Apple Opens 'Designers of Tomorrow' Exhibition in Paris

Apple's 2026 'Designers of Tomorrow' exhibition opens today at Hôtel de Maisons in Paris, featuring furniture and lighting projects developed with the help of Mac, iPad, and iPhone.

Returning for a second year in collaboration with Design Miami, the showcase is curated by Rodman Primack around the theme of presence. The featured designers were asked to explore how physical objects can hold people's attention, with their work ranging from a lantern assembled from palm fronds to furniture that changes how it is used.

A jury that included Apple's Molly Anderson selected Salem S. Charabi, Isabel Rower, Yoonjeong Lee, and the studio Parafernalia. Alongside the finished pieces, Apple shared details of how each used its hardware and software for sketching, modeling, documentation, and collaboration.

Salem S. Charabi

Egyptian Danish architect Salem S. Charabi created The Eminence of Light, a lantern with a banana-paper veil, a frame made from stacked date palm fronds, and a limestone base. Each palm strand has an octagonal profile just 3 millimeters wide and is split, drilled, and shaped by hand to fit together.

That construction required detailed planning before assembly. Charabi used MacBook Pro for sketching and 3D modeling, mapping out components from the carved stone and paper molds to the base so the parts would fit together.

Isabel Rower

Brooklyn-based Isabel Rower's Padded Chair 1860 draws on 18th- and 19th-century papier-mâché furniture. A glossy surface contrasts with ceramic beads along the seat, which make a sound when brushed. Rower describes that response to touch as a way to make people more aware of an otherwise familiar object.

Rower uses iPhone to record ideas and document her process, while MacBook Pro holds her visual archive. Keynote helps her arrange images and text to explore ideas, and AirPods Pro provide music while she works.

Yoonjeong Lee

Seoul-based Yoonjeong Lee used roughly 5,000 thin sheets of veneer to build New Form, a wooden piece that serves as both a table and a lamp. Three worn-down pencils act as nails, holding sheets of paper in place above the light.

Lee sketches and captures ideas with iPad Pro and Apple Pencil, and uses iCloud, AirDrop, and Notes to keep that work connected across devices.

Parafernalia

Genki Matsumura and Sebastián Zorrilla, founders of the Mexican studio Parafernalia, created MonoAmbiente 1. Its acid-etched stainless steel surface forms a landscape when closed, while opening it reveals a table and stools where two people can sit, play chess, or share a drink.

Working between Monterrey and Mexico City, the pair use iPhone and iPad Pro to exchange sketches and track progress, with Messages, FaceTime, and Procreate supporting their collaboration. "We don't share a physical desk. Our studio is iCloud," Matsumura said.