A Sneak Peek at Collectible Design’s First Fully Digital Fair, Happening This Weekend in Brussels

Collectible, the long-running design fair in Brussels, was one of the last fairs to slip under the wire last year just as COVID was beginning; we remember having a phone call with our solo exhibitors, Ben & Aja Blanc, asking if they felt safe enough to go. But though the fair went off without a hitch last March, due to changing restrictions in Europe, organizers Clélie Debehault and Liv Vaisberg decided to take the fair fully digital this year, introducing a new platform called Collectible Salon, which runs online from May 28-30 and concurrently with events around town — and even at partner galleries beyond Brussels. The online Salon component is broken down along Collectible’s usual lines of galleries, independent designers, and craftsmen; some of the new names to us include Johan Viladrich, who’s having a solo show at Atelier Jespers, and the Berlin-based Aufgabe Null, whose use of EDPM rubber granules replicates the look of a particularly chic tarmac. Another favorite is Ward Wijnant (above), the Dutch designer whose hand-welded patterning on heat-treated metal recalls a kind of futuristic woodgrain. Check out some of our favorites from the upcoming fair below.