Icons, 20 years Designer of the Year

In 2006, the first “Designer of the Year” award was presented in Belgium. The prize was originally established by the Interieur Biennale and the magazines Knack Weekend and Le Vif Weekend, and was awarded that year to Brussels-based designer Alain Berteau. Over the years, various partners joined the initiative, and it grew into a well-established reference in the Belgian design landscape. Twenty years later, the list of laureates reads as a best-of-the-best of what the country has to offer in contemporary design: from ceramic designers and silversmiths to product and lighting designers. Concepts such as innovation, originality, and ecology are often central to their work. The list includes names such as Muller Van Severen, Alain Gilles, Nedda El-Asmar, Julien Renault, and Linde Freya Tangelder. On the occasion of the 20th edition of the title, all twenty names come together in an exhibition at MAD Brussels, on view from 1 October to 12 December.