ICFF NYC, the keystone event of NYCxDESIGN and the preeminent North American global design fair, announced a record number of attendees visited the Jacob K. Javits Center, May 14-17, 2016 for ICFF. The show also welcomed more than 130 new exhibitors and 587 returning brands and pavilions, delivering a 30 percent larger footprint.

“The 2016 edition of ICFF NYC exceeded all of our expectations,” said Kevin O’Keefe, ICFF Show Director. “Attendance increased by 6 percent to over 35,000 industry trade professionals, and the feedback on the quality of buyer and specifier meetings has been extremely positive. The expanded fair, with its new features and larger scale, were a hit with attendees, as were the Best of NYCxDESIGN Awards at MoMA, which we know will return bigger and better in 2017.”

Record Attendance, New Exhibitors and Larger Exhibition Footprint

For 28 years, ICFF NYC has delivered “What’s Best and What’s Next” in global design. This year, more than 35,000 industry professionals explored 165,000 feet of exhibition space, making this year’s show the largest overall. Attendees and exhibitors alike were impressed with the impact of the event:

“This is the second year for Anglepoise at ICFF NYC and the North American debut for our new Giant collection and what a fantastic response we’ve received from an audience primed to expect only the best,” said Simon Terry, Innovation & Brand Director for Anglepoise. “Without a doubt we’ll be back in 2017.”

The expanded second floor, featured several important pavilions including: Ho.MI New York Lifestyles, Luxe Interiors + Design, Emerging Designers, ICFF Schools and The Milk Stand curated by Design Milk.

In its second year at the event, the Luxe Interiors + Design pavilion featured an additional 10,000 net sq. feet of a curated mix of transitional and classic contemporary design brands from around the world.

“The Fair’s second level was a resounding success,” said Rose Mello, Christopher Guy showroom manager.

The Milk Stand by Design Milk showcased a variety of emerging artists and designers from across the U.S, while Ho.MI, the preeminent Italian Lifestyles Fair, returned with an enlarged Ho.MI New York Lifestyles pavilion. Covering 12,000 net sq. feet, the pavilion presented a wide range of lighting, wall coverings, carpets, flooring, kitchen and bath and accessories from more than 50 Italian brands.

“ICFF is highly beneficial to our brand,” says Anton Van Der Lande, agent for North America Artifort. “ICFF is a showroom for us – 80 percent of our North American retail customers are developed here. As a long-standing exhibitor, this is my favorite fair. We can miss Salone del Mobile Milano or Copenhagen, but we will not miss ICFF NYC.”

Discovering & Awarding the Best in Emerging Design

The 11th edition of ICFF Studio, a collaboration between Bernhardt Design and ICFF NYC, celebrates original and uncommon products submitted by designers from around the world. Hundreds of aspiring and talented designers competed to be one of the 11 selected to participate in the 2016 ICFF Studio Class presented by Bernhardt Design.

Additionally, ICFF and Interior Design Magazine collaborated to present the ICFF NYC Emerging Design Pavilions, featuring the work of up-and-coming global designers from France, Japan, Brazil, Italy, Portugal, Austria, the Philippines and Spain as well as the New York Furniture Society.

Two award programs celebrated the “best” design at the Fair and around NYC - the ICFF Editors’ Awards and the Best of NYCxDESIGN Awards. Each year, ICFF has convened the industry’s top editors, inviting them to select the best of the best. They awarded a total of 12 prizes – 11 for product design and one to the school demonstrating the best exhibition in the ICFF Schools pavilion. A complete list of 2016 ICFF Editors’ Awards winners may be viewed here.

Interior Design magazine and ICFF also presented the first annual Best of NYCxDESIGN Awards, rewarding excellence in design achievement from the over 500 events that comprise NYCxDESIGN Week. Submissions were open to all fairs, exhibitors and design firms, and the winners were announced just prior to the annual ICFF Opening Night Party at MoMA (the Modern Museum of Art) on Saturday, May 14. A complete list of the Best of NYCxDESIGN Awards winners can be viewed here.

Providing Education on What’s Next and What’s Best

In addition to exhibiting the best in emerging design, the second level of ICFF hosted on-the-floor ICFF Talks, designed to stimulate the creative conversation between designers, brands and industry leaders. A total of 12 insightful panel discussions and presentations made up the programming.

ICFF education partner, the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), offered CEU approved programs throughout the show, including panel discussions and education sessions geared towards design professionals.

ICFF Heads to Miami

The debut edition of ICFF Miami® is slated for October 5 & 6, 2016, at the Miami Beach Convention Center. Joining sister show ICFF NYC , ICFF Miami will present a full complement of leading brands addressing every facet of better interiors for residential, hospitality, commercial and high-end retail.

Luxe Interiors + Design will join ICFF Miami with a major pavilion feature, showcasing the finest luxury brands offering classic contemporary styling.

“The ICFF team has been working to bring ICFF to Miami Beach for over two years,” said O’Keefe. “You can be very sure we will deliver a spectacular platform to our exhibitors and attendees in October. Expect a landmark event in the design industry.”

Over 700,000 qualified architects, designers, developers, and retail showrooms who attend ICFF NYC, the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS), GlobalShop, and the Hospitality Design Expo, as well as those who receive design:retail, Contract, Kitchen + Bath Business, and Hospitality Design magazines, have been invited to attend.

(Source: Furniture World Magazine)