How to Navigate New York's ICFF
As the anchor event of NYCxDESIGN, the International Contemporary Furniture Fair—better known as ICFF—draws architects, designers, buyers, and developers to New York for four days of category-spanning product debuts, industry networking, and thought-provoking panels.
What, When, and Where It Is
New York’s Javits Center, located in the buzzy Hudson Yards neighborhood, hosts more than 900 exhibitors from around the globe for the four-day event. Avoid the masses by attending the trade show Sunday through Tuesday, when the fair is open to the trade only. Exhibitor floors are open 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday, but will close an hour earlier on Sunday. Come Wednesday, ICFF opens to the public with show hours of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
What to Know About Buying Your Ticket
Booking your tickets early and online will save you not only money, but also time spent in long registration lines at the show. Early-bird registration, available until April 30, gives trade members complimentary access to the show. Entry fares for buyers and the public raise to $60 until May 18, as opposed to $75 if ordered on-site. Admission for students and faculty is free.
How to Get There
Located along the West Side Highway just off from Pier 78, the Javits Center offers several convenient points of access. The subway’s recently extended 7 train drops off riders steps away from the convention center, at the 34th St./Hudson Yards stop. Cabs and ride-sharing vehicles are also familiar with the venue, and there are several pay-to-park lots nearby if you choose to drive in for the show.
Where to Take a Break—and Get a Bite to Eat
Score a seat at the Luxe Lounge (Booth 2709), which features exclusive pieces by purveyors of modern style like Apropos and Nella Vetrina, among others. ICFF Talks, the show’s programming sessions staged right on the exhibitor floor, offer even more reason to rest your feet: This year’s panels draw industry authorities like Piero Lissoni, Chad Oppenheim, and Lauren Rottet.
For lunch, the Javits Center houses eateries—from a grab-and-go café to a sit-down marketplace—spread across its three floors. Or take a short walk to some of the neighborhood’s foodie gems: Legacy Records pairs Italian flavors with Ken Fulk–designed interiors, and recently opened food hall Mercado Little Spain is not one for the indecisive, offering more than two dozen Spanish restaurants and food kiosks.
Where You Can Shop
The Milk Stand by Design Milk returns for its fifth year as ICFF’s only cash-and-carry booth. A designer favorite for discovering new makers, the pop-up features 15 independent artisans that have been hand-selected by the online design mag. While this year’s maker roster has yet to be announced, past editions of the Milk Stand have shown chandler Studio Stockholm and playful objects designer Talbot & Yoon.
Exhibitions Not to Miss
ICFF’s avidity for global design is one of the celebrated factors that separates it from other industry fairs. Thanks to its growing number of international exhibitors, the show has more than doubled in the past three editions. This year’s show presents specially curated pavilions—the British European Design Group, Luxe France, Interiors of Spain, the Italian Trade Commission, Ventura New York the Dutch Edition, Brazil, Romanis, Austria, Norway, Scandinavia, and Poland—as a tour through the world of design.
Support design education (and meet some über-talented students) at the ICFF Schools pavilion, where top design colleges present the next-level work developing in their classrooms. For more from emerging talent, check out the ICFF Studio pavilion to see winning product concepts and designs as selected by some of the industry’s leading professionals.
The fair is also branching out into a new design category with the inaugural ICFF Contract pavilion, set to include commercial-grade furniture, lighting, wall covering, and materials from top category players like Arper, Poppin, Bernhardt Design, Kartell, Humanscale, and more.
Where You Can Meet AD Editors
When AD’s editors aren’t perusing the new product debuts, you can find them at the ICFF Talks stage. Come Wednesday, AD PRO features editor Anna Fixsen talks small-scale design with Rainlight creative director Yorgo Lykouria during “Living in Box: Big Ideas for Small Spaces” at 10:30 a.m. on Center Stage.
Exploring New York That Weekend
ICFF’s location puts visitors right in the heart of Hudson Yards, the of-the-moment neighborhood popping up in water-cooler convos across the architecture and design community. The Vessel, a 154-flight public art installation design by Heatherwick Studio, debuted in March less than a block away from the convention center. If weather permits, the High Line’s 1.45 miles of elevated park, which can be reached via an access point on the Javits Center’s south side, also make for a calming break from the show.
