In Paris the collector-design festival is kicking off, and I have already found my favourites among the best

By Tina Kovačiček

Paris simply isn’t allowed to be boring or monotonous. After all the excitement around the just-finished Paris Fashion Week, we return to design — and to serious, collector-level design. Design Miami.Paris returns to the legendary L’hôtel de Maisons to present its largest gallery and ‘Design at Large’ programme to date. 

The fair will run in parallel with Art Basel Paris, from 22 to 26 October 2025. The only thing better than the fact that Design Miami.Paris is happening is the information that inside the interior spaces and the garden of the iconic building like L’hôtel de Maisons will host a record number of international galleries showcasing rare and unique pieces of historic and contemporary collector design. 

“We are excited to return to Paris with our most extensive edition yet, which will bring together more than 40 leading authorities in the field of collector design. From masters of modernism to contemporary innovators,” said Grela Orihuela, Vice-President of Design Miami shows. 

Leading world experts in historic and contemporary design will present curated exhibitions of furniture, lighting and art-objects of museum quality, set in equally impressive spaces — making every day’s stroll through this fair an experience in itself. For those who won’t be on site this year, here is the internet (thank goodness!). I’ve browsed the programme and discovered the collector galleries you should have on your radar if collector design appeals to you.

Galerie Meubles et Lumières
*«Galerie Meubles et Lumières is one of the most exciting Paris addresses for lovers of 20th-century design. Founded by Alexandre Goult and Guilhem Faget, with the aim of rediscovering and presenting the best pieces of French design from the 1950s to the 1970s – a time when shape, light and material merged into a poetic whole. Their carefully curated selection covers works by design greats such as Pierre Paulin, Mario Bellini, Jacques Biny, Pierre Guariche and Alain Richard, but also lesser-known authors whose works are equally impressive in their sculptural nature and innovation. At Design Miami Paris they will present one of the three “Face à Face” chairs designed by Pierre Paulin. In the late 1960s, as part of new projects at the Louvre, Mobilier National invited Paulin to devise a contemporary reinterpretation of design. The result was a small series of chairs made between 1967 and 1969 in the Atelier de Recherche et Création at Mobilier National. Particularly notable were two models, which perfectly embody Paulin’s talent, boldness and refinement – the “Face à Face” chair, conceived for conversation, and the “Dos à Dos” model created for quiet contemplation.