At AZURE, our mission has always been to place the best examples of Canadian design in conversation with everything else happening in the global industry. In other words, a Canadian product or project doesn’t warrant coverage simply because it is Canadian — it earns its place because it is also exceptional. Thankfully, there has never been a shortage of worthy contenders. Throughout our 40-year history, Canadian designers have consistently punched above their weight — and that continues in 2025.
This Canada Day, as the country embraces a stronger sense of national pride amidst growing geopolitical tensions, a homegrown design carries more clout than ever. But as recent international design fairs have proven, the best Canadian designs hold just as much appeal to someone in Milan or Copenhagen as they do to someone in Montreal or Calgary. As we ring in Canada Day 2025, we reflected on the design success stories that inspire us to spread the word about our country’s booming creative scene. Read our editorial team’s endorsements below.
For even more examples of leading Canadian design, we’ve also compiled a collection of our top Canadian coverage from the past couple years, including Q&As with 2025 RAIC Gold Medalists Shirley Blumberg and Marianne McKenna, the team from Omar Gandhi Architects, and David Fortin, as well as Elizabeth Pagliacolo’s profile of Brian MacKay-Lyons, which was recently awarded a National Magazine Award. Find the full collection here.
Happy Canada Day from everyone at AZURE!
Canada Takes Copenhagen
As we grapple with tariffs and wholesale attacks on our sovereignty, it is more important than ever for Canadians to develop a strong, distinct identity in the design world and beyond. And while we may have long lived in the shadow of our southern neighbour, at Copenhagen’s 3daysofdesign, we proved that we can hang with the big guns. Case in point: Industry vets Yabu Pushelberg debuted no less than seven collections across furniture, lighting and rugs in partnership with Stellar Works and Man of Parts (plus two collection expansions with their longtime collaborators at Tribù). At Stellar Works, the elegantly curved Ynez sofa collection was the star, creating a convivial social setting at the brand’s Odd Fellow Palace showroom. Meanwhile, at Man of Parts, the Cinnamon Garden floor lamp introduced a sculptural, organic presence.
Over at Intermezzo, a group show set in a parking garage, Hollis+Morris’s Mischa Couvrette was in good company among local and international exhibitors. Here, he showcased his new Molecule Chandelier, a minimal, geometric fixture inspired by the bonds of atomic structures. Blending cutting-edge lighting technology with traditional woodworking, the fixture was right at home in the Scandinavian market, which is equally focused on craft.
The real wild card was at Gubi, where the Copenhagen brand tapped an unlikely collaborator, Canadian painter Brian Rideout, for an exhibition entitled From Lens to Life. Rideout reinterpreted Gubi’s lifestyle imagery (from modernist villas to country homes) through evocative oil paintings that seek to evoke the narrative quality of interiors, immortalizing them as historical documents. Displayed throughout the showroom’s residential-inspired vignettes alongside the pieces they represent, “these works invite a shift in perspective — where design is not only lived with, but seen, felt, and remembered,” the brand explains.
Province-Hopping Group Shows
Half the challenge of buying Canadian — and buying from young Canadian designers in particular — is that identifying homegrown talents often requires digging a little deeper. But lately, discovering the country’s emerging design talent has never been easier thanks to two group shows that have quickly established themselves as roving showcases of next-generation Canadian creativity. Both have their origins at Toronto’s annual DesignTO Festival. (Speaking of which, now is a great time to contribute to the festival’s ongoing fundraising campaign.) Double Entendre held its first iteration at Project 107 Gallery during the 2024 fair, and Ensemble debuted at The Plumb during this past January’s edition. Since then, both have gone on to plan Quebecois follow-ups: Double Entendre mounted its most recent edition as part Complètement Design conference this past April, while Ensemble launches a second exhibition in Montreal on July 3.
Each show has its own particular focus and feel. Ensemble looks specifically at Montreal’s creative scene, showcasing the “diverse, dynamic and forward-thinking” spirit that defines the city. Many of its participants are already industry movers and shakers in their own right: Reggy St-Surin, who showed his Tom chair during Ensemble’s Toronto edition, won the Best of Launch Pad Award at NYC’s ICFF 2024, while Smallmediumlarge (which teamed up with Séjour Studio to present the Celine chair, built from folded sheets of upholstered metal) is a recent alumnus of Milan’s esteemed SaloneSatellite program. Ensemble’s exhibition design (led by Anaïe Dufresne of Jeta Studio, which also contributed frilly sconces, funnel-shaped pendants and a table lamp with a grid-patterned shade to Ensemble’s first show, and will be back with more for this week’s edition) has been another big draw. During Ensemble’s inaugural show, simple but impactful gestures — think a bar wrapped in aluminum foil, plus a room draped in red velvet curtains — defined a winningly theatrical mood.
