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From Scandinavian design icons to trailblazers in sustainable innovation, Clerkenwell Design Week 2025 showcased a dynamic blend of heritage, craftsmanship, and forward-thinking materials. Here are some of the most compelling trends and exhibitors that stood out during this year’s festival.

Scandinavian Heritage: Icons Reimagined

String Furniture and Grythyttan Stålmöbler, two icons of Swedish design, made notable debuts at CDW25, offering an innovative take on time-honoured Scandinavian aesthetics.

String Furniture, founded in 1949, exhibited at Old Sessions House, bringing its modular classics into a contemporary context. Showcasing its Pira G2 floor-to-ceiling height system (a contemporary interpretation of the original design from 1954), the colour-forward Center Center collection with Form Us With Love, a system transforming office design, and the minimalist Museum pieces designed with TAF Studio.

Bo Hellberg, CMO at Scandinavian design icon String Furniture shares, 

“String Furniture has always been driven by the belief that good design is instantly recognisable, has an ingenious construction, makes a real difference to people’s lives – and is ideally made in Sweden! This year, we were thrilled to be showcasing at Clerkenwell Design Week for the first time, showcasing parts of our range that represent our beliefs well, like Pira G2 originally from 1954, Center Center by FUWL launched only last year and Museum by TAF Studio. All of them with timeless designs that cater to the evolving needs of modern spaces, both in the workplace and at home.”

Center Center, String Furniture X Form Us With Love, www.stringfurniture.com

Meanwhile, Grythyttan Stålmöbler marked its 130th anniversary with a thoughtfully curated display at the Church of Design, unveiling fresh colourways for its iconic A2 and High Tech Chair. These reimagined classics were presented in the new earthy tones of chestnut, petrol and green oak, enhancing the brand’s legacy of outdoor living and unparalleled Swedish craftsmanship.

Discussing the new 2025 launches, Karl Lindqvist, 4^th generation family founder at Grythyttan Stålmöbler states: 

“As Grythyttan celebrates 130 years in 2025, we are delighted to bring a range of new contemporary colourways into our collection. The High-Tech series launches in a Chestnut, Ivory and Petrol colourway, while the A2 and Classic series have been given a new look too, with a lacquered light green oak on a black frame. Celebrating 130 years of Swedish tradition and craftsmanship, Grythyttan continues to craft from the natural materials of wood and steel, balancing tradition and modernity. All production is carried out by hand in our factory in Grythyttan. No two pieces of furniture are identical – and this is something we are extremely proud of.”

The NEW A2 Armchair in Green and The High Tech chair, https://grythyttanstalmobler.com/global

Pioneers in sustainable materials

With sustainability front and centre, CDW25 highlighted brands pushing the boundaries of material innovation – from textiles to flooring.

At the Teknion showroom on 11 Bowling Green Lane, Luum Textiles, a Canadian brand known for performance-driven sustainability, exhibited Unified Field, a textile collection inspired by menswear motifs such as houndstooth, argyle, and pinstripes. Created by former creative director Suzanne Tick, the collection includes recycled wool, acrylic, and polyester fibres – balancing high performance with environmental responsibility.

The standout Perfect Balance textile, with a houndstooth motif and woven underlayer, offers easy-clean durability for high-traffic spaces – all while honouring Luum’s ethos of recycled luxury.

Luum Textiles, Unified Field features patterns inspired by motifs found in traditional menswear, www.luumtextiles.com

Parador, the German flooring innovator since 1977, also made a bold statement. The brand showcased its iconic collection range at Design Fields, including the high-performance Engineered Wood, sustainable Modular ONE series and new Vinyl ranges. These flooring solutions blend technical mastery with visual elegance, ideal for commercial and residential spaces alike. Coinciding with its CDW exhibit, Parador celebrated the launch of its new London base – the Parador x Wilkhahn showroom at 45 Great Sutton Street – a hub where architects and designers can engage with cutting-edge materials and curated spaces.

Neel Bradham, CEO of Parador, comments:

“As our commercial audience continues to grow, we were thrilled to be exhibiting at Clerkenwell Design Week 2025 and launching a London base in partnership with Wilkhahn – a brand that shares our commitment to quality, innovation, and heritage. It’s important for design-led brands to join forces and shine a spotlight on the craft and precision that define our design culture. Clerkenwell Design Week was the ideal moment to celebrate these values, and to welcome the UK design community into our world.”

With a strong emphasis on craftsmanship and European production, all Parador products are manufactured at the brand’s Founding Headquarters in Coesfeld, Germany, and at its Austrian production site in Güssing, using sustainably sourced materials.

Parador, NEW Trendtime 10 collection, Vinyl, Chevron, www.parador.de/en

Curved furniture and Organic forms

Furthermore, echoing the organic materials and finishes was the prevalence of soft, curved shapes and natural forms.

Global workspace solutions expert Teknion embodied this trend with a thoughtfully curated showroom that combined sculptural silhouettes with high-performance design. Their contemporary office furniture featured fluid lines and ergonomic curves, upholstered in advanced textiles from sister brand Luum. The space seamlessly balanced comfort and innovation, with standout pieces like the brand’s iconic Tek Booths offering sound-insulated, flexible work zones tailored to hybrid and accessible working environments. Teknion’s showcase reflected the evolution of the workplace into a softer, more human-centred landscape – where aesthetic warmth meets high functionality.

Balance collection, www.teknion.com/eu