From rising stars to veteran creators, LUXUO features eight leading women in design who are shaping the interior and furnishing industry.

By Joe Lim

From emerging talents to internationally recognised figures, LUXUO highlights a diverse group of women designers who are redefining leadership in contemporary design. Their practice is informed by personal experience and responsive to context. Working across furniture, interiors, lighting and objects, what unites them is a philosophy that views design as a vehicle for storytelling, material exploration and cultural dialogue. For these designers, objects carry meaning and materials are active participants that are capable of being reinterpreted, repurposed or elevated. In an industry often driven by trends and seasonal styles, these women assert influence through vision and the ability to shape how people experience space and objects. For International Women’s Day 2026, LUXUO celebrates their ingenuity and recognises the contributions that stand as a testament to the transformative potential of contemporary design.

Jay Sae Jung Oh — Rewriting Material Value

Jay Sae Jung Oh with her Salvage furniture series. Image: saejungoh.com.

Jay Sae Jung Oh — who lives and works between Seoul and Seattle — has spent over 15 years expanding the boundaries between art, craft and furniture. Her “Salvage” series, which is made from discarded pieces bound and carved into cohesive forms, is a commentary on society’s overconsumption while maintaining her own brand of functional integrity.

Jay Sae Jung Oh’s Salvage chair is made from discarded materials. Image: saejungoh.com.

Oh — who has studied industrial design and fine art — sees garbage as both raw material and a statement. Her work has been shown at major design exhibitions and galleries, bolstering her reputation in collectable design. Her perspective is consistent with a broader trend among female designers: material transformation as authorship, sustainability as structural commitment and design as a lens through which behaviour is analysed.

Christina Z Antonio — Form, Tactility and Control

US-based designer Christina Z Antonio in her studio. Image: christinazantonio.com.

Christina Z Antonio is a furniture, lighting and interiors designer based in the United States whose work emphasises tactility with plaster, metal and stone moulded into rigid geometries that balance strength and restraint. She approaches furniture as micro architecture, drawing on her experience in design and spatial activity.

Left: Aurellis V lighting. Image: christinazantonio.com.
Right: Raven credenza. Image: christinazantonio.com.

Her ethos discourages excess, instead emphasising proportion, weight and atmosphere. Antonio — like her contemporaries — views design as a human-centred discipline: objects must retain physical and emotional space, reflecting the increasing notion that design authority comes from clarity of perspective rather than visual noise.

Tiarra Bell — Craft as Cultural Position

Tiarra Bell’s creations are inspired by her Christian faith: Image: bellafontestudio.com.

USA-based Tiarra Bell is the founder of Bellafonté Studio and she forms part of a younger generation reinventing contemporary furniture through craft-driven storytelling. She has been active for about a decade, combining woodworking, upholstery and sculptural detailing to create limited edition pieces that highlight labour and tradition.

Left: Emptiness sconce. Image: bellafontestudio.com. Right: Mountain chair. Image: bellafontestudio.com

Her practice views furniture as a cultural document, with each object representing identity, authorship and intentional manufacture. Bell’s perspective is centred on narrative depth and community exposure, which aligns with broader themes prevalent throughout this cohort: transdisciplinary agility, material awareness and emotional resonance. Instead of aiming for mass scale, she creates an effect through perspective — promoting a structural change toward design based on purpose and accountability.

Paola Navone — Global Fluency, Industrial Authority

Paola Navone is one of Italy’s most decorated female designers. Image: Baxter.

Milan-based Paola Navone has almost four decades of experience in architecture, interior design and product design under her belt, making her one of Italy’s most productive creative directors. She co-founded the Alchimia movement in the 1970s and developed her career by rejecting dogmatic modernism in favour of instinct, travel and cultural interchange.

Left: Manila chair consists of leather cords and a rattan frame. Image: Baxter.
Right: Ghost sofa system, designed for Gervasoni. Image: Gervasoni.

