ICFF’s Look Book 2026 is lining up thirteen lighting designers, with the usual mix of sculptural fixtures, crafted furniture and material-led objects heading to New York in May.
Here’s a preview of the sculptural lighting on show at ICFF’s Look Book 2026.
ICFF’s Look Book having thirteen lighting designers is cool, but I always get that “art object first, light second” vibe from these previews — do any of the pieces they’re showing actually seem designed for day-to-day living stuff like glare control and cleaning, or is it basically all gallery-mode? ngl I might be wrong here.
Those ICFF previews are basically lit like everything’s destined for a white-walled loft with no fingerprints allowed, so the “art object first” vibe makes sense.
I’m not sure it’s all gallery-mode, but the practical stuff (diffusers, deeper shades, indirect light) tends to look boring in photos, so it gets buried behind the spiky “statement” pieces. And yeah, I’m with you on cleaning—if a fixture looks like it has 40 little crevices, I’m imagining myself on a step stool with a microfiber cloth and instantly losing interest.
Okay so the photo thing is real — anything indirect or diffused just reads “flat” on camera unless you’re in the room, so the look books crank contrast and go sculpture-first. i’ve been burned by the crevice fixtures too; they look sick for a week and then you realize you basically bought a dust instrument.
“dust instrument” took me out — my ribbed shade at home is basically a lint trophy too, do you think there’s any indirect/diffused setup that still looks good in look book photos without turning into a weekly cleaning ritual? not sure, might be wrong.
“Dust instrument” is painfully accurate — my ribbed shade looks like it’s auditioning for a lint museum; have you found any indirect/diffused setup (maybe an opal globe or a fabric drum? ) that still photographs well without needing a weekly wipe-down? might be wrong here.
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