A new generation of designers is emerging in Sweden — and they are quietly rewriting the rules of what design is supposed to be.
A few days ago, we visited Konstfack, Sweden’s largest design school, where nearly 200 students revealed a striking shift in attitude and expression. This time, we continue the journey through Beckmans College of Design, Malmstens, and Handarbetets Vänner — schools shaping some of the most interesting creative voices right now.
At Konstfack, I described this movement as “form follows creativity.” It feels like the old modernist mantra — form follows function — is slowly loosening its grip. Today’s young designers are not obsessed with solving problems as efficiently as possible. Instead, they use objects, materials, and spaces to express emotion, identity, memory, politics, and humanity itself.
The result is something softer. Warmer. More personal. And infinitely more interesting.
At Beckmans I talked to Daniel Trewe. He made a daybed, but based on flavours and taste rather than rational decisions.
He made a group talk about the experience of the six flavours: sweet, salt, bitter, sour, spicy and umami. Each flavour ended up in a shape. Salty is a base so that is square. Sour is pointy shaped. Etc.
From these shapes he then made a daybed. And you could almost read a recepie here.
There s a pointy (sour) shape at the feet of the daybed. The sides are unevenly long. The upholstered armrest is illogically over the divider.
What Daniel did is finding a new language, or a new way to express eastethics. Very clever.
At textile school Handarbetets Vänner student Linnea Engstedt made a weave. This is inspirered by the light coming through blinds in a window. It is basically encouraging daydreaming. It is a engineer driven weave. Notice the straight lines symbolising the window frame.
The weave is coloured twice. First with a bit of yellow and then with purple. Finally a silk weave to enhance a bit of glimmer.
This is a fabric that is not logical or functional. Just wonderfully dreamy.
At Malmstens Felicia Lundberg made a chair built around the concept of softness. Malmstens is a classical wood school and students show plenty of woodwork. Here a piece with basically NO WOOD. Instead this chair made of scraps and waste textile should resemble a fashion garment.
Back to Beckmans. Here Filippa Holm went to her own backyard to find materials. A lot of materials come with given usage. Here Filippa finds clay she dug out of the ground, twigs and branches, etc. The project doesn’t necessarily show larger, finished products but rather focus on curiosity and playfulness. Form follows fun.
Innovation at Handarbetets Vänner. Vera Westberg made a weave with old casette tape. And with a separate machine you can actually read these sound waves. Fun.
Handarbetets Vänner again. Korean student Bosong Kang made a weave interpreting Swedishness. Beautiful.
At Beckmans Axel Peters went the opposite direction when it comes to coffee tableware. Instead of delicate, brusch strokes – what happend if you went the opposite direction. Instead of fine strokes – make it chunky, warm and userfriendly?
What is a chair? Perhaps my personal favourite. These chunky chairs with attitude. It is like a reaction of things being too nice and too invisiable. These chairs demand attention and I love it. Basically in the same tradition as Finnish Vaarni. Made by Malte Lundberg at Beckmans.
At Malmstens there were a lot of experimentation on surfaces. Top picture is veneer work where it is the same kind of wood but where the coloured piece is changed by heating. By Martin Skybrand. Second (three images) by Loke Isaksson. Finally a cabinet made completely black by fire. By Fredrik Eliasson.