Navone’s approach is founded on worldwide observation, combining vernacular craft, industrial production and everyday pragmatism. Her long-term cooperation with international brands demonstrates her commercial acumen. She — like the rising designers who follow — approaches design as a lived experience: emotionally intelligent, materially grounded, and resistant to trends.

Monica Förster — Precision with Emotional Clarity

Monica Förster is one of Scandinavia’s most famous designers. Image: monicaforster.se.

Stockholm-based artist Monica Förster has been active for over 25 years, working at the crossroads of Scandinavian restraint and material innovation. She trained in silversmithing before transitioning to industrial design and she tackles furniture with both technical rigour and poetic aim.

Left: Kern table system made from discarded marble, designed for Fogia & Outt. Image: monicaforster.se. Right: Kala wooden bowls and vases, designed for Zanat. Image: monicaforster.se.

Her work for renowned Nordic and worldwide brands demonstrates a rigorous awareness of proportion, tactility and manufacturing methods. Förster’s philosophy focuses on human connection — namely, how items are touched, utilised and integrated into daily life. Her long career reinforces a view shared by many of her peers: design authority comes from research, clear thinking and cultural awareness — not from chasing trends or visual excess.

India Mahdavi — Colour as Cultural Strategy

India Mahdavi is a French architect and designer. Image: https://india-mahdavi.com.

India Mahdavi — a Paris-based designer with over two decades of experience — has established an international reputation in interiors, hospitality and furniture. She is an architect who turns spatial intelligence into very identifiable settings through the careful use of colour and geometry.

Right: Mickey armchair, designed for Gebrüder Thonet Vienna. Image: Gebrüder Thonet Vienna.
Right: Bruto porcelain series, designed for Ginori 1735. Image: Ginori1735.com.

Mahdavi — widely regarded as a chromatic design pioneer — views colour as spatial structure rather than decoration, which she uses to create mood settings and brand presence. Her projects have a global scope and include residential, retail and hospitality. Behind the bold colours is a disciplined approach shared by her peers: design that reflects culture, shapes how people feel and functions with intent — not decoration for its own sake.

Elisa Ossino — Geometry, Atmosphere, Discipline

Elissa Ossino. Image: elisaossino.it

Milan-based Elisa Ossino has amassed over 20 years of experience working in architecture, interior design, art direction and product design. Her work is distinguished by geometric simplification, regulated colours and a precise use of lighting.

Left: Honore sofa system, designed for De Padova. Image: elisaossino.it.
Right: Zoey poufs, designed for Dieffebi. Image: elisaossino.it.

Using philosophical ideas and spatial psychology, Ossino creates spaces that prioritise ambience over adornment. Her work with well-known Italian brands showcases both creative depth and industrial dexterity. Her approach reflects a broader change in the industry, where many women designers are prioritising material research, emotional intelligence and cross-disciplinary practice — focusing on long-term relevance rather than short-term visibility.

Ana Kraš — Intuition as Discipline

Ana Kraš in her studio. Image: nyt.com.

Ana Kraš — based in Paris and originally from Serbia — has over a decade of experience working with furniture, lighting and textiles. Her production is marked by material honesty and personal narrative. She is trained in product design and prefers hand-woven textiles and uneven finishes that emphasise process over industrial polish.

Left: Bonbon light designed for HAY, offers a shade made from yarn. Image: Anakras.com.
Right: Slon table series, designed for Matter Made. Image: Anakras.com.

Her “Bonbon” lights helped her gain international recognition, portraying her as a designer who views products as emotional artefacts rather than commodities. Kraš’s design philosophy is based on instinct and lived experience, with a focus on creating authentic spaces rather than staged perfection. Like her peers, she sees design as narrative infrastructure — based on material intelligence, cultural memory and human use.

The work of Ana Kraš, Jay Sae Jung Oh, Christina Z Antonio, Tiarra Bell, Paola Navone, Monica Förster, India Mahdavi and Elisa Ossino represents a greater trend towards design as cultural authorship. Their voices remind us that the future of design resides in restraint, craft and intentional creation — an appropriate homage for International Women’s Day 2026.

For more on the latest in design reads, click here.