appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Madeleine Fitzpatrick

Production editor, Specialist Publications and China desks


In an age when seemingly every design comes with its own ideology – from brutalism and postmodernism, to art nouveau and back to nature – Naoto Fukasawa claims not to have an overarching design ethos.
“I don’t have a consistent philosophy running through my projects,” the Japanese product designer tells Style in an exclusive interview on the sidelines of BODW In the City, which closes on January 18 (its original schedule having been lengthened beyond December) and is an extension of the Hong Kong Design Centre’s annual Business of Design Week event. It is a surprising claim, perhaps, given a consistent body of work that has long been celebrated for its purity of form, tactile warmth and quiet sophistication.

Fukasawa is not interested, he says, in expressing his own design philosophy but rather, in creating objects that give the people who use them a feeling of “rightness” – his description for the sense of an object symbiotically belonging with its user. “Not just existing independently, but harmonising with the environment,” he adds.

Some might venture that this sounds very much like a philosophy in itself. But Fukasawa counters that there is no ideology underpinning this approach, and all he is trying to do is create holistic unity in the user’s environment. “I’m trying to harmonise all the things existing around you,” he says. To the designer, the important thing is to recognise that no product exists in isolation. Even when it comes to something seemingly as simple as a water bottle, he says, “We have to consider all of life.”

Fukasawa was in Hong Kong to give a talk at renowned Italian luxury furniture brand B&B Italia’s showroom, at the lifestyle emporium Colourliving, in Wan Chai, on the first day of BODW In the City, last November. He says that he’d wanted to work with B&B Italia for a long time before the collaboration came about, as on his many trips to Italy over the years, he was drawn to what he describes as the brand’s focus on “life quality”.

As a case in point, consider his Grande Papilio armchair (2009) for B&B Italia. With its imposing throne-like height, the chair’s form appears to contradict another Fukasawa belief: that products should be in the background because human life is in the foreground. So, could it be that sometimes clients want him to create something that stands out – like this piece? “Sure, sure,” he replies. “But those are two different functions. One is just to be there, as a sculptural form. But if you use it, then it has to be easy to use. So beauty is one of the functions.”

This, of course, aligns with the idea of objects harmonising with their environment. Whether they do so in the background or foreground is to be answered on a case-by-case basis.
“I believe that everything – objects, the home, the workplace, life as a whole – should be harmonised and integrated,” Fukasawa elaborates in a follow-up email. “A beautiful environment gives rise to beautiful clothing, brings forth delicious food, and ultimately creates an integrated way of living.”

Many would surely raise an eyebrow at the idea of interior design making one even a half-decent cook. But when one considers that the expansive imperial width of the Papilio armchair’s back was designed to make everything from relaxing to working to eating as comfortable and convenient as possible, this comment, too, makes sense.

“People behave naturally when they use objects and move through their environment – it’s an unconscious, instinctive kind of action,” Fukasawa continues. “In everyday life, what matters most is comfort and atmosphere. There’s no need to consciously search for what is creating that good atmosphere.”

Fukasawa began his career in 1980 as an in-house designer at Japanese electronics company Seiko Epson. In 1989, he joined San Francisco design firm ID Two, which became Ideo, working in California and Tokyo. While continuing to design electronics as Silicon Valley boomed, Fukasawa branched out into other product categories including furniture.
In 2003, he struck out on his own, founding Naoto Fukasawa Design. In the mid-2000s he collaborated on the design and planning of Tokyo’s 21_21 Design Sight museum with architect Tadao Ando. Then, in 2016-19, his retail interior design projects for Issey Miyake stores became iconic. For the brand’s Kyoto store (2018), housed in a 132-year-old machiya (traditional Japanese town house), Fukasawa married heritage elements with modern minimalism.

That same sensitivity to context and restraint is evident in products such as the Muji wall-mounted CD player (1999), which was playfully modelled after the pull-cord design seen in kitchen extractor fans. “Muji is more flexible,” Fukasawa says about the device in interview, adding that the brand’s identity is not dictated “by shape or form” and that “one of its philosophies is non-design”.

In a similar vein, his minimalist Miz water bottle (2024) for contemporary Danish brand Hay offers slim dimensions that make it easy to hold as well as fit comfortably in a bag or refrigerator.
When it comes to lighting, the designer’s Mokuren chandelier (2023) for Spanish luxury porcelain brand Lladró is inspired by the white magnolia tree (mokuren in Japanese), and features dozens of handcrafted porcelain flowers. Adjustable LED lighting filters through the translucent petals to produce a warm, enveloping glow that – far from the showy, ornamental character of traditional chandeliers – feels tactile and organic.

