Belgium is Design’s showcase at hub.brussels unwraps sustainable principles

In partnership with hub.brussels, creative agency Belgium is Design presents (un)wrapped at Milan Design Week 2025. The second showcase in Milan by the agency that promotes works by Belgian designers—the first being Woven Whispers, which is on display in Alcova—(un)wrapped draws on design district Isola’s overarching theme for this year’s design fair, titled Design is Human. Underscoring Isola’s spotlight on humanistic design principles and the impact of design choices on people, communities and the environment, the showcase by Belgium is Design foregrounds product designs that transform raw materials through meticulous workmanship or use recycled elements and circular principles.

The title, (un)wrapped, references the exhibition’s unique layout. Conceptualised as window displays, the showcase is defined by draperies that act as a backdrop for the different pieces. As visitors move through the space, different aspects of the show are revealed, offering new perspectives on contemporary design in Belgium. The 10 participants, ranging from furniture designers to textile artists, include ceramicist Anna Tou, emerging design studio Cru Atelier, industrial designer Florian Martin, sculptor Hugh Roche Kelly, lighting designer Iskandar Jani, visual artist Louise Verstraete, and architect Olivier Vitry of Claisse Architecture and Annie Delvenne.

Each presenter's offering explores different materialities, ranging from wood to metal, while highlighting the power of design to allow users to rethink waste, realign with nature and enhance their well-being. The goal of ensuring design to serve both users and the environment is at the heart of each work on display, delving into sustainable sourcing, circular processes, and deep material research.

In tandem with Isola’s commitment to promoting sustainability and circular design in the industry, several projects employ discarded or waste materials. For instance, lighting designs by Cru Atelier, a studio founded by architects Sarah El Yousefy and Nina Ouchinsky, examine the potential of raw earth for GLOW—a collection of lamps that revel in a brutalist design language. The lamp designs use raw earth from excavations in Brussels and hemp sourced from organic farms, which would otherwise go to waste. Similarly, for her textile artworks, Louise Verstraete uses leftover and deadstock materials from different textile factories. Sculptor Ariane van Dievoet’s practice is based on circular principles as well, where she combines traditional and digital methods of working in her furniture designs. On display is Augusta, a bench that uses leftover stone and wood.

Another major focus for the presenting designers is how precise attention to technique and detail can transform quotidian materials. Belgian designer and founder of FINKR Design Studio, Florian Martin’s functionalist approach is exemplified by his studio’s Doppler luminaires in the showcase. The undulating form of the designs emerged from Martin’s experimentation with the technical challenges of working with metal. Elsewhere, a focus on craft is emphasised by Roche Kelly’s Volume series that brings forth vessels crafted from single pieces of timber from locally sourced beech or ash, whereas Iskandar Jani’s lamp, Ipanema, made from two laser-cut 0.5mm raw aluminium sheets, demonstrates his sculptural understanding of form and material.

While these themes are core to the issue of sustainable design, the showcase consciously also turns to versatility as a tenet for good, considerate design. The Shanti® is a chair conceived as a refuge from modern distractions by Belgian company Inner Design, while Annie Delvenne and Olivier Vitry’s FOLDED FUSION comprises modular pieces that include seating and wall panels crafted from goldsmith aluminium with textile pleating. The different works on display, apart from their positioning behind veils, are bound by a design proposed by Vormen + Elmes + Générale + Sarah & Charles. The result of a creative collaboration between artist Edouard Devriendt and furniture maker Leon Duyck, the project consists of three 11-metre-long tables occupying the exhibition space.

While Woven Whispers provides an international platform for Belgium’s textile designers working at the intersection of tradition and contemporaneity, (un)wrapped’s emphasis on the transformative nature of design is worth noting. The selected designers embrace an approach that balances functionality with emotion.

Keep up with STIR’s coverage of Milan Design Week 2025, where we spotlight the most compelling exhibitions, presentations and installations from top studios, designers and brands. Dive into the highlights of Euroluce 2025 and explore all the design districts—Fuorisalone, 5Vie, Brera, Isola, Durini and beyond—alongside the faceted programme of Salone del Mobile.Milano this year.