Chris Lefteri Q&A: Unlocking the Infinite Creativity of Global Materials
)
Chris Lefteri is widely recognised as one of the leading experts working in the field of materials & design. For over a decade, his studio work and publications have been pivotal in changing the way designers and the materials industry consider materials. His studio, Chris Lefteri Design, has locations in London, and Seoul and has worked with bluechip corporations and major design studios across Europe, the US, and Asia implementing a broad range of strategies for effective materials integration in the design process.
As one of the feature projects at Design Shanghai 2025, Materials First will be located in Hall 3: the Living & Lifestyle section. The installation will vividly tell the “Material Stories” through two curved walls, creating an immersive visual experience. In addition, Chris will lead two CMF training sessions as part of the CMF Training Workshop, offering global designers insights into the latest material trends.
Recently, Design Shanghai conducted an exclusive interview with him to discuss his exciting showcase this year.
2024 Materials First
Q1：How have you witnessed Design Shanghai grow and evolve over the years?
Design Shanghai has always had a big reputation, even for somebody like me, based in Europe. It has always been the most significant design event in the whole of Asia. That’s always been it’s reputation. It has, in the time I’ve been there, captured the nuance of what’s been happening in China that is distinct from European trends. And that’s something I noticed the first year I went.
Its evolution, I think, has begun to encompass a broader set of exhibitors – last year there was the Japanese pavilion(Beyond Craft Japan), for example. I think that’s really significant because when you have different characteristics, different personalities, different regions, it really heightens the contrast and each regional taste.
My materials feature obviously was the most significant contribution last year because it validates this massive area of interest in materials. This year and I’m hoping to bring more innovative, inspiring material suppliers and to curate that in a beautiful way. In 2024, the aim was to use the space and curate some pieces that we had designed ourselves, so it wasn’t just giving us what they think designers want for example with our display of Laedana and Magtech.
Q2: What are the biggest differences in this year’s material exploration journey compared to previous years? Are there any highlights we should particularly look forward to?
We’ve expanded on CMF Training Workshops and Curator‘s Tour, which were such a big success last year. We’re going to run them again but sign up early, last year they were filled out.
The main theme for the display we’re focusing on this year is Material Stories. Materials communicate, they embody, they encapsulate, they hold multiple stories, depending on how you use them, where you use them, what the designer does with them. But even on the simplest level, materials development is becoming more focused on stories you can see that through the growth of alternative materials from nature.
For example, mycelium, pineapple, apple, orange peel, for example. These are stories and they’re stories around materials that the suppliers themselves have to tell in order to capture people’s attention but it also about how the designer tells the story to the consumer and how you bring those stories to the surface.
So, the display this year really will focus around “Material Stories”. We’ve got Touching Stories: stories around sensory reality, and haptics. Caring stories, which will be to do with wellbeing, health, anything around that. Guilt-free stories, which will be one area of sustainability. Brutal stories, which is linked to the trend of brutalism in interiors. Dreams as S dtories, which is linked a little bit to Artificial Intelligence because the whole visual appearance of AI – which has no physical representation – is quite often associated with dreamy scenarios. “Tales from the Woods” – which is nature-inspired, so mushrooms, different types of wood. Science fiction, science fact.
Chris Lefteri Design
Q3: How will you present your booth in 2025 to tell “Material Stories”?
This year, the “Materials First” feature will be presented from a lifecycle perspective, showcasing the evolution of materials from their raw form to their final stage.
Q4：Why are innovations in the material industries so important when ‘designing for humanity’? How as a designer you tell stories to the consumer?
What’s important is that we try things out because it is the Wild West of modern times. Exploring out solutions, moving into a new frontier, understanding and learning as we go along. It’s important we try things out. It also feels slightly chaotic sometimes.
There are lots of cases where new types of materials were found not necessarily the solution. To give you an example, we’ve stopped talking about plastics that comes from corn or starch. That was an emerging trend 20 years ago but we don’t talk about that anymore because it takes arable land away that can be used for crops for feeding people. We tried it, but we realised quickly let’s not do that because people need to eat.
The language of sustainability is also changing quickly, for example the word bioplastic has become so general it is now meaningless. And so we need to try things. The more we try, the more we learn, the faster we learn. It becomes more and more important, because we don’t have time to continue using up all the resources and putting CO2 into the atmosphere. From that sustainability level that’s why these innovations are important.
Q5：Have you noticed any newness in design and materiality in China since the 2024 show?
They had lots of fabrics: Peelsphere for example. There’s a huge amount of materials in China. Just to capture a tiny proportion of that at a design event like Design Shanghai is a wealth of information, just absolutely astounding.
I know a lot about materials but I’m constantly discovering new types of materials that are coming from China. Laedana, which is the material we featured, was an innovation that I discovered last year, that was on my guided tour. I also like the universities, there was a particular student from CAFA, who had these experiments with stove enamelling, on metal, I thought that was really wonderful from a craft perspective, that also fits in well with the trend in craft, and artistry, and the imperfection in craft. Also Magtech, which is the one we also had in the booth, which is really wonderful – we had this fantastic interactive display, where people were playing with their ferrofluid and pulling it up behind magnets to reveal hidden patterns, that was really exciting, so I hope we’ll do something with them again.
Chris Lefteri Design
Q6: In your opinion, what role has Design Shanghai played in bridging the gap between Eastern and Western design?
At the same time, it’s kept its own distinctively Chinese character but you also have – layered in with that – all the global exhibitors as well. It is very obviously a different type of show. It’s not the same thing as you’d see in London or Milan. It has a distinct Chinese character.
That’s what I find the most exciting because there is some wonderful stuff in terms of design happening in Shanghai that’s represented –it’s very clear what the trends are, the way materials are being used, the scaling-up of patterns from micro to gigantic, the use of fibers in particular ways, textiles, in a very bold three-dimensional way, the use of waste. It’s a great mixture of both international and Chinese exhibitors but also trends as well.
I mean, I look at it as a designer through the lens of trends and materials, I’m not looking at it as an exhibitor who is trying to source something for a project. I’m going there because I’m identifying particular themes I see, soaking that up, so that I can get a characteristic of what design in China will be in the next two or three years because those trends that you’ll see in Shanghai will travel through the different cities. That’s what I’m most interested in seeing.
Q7: Last year, your Curator’s Tour was highly praised. What surprises can we expect from this year’s tour?
Last year, the tour took place before the official opening, creating a relaxed atmosphere without the crowd—a truly worthwhile experience. Additionally, whether it’s through the tour, workshops, or exhibitions, we always strive to make the experience as interactive as possible.
The core of the event is to allow visitors to touch, feel, and experience the materials firsthand, rather than simply observing static displays like in a museum. This year, we aim to enhance the level of interaction even further, encouraging deeper visitor engagement. (Stay tuned for the “Curator’s Tour RSVP channel”, which will be released by Design Shanghai soon.)
Q8: Could you tell us more about the 2025 CMF training workshop?
In this year’s CMF Training Workshops, I will offer two distinct sessions tailored to different expertise levels: Introduction Level - Basic CMF and Advanced Level - Advanced CMF.
Sessions：
June 6 13:00-17:30 （Introduction Level - Basic CMF）
June 7 11:00-15:30 （Advanced Level - Advanced CMF）
Join Chris Lefteri at Design Shanghai 2025 from June 4–7 to explore cutting-edge global material trends and unlock infinite design possibilities!