What all these pieces have in common is a natural empathy with the way human beings use objects in their daily lives. Fukasawa has little time for the kind of marketing research that places individuals into distinct categories. “We are not a market: we are humans,” he says. “Humans are not the mind: humans are the body! And the soul – but not the different kinds of personality [that come] from the mind. So I forget about the mind. I focus more on common behaviours that all people do unconsciously.”

Then there are the products that are so minimalist as to be either absurd or a stroke of genius, depending on your viewpoint. Fukasawa’s Invisible Umbrella Stand (1998) – which has inspired academic analysis in the field of design theory – is merely a groove in a floor tile. Designed to accommodate the tip of an umbrella, the groove makes it easy to prop an umbrella against the wall. The story of its creation reveals the careful observation at the root of many of Fukasawa’s designs, the product having come about after he noticed the tendency of many to rest an umbrella against the wall when faced with the lack of a stand.

From furniture to everyday tools, Fukasawa’s objects are indeed shaped by perception rather than ideology, aiming to blend seamlessly into daily life. In focusing on what feels natural, he continues to show that good design need not declare itself: it simply fits.


Anantara Siam Bangkok debuts a fresh look and Jim Thompson Suite

A 1950s house in Singapore is reborn as a contemporary home open to the elements

Style Edit: Zegna’s new Hong Kong store at Harbour City embodies an Alpine-inspired retail vision

3 kettles from Smeg, Le Creuset and Alessi to make your kitchen sing

Architecture and design

‘I don’t have a philosophy running through my projects’: a conversation with Naoto Fukasawa

Naoto Fukasawa gives a  talk at B&B Italia, Colourliving, in Hong Kong, in November 2025. Photo: Handout

Omoi armchair (2024), designed by Naoto Fukasawa for B&B Italia. Photo: Handout

Naoto Fukasawa’s Muji electric kettle (2014). Photo: Handout

Naoto Fukasawa, pictured with his Grande Papilio armchair and ottoman on screen during his talk at B&B Italia, Colourliving, in Hong Kong, in November 2025. Photo: Handout

BODW In the City, themed CurioCity in 2025, is organised by the Hong Kong Design Centre. Photo: Handout

Grande Papilio armchair with ottoman, by Naoto Fukasawa. Photo: Handout

Naoto Fukasawa believes that life as a whole should be harmonised and integrated. Photo: Handout

Naoto Fukasawa’s Mokuren chandelier for Lladró produces a warm, enveloping glow. Photo: @iloveladolcevita/Instagram

Naoto Fukasawa has been a professional product designer since 1980. Photo: Handout

Issey Miyake’s store in Kyoto, designed by Naoto Fukasawa. Photo: @hommeplisse_isseymiyake/Instagram

Muji wall-mounted CD player, by Naoto Fukasawa. Photo: @mujisg/Instagram

Miz water bottle, designed for Hay by Naoto Fukasawa. Photo: Handout

Mokuren chandelier, designed for Lladró by Naoto Fukasawa. Photo: @iloveladolcevita/Instagram

Naoto Fukasawa’s Invisible Umbrella Stand. Photo: Muji

British designer Faye Toogood on her humanist, playful homeware, interiors and clothing – interview

British designer Faye Toogood. Photo: Genevieve Lutkin

Faye Toogood founded Studio Toogood in 2008. Photo: Genevieve Lutkin

Toogood Gummy armchair and footstool. Photo: Handout

Toogood’s Collection 023 dropped in September. Photo: Handout

Toogood Palette coffee table. Photo: Handout

Toogood Roly Poly chair. Photo: Handout

Toogood Palette side table. Photo: Handout

Toogood Collection 023. Photo: Handout

Toogood Palette coffee table and Gummy armchair. Photo: Handout

Toogood Fudge chair and Sculpture coffee table. Photo: Handout

Toogood Gummy armchair and lounge chair. Photo: Handout

The private members’ clubs offering luxury accommodation, from Soho House to Saint James

The Dome at London’s Home House, a private members’ club that also offers accommodation. Photo: Handout

