On Saturday 6 September, Collingwood thrummed with an unmistakable creative charge. The streets hummed with the movement of Melbourne’s design community as architects, designers and creatives flowed between showrooms, conversations spilling out onto the footpaths. There was a sense of discovery at every turn: new collections waiting to be unveiled, big ideas explored through talks and the convivial hum of people connecting over food, music and design. Collingwood wasn’t just another stop on the Saturday Indesign journey, it was a heartbeat of the event.

The day began with momentum. At K5 Furniture, an early crowd gathered for Living Systems: Light, Learning, And Design For The Future, a thought-provoking talk that set the tone for the precinct. With a focus on how lighting and learning environments are evolving, the discussion highlighted design’s role in shaping wellbeing and adaptability.

Meanwhile, CULT opened the doors to one of the most anticipated events of the program: Unveiling The F300. Gubi’s CEO, Marie Kristine Schmidt, took the stage, offering exclusive insights into the brand’s heritage and innovation. The talk drew both early risers and a second audience later in the afternoon, each time sparking lively debate about design icons and their reinvention for a new generation.

Just around the corner, Innerspace invited guests to think differently about the outdoors in Designing Outside The Lines: How Can Outdoor Pieces Help Create Emotive Social Connections? The session explored how furniture designed for exterior spaces could cultivate connection and wellbeing, an idea that clearly resonated with the packed audience eager to embrace a more fluid boundary between indoors and out.

At SBW, curiosity gathered around the perennial question posed by their Design Discussion: When Do Emerging Designers Stop Being ‘Emerging’? Hosted in their vibrant showroom, the conversation offered both levity and gravity as voices from across the design spectrum weighed in on how labels shape careers and creativity.

From talks and debates, Collingwood soon shifted into a sensory celebration of design. At midday, SBW transformed into a hub of flavour and artistry. Guests were welcomed with paella and cocktails, while inside multimedia artist Daniel O’Toole reimagined SBW’s Klara Chair through a dazzling installation with The Bell Seat. This melding of performance, art and product created a powerful statement on reinterpretation and new forms, a thread echoed in their all-day showcase New Forms Unfold: SBW’s Latest at SID 2025.

K5 Furniture also used Saturday Indesign to reveal the quieter side of radical design. Their all-day project installation Quiet Radical invited attendees to step away from noise and reflect on the subtler, more nuanced ways design can challenge convention. Later in the afternoon, they brought people together once more with Around The Kitchen Table: Light, Craft, And The Soul Of A Space. The talk embodied the warmth of domestic life while underlining how craftsmanship and lighting inform intimacy and connection.

Innerspace kept the energy flowing from morning to night. Their all-day interactive project Sit. Touch. Connect. encouraged tactile exploration of materials, sparking hands-on engagement from attendees. By the time the Sundown Sessions rolled in at 3pm, the showroom had transformed again – music, mingling and a distinctly Melbourne vibe underscoring the idea that design can be as much about experience as it is about product.

Across the precinct, product launches and hospitality punctuated the day with flair. ownworld debuted Silent Beams, their all-day product launch, drawing steady interest from those eager to see how the brand continues to push material innovation. In the afternoon, their Negroni Aperitivo at 3pm became a lively social anchor – designers and friends gathered with a glass in hand, toasting to creativity.

Hospitality, in fact, was a key theme through Collingwood this year. From SBW’s midday paella and cocktails, to ownworld’s late-afternoon aperitivo, exhibitors understood that food and drink weren’t just refreshments, they were a catalyst for connection.

By late afternoon, Collingwood reached its crescendo. At CULT, Gubi After Hours drew the precinct’s crowd together one final time, the showroom pulsing with music and conversation as the day transitioned into evening. It was a fitting finale: design, people and celebration intertwined.

What made Collingwood unmissable was its balance of the cerebral and the celebratory. Here, the day was not only about seeing the latest products – it was about engaging in real dialogue, whether that meant unpacking the label of “emerging designer,” feeling the tactility of new materials, or sharing paella over a conversation about chairs. Exhibitors created a precinct that was alive with energy, substance and warmth.

Saturday Indesign 2025 was defined by these moments of exchange and Collingwood played its role with flair. As the precinct lights dimmed and the music settled, the sense lingered that Collingwood had offered more than showrooms and schedules – it had embodied the very spirit of design as community.