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Go to shop19 September 2025
The Cypriot designer with a studio in London designs the new collection for Fritz Hansen and receives one of the highest design awards.
What is intriguing about the history of Danish design is the sense that ownership of an idea doesn’t exist. It’s not about a single designer’s ego, but a collective contribution-building on something that started long before and reinterpreting it in a fresh way.
The words Michael Anastassiades uses to introduce his new project for Fritz Hansen convey a completely new vision of design, democratic in its deepest sense. This is the idea the Cypriot designer, based in London, has of the Danish school, in which, in his view, the individual designer doesn’t assert himself or his name but rather contributes to a sort of shared project. And this is the approach he himself chose to adopt in his collaboration with the Danish company, for which he designed the After chair, accompanied by the table.
Anastassiades is a brilliant mind; it’s no coincidence that on September 8th, the London Design Festival announced his name as the winner of the London Design Medal “for his approach to lighting that has redefined spatial experiences.”
How do you feel about London and this award?
I grew up in Cyprus, and when it came to choosing my studies, my city didn’t have a university, unlike now. The choice to come to the UK was due to the fact that I had studied at an English school and therefore could enroll in a British university. I chose London probably because, having grown up in a small town, I wanted to experience the city, so I came here to study engineering and then gradually moved towards design. The London Design Festival is an incredible collection of exhibitions, permanent installations, and events, and it’s an extraordinary platform for designers. And the award is an extraordinary, highly coveted recognition: not many are awarded each year.
Regarding the After collection for Fritz Hansen, what was the starting point?
It was definitely an idea that came from me, but also from my fascination with the specific approach of Danish design and, of course, from my research into the DNA of Fritz Hansen. So, several factors contributed to this proposal for Fritz Hansen. The interesting thing about Danish design is that there seems to be no sense of ownership or ego, but rather a collective ownership. Italian design, for example, has a completely different approach to this.
Danish design is more democratic, and this fascinated me and pushed me to create something consistent with this approach. And I would like my contribution and everything I put into this project to be a starting point for those who come after. My contribution, in particular, was to start from the essential elements of the chair, distill them, and get to the essence of the chair itself to achieve a geometric and minimalist result that is very simple and visually clear, in which each element can be clearly distinguished, without sacrificing comfort.
When choosing materials and finishes, being primarily a lighting designer, did you consider the interaction of these elements with light?
Definitely. This aspect must be considered. Whatever I design, I design it in relation to light. And so, how the material absorbs and reflects light, its relationship with light. So, it’s definitely part of my creative process.
Is there a theme in relation to design that you’re currently focusing on?
It’s incredible that with everything going on around us, from conflicts to environmental issues, despite our commitment to our work on these issues, we feel essentially powerless. And it’s disheartening that at the end of the day, we feel like victims of what’s happening and unable to change things.