Double Entendre, meanwhile, favours more experimental prototypes and highlights the creative synergy between Montreal and Toronto. Curated by designer Sarah Yao-Rishea (who has spent time living in both cities) and Étienne Vernier, the exhibition encourages the Ontario and Quebec design communities to play up material eccentricities. For the first edition, Rishea designed a steel side table that placed welding marks front and centre. Meanwhile, Venier’s brawny, industrial reinterpretation of Frank Lloyd Wright’s stained glass lamps was a recent standout of this year’s edition. Each iteration embraces an appropriately industrial display, presenting designs on sheets of plywood (in Toronto) or metal (in Montreal) propped up on cinder blocks.
All this to say, if you’re looking for a list of who to watch in the next decade, just check out the roster of participants at these two design exhibitions. As a designer, finding the necessary exposure can be one of the hardest parts of the job. By consolidating so much talent together under one roof, Ensemble and Double Entendre are giving Canada’s indie design community much-needed room to grow.
Fashion Forward
Canada has no shortage of accomplished fashion designers. From Montreal’s Eliza Faulkner to Toronto’s 100% Silk Shop and more, exciting emerging brands showcase a brave new world of Canadian fashion from coast to coast. Yet, making it big is another story — and often involves leaving our waters for international shores. But for those willing to dig their roots in, the soil is rich.
Take: A Bronze Age. Based in Vancouver, the made-to-order contemporary lifestyle and fashion brand champions sustainability and slow-fashion practices. Completely manufactured in house, the brand’s stylish polka-dotted totes, playful gingham scrunchies and modern yet timeless silhouettes (plus products like the Croquet Blanket and Madelaine tea towel, perfect for a summer picnic) offer a glimpse into the team’s high-quality production. Founded in 2016 by Renée Power (with the help of three generations of female family members), today the brand still has its finger on the pulse, with a growing chic-factor marked by a large online following.
Further east, Montreal-based Maguire is another one to watch. Also a successful women-owned company, the popular shoe brand was founded by two sisters, Myriam and Romy Belzile-Maguire, in 2017. This year, the duo oversaw the opening of their second American location in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, with vibrant interiors to match their colourful footwear designed by Montreal’s Perron Design. With a SS25 collection that includes heeled flip flops, chunky sandals and more polka-dots (trend forecast: this summer is going to be spotty), Maguire is quickly becoming an international shoe sensation.
A Bold Generation of Emerging Architects
In architecture, the label of “emerging” can stick to a designer for decades. A label that starts out as a compliment can begin to seem almost derogatory 10 or 15 years later. Yet, it’s par for the course in a profession where even the most promising practitioners struggle (often unsuccessfully) to break through into public commissions and large-scale projects. And while a conservative design culture — and astonishingly stifling public procurement rules — has historically hindered opportunities, an exceptionally bright generation of Canadian designers is breaking the mould.
Founded in Halifax, Omar Gandhi Architects recently expanded to Europe with a Berlin office, signalling a growing international presence while undertaking public commissions like Edmonton’s upcoming Riverbend Library. Meanwhile, Toronto-based Office Ou recently completed the National Children’s Museum of South Korea in Sejong, putting a boutique Canadian practice on a global stage. Like Montreal’s Pelletier de Fontenay, the firm has also won a competition to design a public school in Prague, meaning that a double dose of Canadian design is set to hit the Czech capital.
Back at home, things are changing too. Practices like Winnipeg’s 5467896 Architecture and Toronto’s gh3* have transcended the “emerging” label to become bona fide powerhouses, designing housing and civic infrastructure that easily ranks among the best on the continent. Meanwhile, Montreal is rivalled only by Mexico City as an incubator for design culture in North America. The list is long: ADHOC, Ivy Studio, YH2, MU Architecture, Ædifica, MRDK, Studio Kiff, Perron Design, L.McComber, Studio MHA, and T B A are just a handful of the city’s outstanding young offices, while established practices like Sid Lee Architecture and Blouin Orzes are successfully scaling up to undertake major public work.
It doesn’t end there. Vancouver’s Ste Marie and Toronto’s Odami are designing commercial interiors of exceptional grace and savvy, while practices like SOCA and Make Good Projects are combining finely honed design acumen with a commitment to community and culture, all while creating a design profession that’s (finally) beginning to look as diverse as the country it represents. And most exciting of all? Indigenous designers are meaningfully re-shaping built environments across Turtle Island, with young architects like Tiffany Shaw, Matthew Hickey, Ryan Gorrie, Kelly Edzerza-Bapty and Reanna Merasty poised to define our design culture for decades to come.
The post 4 Big Reasons to Love Canadian Design in 2025 appeared first on Azure Magazine.