A bedroom with a terrace at Soho House in Austin, Texas. Photo: Handout

The House Lounge at Home House in London. Photo: Handout

George Hanbury suite at Home House in London. Photo: Handout 

Casa Cipriani in New York. Photo: Handout

Ludwig suite at Carlyle & Co in Hong Kong. Photo: Handout

Jonathan Frolich, vice-president of Carlyle & Co Global. Photo: Handout

Bobby suite at Carlyle & Co in Hong Kong. Photo: Handout

House of Nine in Florence. Photo: Handout

The Twenty Two in New York. Photo: Handout

From the Four Seasons to Aman, the 11 most exciting luxury hotel openings of 2026

In 2026, expect to find luxury hotels working harder to raise the bar and stand out in the crowd. Photo: Handout

The Vineta Hotel marks the American debut of European hotel group Oetker. Photo: Handout

The Vineta Hotel is imbued with a Mediterranean style. Photo: Handout

The Imperial, in Kyoto’s Gion district, was previously a theatre. Photo: @imperialhoteljapan/Instagram

The Imperial’s rooms feature Japanese cedar columns and tatami flooring. Photo: @imperialhoteljapan/Instagram

 Zannier Bendor stands on a 17-acre island. Photo: @zannierhotels/Instagram

Zannier Bendor features a hotel as part of a small village. Photo: Handout

Amanvari is Aman’s first hotel in Mexico. Photo: Handout

Amanvari is tailored with reclusive guests in mind. Photo: Handout

The Red Palace was formerly the Saudi Arabian kingdom’s royal residence. Photo: Handout

The Red Palace’s spa is comprised entirely of private suites. Photo: Handout

The Cooper is an urban resort with a waterfront location. Photo: Handout

The Cooper will have five restaurants. Photo: Handout

Cambridge House in Mayfair was formerly home to a prime minister and a prince. Photo: @cambridgehouseauberge/Instagram

The Four Seasons Cartagena’s eight buildings include a 16th-century temple and a 1920s club. Photo: Handout

Many of the Four Seasons Cartagena’s guest rooms have balconies overlooking the old cloisters. Photo: Handout

La Réserve Firenze’s renovation took four years. Photo: Handout

La Réserve Firenze features frescoed ceilings and ornate tilework. Photo: Handout

The Malkai comprises a trio of luxury lodges. Photo: @themalkai/Instagram

The Malkai experience includes stays at all three of its lodges. Photo: @themalkai/Instagram

Singita Elela offers a safari-style experience. Photo: Handout

How Asian culture and mindfulness are reshaping luxury jewellery design

Jeweller Choo Yilin’s pieces are about identity. Photo: Handout

Composition No 4 transformable jewellery suite from Boucheron’s Impermanence collection. Photo: Handout

Choo Yilin Hydrangea Bangle. Photo: Handout

The Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi and the art of ikebana inspire Boucheron’s Impermanence collection. Photo: Handout

Choo Yilin Peranakan Flower Jade Necklace. Photo: Handout

How Minotti, the family-run Italian furniture designer, grew from artisan workshop to global brand

Italian company Minotti has been in the furniture design business since 1948. Photo: Handout

Susanna Minotti is the third-generation steward of Italian furniture design company Minotti. Photo: Handout

Minotti’s philosophy is to combine the identities of the designer and the company. Photo: Handout

Andante has been Minotti’s exclusive dealer and long-time partner in Hong Kong for 20 years. Photo: Handout

Minotti has flagship stores around the world. Photo: Handout

Minotti presents new collections annually that evolve according to trends. Photo: Handout

Minotti taps into local market requirements through partners like Andante. Photo: Handout

Minotti designs furniture for homes, lounges and hospitality and business environments. Photo: Handout

Magazines

Style

People

Icons & Influencers

The legendary product designer gave an exclusive interview to Style on the sidelines of Hong Kong’s BODW In the City, an extension of Business of Design Week


The legendary product designer gave an exclusive interview to Style on the sidelines of Hong Kong’s BODW In the City, an extension of Business of Design Week.


‘I don’t have a philosophy running through my projects’: a conversation with Naoto Fukasawa

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The legendary product designer gave an exclusive interview to Style on the sidelines of Hong Kong’s BODW In the City, an extension of Business of Design Week

The legendary product designer gave an exclusive interview to Style on the sidelines of Hong Kong’s BODW In the City, an extension of Business of Design Week