One of the most interesting design stories of September is not a new chair or lamp. It is a change in how people want to discover design. Deoron’s latest physical event in Berlin brought more than 65 designers, brands and independent studios into Monopol, a long-dormant former distillery in Reinickendorf. Instead of arranging products into trade-show categories, the organisers built a slower, more atmospheric environment where furniture, sound, scent, lighting, objects and conversation occupied the same space.

Monopol was more than a backdrop

The Berlin edition ran from September 9 to 13 inside Monopol, a roughly 900-square-metre former distillery built in 1899. Across three floors, naturally lit rooms and industrial surfaces gave the exhibition a strong spatial identity before any object was placed inside.

This matters because the best design exhibitions increasingly treat architecture as part of curation. A chair seen against a white trade-fair wall behaves differently from the same chair in a room with aged brick, long windows, music and people lingering nearby.

The event rejected the conventional category system

Furniture, lighting, homeware, technology and lifestyle products were mixed into one composed environment. That is closer to how people actually live with design. Homes do not organise themselves into “lighting hall,” “chair hall” and “accessories hall.” Objects acquire meaning through relationships.

For interior designers, this format can be more useful than a standard booth because it demonstrates proportion and atmosphere rather than presenting a product in isolation.

A sculptural sound system became the social centre

At the heart of the Berlin show was a sculptural sound system developed by Atelier d’Ingénierie Fades with German loudspeaker maker New Fidelity. It hosted listening sessions, performances and informal gatherings throughout the five-day event.

The sound system is important because it turns an object into infrastructure for social behaviour. Rather than asking visitors only to look, it gives them a reason to stay, listen and gather.

Design events are becoming multisensory

Deoron’s previous events have incorporated tea tastings, magazine launches, dinners, guided tours, scent rituals, meditation, yoga, vinyl sessions and live music. The Berlin edition also included a natural-wine bar.

This is not simply event entertainment. It reflects a wider shift toward understanding design through the body. Texture, acoustics, fragrance, light and the pace of movement all shape how an interior feels.

Emerging designers shared space with established brands

The exhibition mixed less familiar names with established manufacturers including Hay and Tubes Radiatori. That combination can make discovery more useful for buyers because it places experimental work inside a broader commercial context.

A visitor might recognise one brand, then encounter a recent graduate or independent studio nearby. The familiar object becomes an entry point into the unfamiliar.

Antonia Fischer turns grief into furniture

Recent Camberwell College of Arts graduate Antonia Fischer presented “Trauer Tragen,” a chair exploring grief and memory through material and form. It is a strong example of how collectible design is increasingly comfortable carrying emotional or conceptual content.

The chair is not only judged by ergonomics or manufacturing efficiency. It asks whether furniture can hold memory and personal meaning, moving closer to sculpture without abandoning use.

Naomi Elser softens industrial material

German designer Naomi Elser, based in Rotterdam, showed work that brings industrial materials into dialogue with craft techniques. Her approach to aluminium is particularly telling: the material remains recognisably industrial, but its treatment makes it feel more tactile and intimate.

This tension between hard material and soft perception is one of the strongest directions in contemporary interiors. Metal does not need to read as cold if finish, edge, proportion and context are handled carefully.

Blackened wood and grown-looking glass create another contrast

Marius Holtgreve’s blackened-wood pieces explore ordinary objects through a darker, more elemental material language, while Juliana Maurer’s glass work appears almost organic, as though shaped by natural growth rather than conventional fabrication.

Placed together, these pieces show how contemporary design often moves away from perfect industrial neutrality. Irregularity, trace of hand and material ambiguity are becoming desirable precisely because mass-produced smoothness is so common.

What Deoron Berlin suggests about 2026 design

Why an Instagram-born platform moving offline matters

Deoron began when founder Alberto Pallaoro used Instagram to share design. It later expanded into a digital magazine, e-commerce directory and agency before staging physical events in Milan, Copenhagen and now Berlin.

That trajectory is almost the reverse of traditional retail. Instead of a store launching a social account, an online audience eventually demanded a physical environment.

The post-digital design fair is slower

Digital discovery rewards speed: scroll, save, move on. A physical exhibition rewards the opposite. Visitors can sit in a chair, walk around a table, notice how metal catches light and hear how a speaker behaves in a real room.

For high-value furniture and collectible design, that slower attention is commercially important. People are more comfortable investing in an unusual object when they understand its scale and presence.

Collectors increasingly want a story behind the object

When thousands of visually appealing chairs are available online, appearance alone is not enough. Buyers become interested in process, maker, material, origin and the circumstances around discovery.

A piece encountered during a Berlin exhibition, after a conversation with the designer, can carry a stronger personal story than something selected from an infinite feed.

This is relevant to luxury residential interiors

The most memorable homes rarely look as if every object came from one showroom. They accumulate contrast: a refined sofa beside a strange lamp, an old table under contemporary art, ceramics from travel next to industrial metalwork.

Deoron’s mixed environment encourages exactly that kind of composition. It treats collecting as an ongoing conversation rather than a coordinated furniture package.

Sound is becoming part of serious interior design

The central audio installation also reflects a broader trend. High-end interiors are paying more attention to listening rooms, acoustic materials, visible loudspeakers and the ritual around music.

For years, speakers were treated as equipment to hide. Designers are increasingly allowing them to become sculptural objects and social focal points.

The industrial venue adds authenticity without nostalgia

Former factories and distilleries are familiar design-event venues, but they still work when the architecture is allowed to remain specific. Monopol’s history gives the exhibition texture while the new work prevents the space from becoming a heritage display.

The strongest reuse projects do not freeze old buildings. They let contemporary life sit visibly inside them.

What brands can learn from the event

Brands competing for attention do not necessarily need a larger booth. They may need a better reason for people to stay. Hospitality, music, demonstrations and conversation can create stronger memory than another oversized graphic wall.

In an era when every product can be seen instantly online, the physical event has to offer something the screen cannot reproduce.

What galleries and retailers can learn too

The same principle applies to permanent spaces. A furniture showroom can become more persuasive when customers understand how an object sounds, feels and behaves inside a complete room. Galleries can slow the route, add seating and let visitors spend time with a piece rather than pushing them rapidly from display to display.

For luxury retail, time itself may become part of the service. The longer a space can hold attention without pressure, the more meaningful the relationship between visitor and object can become.

The Luxe Journal takeaway

Deoron Berlin matters because it captures a paradox of contemporary design culture. Discovery is more digital than ever, yet the value of physical encounter is rising.

The future design fair may therefore look less like a marketplace and more like a temporary club: objects, music, material, conversation and food arranged to make people slow down long enough to actually notice what they are seeing.

FAQ

When did Deoron Berlin take place?

The event ran from September 9 to 13, 2026 during Berlin Art Week.

Where was it held?

It took place at Monopol, a former distillery in Berlin’s Reinickendorf district.

How many participants were involved?

Wallpaper reports more than 65 designers, brands and independent studios participated.

What kinds of design were shown?

Furniture, lighting, homeware, technology and lifestyle objects were presented together in an immersive environment.

Why is Deoron notable?

It began as a digital design platform and has evolved into physical events that emphasise slower, multisensory engagement with objects.

Source: Wallpaper*, September 15, 2026.