Copenhagen, June 18–20, 2025 - In just a few years, 3 Days of Design has quietly become one of the world’s most anticipated design events. More intimate than Milan, more fluid than Paris, it has carved out a space for itself with the same effortless elegance as Copenhagen, the city it calls home. This year’s theme, "KEEP IT REAL", is a call for design that is authentic, emotional, and deeply human.
Across historic showrooms, atmospheric installations and temporary creative residencies, a powerful narrative emerged: design is entering a new sensorial age, where material, function and feeling are inextricably linked.
Tekla - The Romance of Comfort
At the majestic Charlottenborg Palace, Copenhagen-based textile brand Tekla unveiled its new collection through a dreamlike installation titled Modern Romance. Known for its minimalist homeware, the brand reintroduces broderie anglaise in a contemporary, understated way: refined bed linens made with organic cotton and delicate trims, echoing heirloom quality with a modern twist.
Set among wooden beds in a scenography by architecture studio Mentze Ottenstein, the exhibition created a compelling dialogue between the ornate, historic surroundings and the quiet intimacy of crafted textiles. The collection draws on the rich decorative codes of European bedding traditions, yet distills them into something simple, pure, and emotionally tactile. It’s a sensitive blend of heritage and softness, illustrating our growing desire for rituals, textures, and a gentler rhythm of life.
Bread and Butter - Objects in Perfect Harmony
At Korean restaurant Ouri, the Bread and Butter exhibition presented a whimsical and thoughtful exploration of complementary objects for the dining table. Curated by Hee Choi and Pyeori Jung, 12 international designers created custom pieces inspired by the warm, comforting palette of bread and butter, from pale cream to rich brown.
A chromatic range that just so happens to echo our Color of the Year “Lime Butter”: soft, sensorial, and full of possibility.
Highlights included:
Mouth-blown carafes with sculptural coasters by Maria Bruun
A resin wine cooler and tray set by Forever Studio
An off-kilter ceramic cup and saucer by Hun Lee that balance each other with poetic precision
More than just beautiful objects, these designs expressed a deeper message: that harmony lies in relationships, between forms, functions, and gestures. The idea of the perfect pair becomes a metaphor for a more intentional, interdependent way of living, one rooted in collaboration and care.
Home from Home - A Study in Light and Emotion
At Noura Residency, a cinematic apartment-style location, art director and designer Charlotte Taylor presented Home from Home - an evocative exploration of domesticity. In a series of atmospheric rooms featuring emerging and established talents (including chairs by Kasper Kyster and stone glasses by Diego Sanchez Barcelo), Taylor invited visitors to reflect on the emotional choreography of space: where objects settle, how light moves, and how the textures of daily life build meaning over time.
This is not a static home, but a living one, suspended between stillness and transformation. It’s an invitation to consider not only how we live, but what lives with us.
The Sound of Material - Tactility at the Core
Curated by Natalia Sánchez, The Sound of Material brought together 25 designers and makers working across ceramics, textiles, paper, lighting, glass, and more. Each piece explored the transformative potential of materiality, whether rooted in centuries-old craft or driven by new design technologies.
From hand-shaped surfaces to digitally generated forms, the works invited us to engage physically and emotionally. Sensoriality, through texture, weight, sound, and presence, was the unifying thread. This was design that doesn’t just decorate space but activates the senses, reminding us of the quiet power of the objects we live with every day.
The Cosmetics IC Take
At Cosmetics Inspiration & Creation, we see the 2025 edition of 3 Days of Design as a clear signal: design is becoming more sensorial, intentional, and emotionally intelligent. And this evolution holds deep relevance for beauty, wellness, and luxury brands. Here are some of the most strategic insights:
Elevated sensoriality: In a visually saturated world, touch, light, scent, and texture offer powerful, differentiated experiences. Brands should think beyond visual aesthetics to create multisensory rituals and emotional anchors.
Comfort as modern luxury: Tekla’s blend of minimalist design and romantic detailing taps into a broader yearning: for comfort, nostalgia, and softness. Modern luxury today is less about opulence, more about emotional refuge.
Complementary design thinking: The idea of pairs, as explored in Bread and Butter, opens fresh territory. Products that complete each other or interact in intuitive ways (like tool + formula, care + gesture, serum + scent) foster deeper engagement.
Designing for everyday rituals: Home from Home reminded us that small, daily interactions matter. Brands have the opportunity to design for how people really live, considering moments of pause, care, and quiet transformation.