 3D printer and focuses on the artificial allure.
The OUTDOOR section
Another section where the signature of a curator appears is OUTDOOR. To orchestrate a small exhibition on outdoor design, Frank Bruggeman, a visual artist and landscape designer from Rotterdam, was called. The imposing planters by the Polish Aleksandra Jakuc – The Hydro-sphere to imagine urban oases – go well with the Flamingo Shower. The latter is a garden shower designed by Fabian Tobias Reiner and Maximilian David Graber characterized by a dry style. The lines are reduced to the bone, or rather everything is reduced to the elastic curve of the hose that resembles the long neck of a flamingo. The other ingredients? Electrician’s ties, standardized steel rods, and sheets.
The first floor
Biodesign by Aleor
On the first floor, we encounter the Brussels gallery Aleor that embraces Biodesign and materials of biological or recycled origin. We notice a lamp with a background made from algae, created by Anaïs Jarnoux and Samuel Tomatis. A “Mobile” of Calder-inspired design and other furniture objects are instead made using sheets of natural plastic that utilize mycelium. They are the result of the work of Aléa, a duo that studies regenerative manufacturing methods, between design, biology, and agriculture.
A moon within reach
A few steps and we come across Moon, a lamp that emits light following the lunar phases. It works, in fact, thanks to an algorithm that considers the activity of the terrestrial satellite. The A.D.U. studio, founded by Vadim A.F. Popowsky, coder and artist from Antwerp, has programmed the technology. Moon works thanks to a microprocessor that, based on your location, calculates the position of the moon in the sky and therefore the face it shows to the earth. The lunar surface and its craters are rendered thanks to alabaster (from Spain). The cost for the lamp of 42 square centimeters, edition of 100 pieces, is 4,500 euros including taxes. The smaller specimen of 18 square centimeters is on sale for 1,500 euros. There is also an outdoor version in Estremoz marble.
Galerie Paradis and Spazio Nobile
Galerie Paradis presents a solo show of benches and tables in wood by Dirk Maeylaerts. Each piece is custom-made, like the long pear wood table named Sticks & Stones with an “X”-shaped stone found in Normandy that joins the two slabs and creates a small zen garden in the sea of wood.
The cherry wood counter features modular openings in the shape of a circle that pay homage to the architecture of the American Louis Kahn and strengthen the structure instead of weakening it.
Spazio Nobile in Brussels presents, instead, Radical Ornament curated by Juliette Simeone, a duo show of Amor Immeuble and Willie Morlon. The installation by Willie Morlon, 32 years old, consists of drywall panels (placoplâtre) decorated with floral and abstract motifs inspired by Art Nouveau. The works of Amor Immeuble are based on the widespread custom in France of taking away the fireplace mantels during moves.
The second floor
On the second floor, Lucie Claudia Podrabska creates cups and jugs inspired by medieval glass tableware. Everything is a world of glass with fragile flowers that marry the Bohemian craft tradition.
As in the previous edition, Jean Francois Declercq curated the “Dialogue” section. For his stand, Atelier Jespers/Declercq Design, he connects emerging and iconic figures of design. The inspiration comes from the clubbing culture, emphasizes the dark gothic and post-punk style, and evokes the atmospheres of the music videos of Frankie Goes To Hollywood. It pays tribute to the first single of the British band Bauhaus Bela Lugosi Is Dead.
For example, the work of Studio Greca (Turin designer) with chairs and tables covered in black – reminiscent of the plastics placed over furniture – is compared with Philippe Starck. In particular with the “fetish” chair Ed Archer (Driade edition) in cognac leather that is inspired by the female heel and is laced at the back like a corset. Or the plaid made with fur and chainmail.
In the collective Full Circle stands out Lapis Lazuli by Pablo Octavio: seating that imitates tuff as a material but surprises with their soft consistency. The lounge chair costs 3,100 euros while the pouf 1,100 euros (taxes and shipping costs excluded).
Always on the second floor, at the Newhouse Gallery stand, we notice I SPY.. Large Bench (2024) by Lotte Schoot (€ 7,025.00 excl. VAT), a rigid pouf in the shape of a gem, in hand-painted wood, the “novel” style imitates the grain and color of walnut burl.
Restoring dignity to accessories related to the consumption of Gelato
On the third floor, a creative combination is highlighted to give dignity, at the table, to ice cream. M’AMA editions with the Ballerina kitchen by Federica Zama joins Carosello by Eleit.it, ice cream utensils designed by Arianna De Luca with the consultancy of Alba Pezone. Arianna De Luca creates ceramic cups, spoons – with handles made of small spheres – and cone holders. The colors are pastel: pink, lilac, yellow, and light blue. The idea is to return to being laughing children on the carousel.
Federica Zama designs a fun and versatile kitchen: it is a circular composition; it can rotate on itself 360 degrees; the fire is the sink. It is made of 316 steel, but at the same time flat-pack. The rail running along the circumference is used to add a curtain that can be replaced at will. It thus becomes a furniture-environment, customizable according to the whim of those who live in it. For Collectible, Zama proposes a curtain made up of crochet chains and animal models made with a 3D printer. The palette is pastel like that of Carosello. The proposal by Arianna De Luca and Federica Zama reflects the idea of a world in transformation. It is a nomadic, convivial way of living, ready to party.
The fourth floor
Marco Zebrowski proposes screens consisting of three panels. The central one is also a reflective surface on which emerald flowers are drawn. The side panels are instead covered with red paint, more or less opaque, more or as dense.
For the current and vernacular language, the set of objects conceived by Jean-Baptiste Durand should be noted. More than the armchairs, the “Canidogz” series captures attention. These are lamps inspired by dog clothing and outdoor equipment. The designer draws heavily from the aesthetics of technical and sports accessories, using water-repellent ripstop fabrics, ropes, and straps, and prints logos and brand lettering. The two pieces of fabric tighten around a worked steel tube and are housed in modules created with a 3D printer.
She has collaborated for many years with art magazines such as Artribune, XIBT Contemporary, ArtApp, Insideart and Espoarte, preferring contemporary art in its many facets and media drifts.
