The year 2026 has begun, and one thing is clear: Brazil is undeniably trending on the global stage.

Beyond its natural landscapes, Carnival, and football, the country has increasingly established itself as a center of creativity, aesthetic language, and contemporary cultural identity. From runways to the streets, from creative studios to social media; from music to cinema; from memes to the political arena; from architecture and interior design to furniture — and even in the ways of welcoming and interacting — the world is turning its attention to Brazil in search of visual, material, emotional, and cultural narratives that combine diversity, rhythm, hospitality, productive strength, and an ability to innovate.

In recent years, the trend known as Brasilcore or Brazilcore has taken the colors green, yellow, blue, and white — along with techniques such as crochet, weaving, lace, and embroidery, as well as symbols associated with sports, beaches, forests, and Brazilian cities — across continents. Not by chance, this hype is already cited by trend analysts and cultural observers as one of the defining global movements for 2026.

The international projection of Brazilian figures such as Anitta, Fernanda Torres, Bruna Marquezine, and Wagner Moura, alongside the growing engagement of global celebrities including Rosalía, Hailey Bieber, Bruno Mars, Shawn Mendes, and Tina Kunakey, has helped amplify this aesthetic language. It now appears in collections by international fashion powerhouses and is discussed by the fashion and lifestyle press as a new cycle of interest around Brazilian identity — affectionately referred to at home as brasilidade.

More than a timely style, this movement reflects a renewed interest in Brazilian culture as a contemporary platform for expression. An interest that increasingly extends to architecture, interior design, and landscape architecture. One indication of this momentum is the latest annual list released by Architectural Digest Mexico & Latin America, which included 21 Brazilians among the 100 professionals redefining these fields in the region. The highest number of names from Brazil ever featured — check it out.

Within this broader landscape, Brazilian furniture design and manufacturing find particularly fertile ground to position themselves with creative authority, production consistency, and the ability to engage meaningfully with major international agendas.

COP30, tourism, and the creative economy: Brazil at the center of the map

The hosting of COP30 in Belém, in the Brazilian state of Pará, in 2025 marked a turning point in Brazil’s international positioning on environmental issues and sustainable solutions. For the first time, the UN climate conference took place in the heart of a rainforest, transforming the Northern region into a global stage for debates, negotiations, and announcements that reinforced Brazil’s role in the environmental agenda and in the transition toward a low-carbon economy.

The impact, however, went beyond diplomacy. While presenting commitments related to emissions reduction and biome protection, Brazil also invited the world to engage with its multiple ways of living:

• Ways of inhabiting, eating, speaking, and relating that vary from North to South, mirroring the country’s geography;

• Forms of dress that mix colors, patterns, techniques, fabrics, and materials, influencing architecture, industry, and design;

• Approaches to cities that seek to reconnect urban life with nature and integrate interior spaces with outdoor environments;

• Cultural expressions ranging from funk to samba, from sertanejo to rap; from large commercial centers to local markets; from independent scenes in the favelas to Indigenous communities.

• Among many other traits of a continental country marked by diverse biomes and peoples.

This repositioning coincides with a historic increase in international tourism. According to data from Embratur, Brazil recorded its highest number of foreign visitors ever last year, with growth extending beyond the traditional Rio–São Paulo axis. An increasing number of travelers are exploring new regions of the country, many of them digital nomads and creative economy professionals drawn by a combination of nature, infrastructure, cultural diversity, and competitive cost of living.

Brazil has also entered the strategic routes of the global entertainment industry. Major international tours, festivals, and audiovisual productions now regularly include the country in their schedules. This circulation of tourists, artists, and creators further reinforces international interest in Brazilian aesthetics, narratives, and products, including furniture, which is an integral part of this creative ecosystem.

What defines Brazilian furniture

When brasilidade (or “brazilianess”) is discussed in furniture, it does not refer simply to the use of green-and-yellow palettes or the depiction of tropical landscapes. What distinguishes Brazilian furniture is the way it translates values such as conviviality, hospitality, memory, hybrid references, intelligent use of native raw materials, and spatial integration into design and materiality.

This design language draws from artistic and urban movements such as Brazilian Modernism — one of the country’s most internationally recognized aesthetic legacies — but also from everyday life: grandparents’ homes, backyards, beaches, rural landscapes, ancestral knowledge, as well as contemporary high-rise buildings with compact apartments and new ways of living.

This identity is expressed through:

• Lines that balance comfort and lightness;

• Solutions that optimize space without losing emotional resonance;

• Pieces that organically combine wood, fibers, metals, leather, and textiles;

• Sinuous curves and warm color palettes;

• Innovative solutions, sustainable management, and low-impact materials;

• Designs that allow for improvisation and dialogue with objects from different periods and styles.

Brazilian furniture is, in essence, the result of a convergence between industry, craftsmanship, authorial design, and a distinctive way of inhabiting the world, one that increasingly resonates with buyers, curators, architects, and consumers in different markets.

Design + Industry: connections that materialize brasilidade

Within this context, the Design + Industry program, developed by ABIMÓVEL (Brazilian Furniture Industry Association) in partnership with ApexBrasil (Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency) through the Brazilian Furniture Project, stands out as a strategic driver in consolidating Brazil as a reference in furniture design and manufacturing.

By connecting manufacturers and designers from different regions, the program integrates Brazil’s diverse productive and creative realities, reinforcing its mission to position design as a tool for competitiveness, added value, and national identity within the furniture industry.

In the current cycle, what emerges from factories and studios is an agenda aligned with international discussions:

• Materials: Expanded use of reforested wood, metals, natural fibers such as sisal, rush, and banana fiber, eco-friendly textiles, responsibly sourced leather, glass, lower-carbon ceramics, and composites that reuse industrial waste.

• Technologies and processes: 3D printing for prototyping, CNC machining, laser cutting, modular system development, joint studies aimed at reducing hardware and chemical inputs, and the combination of industrial techniques with artisanal knowledge.

• Concepts: A focus on product longevity, modularity, sensory comfort, waste reduction, material circularity, and an approach to brasilidade that goes beyond obvious symbols, incorporating biomes, memories, history, accents, and ways of living.

Without disclosing details of the pieces and collections under development, testimonials from participating companies and designers converge on one point: the program is not a one-off initiative, but a platform for exchange, learning, and the construction of long-term partnerships, with a direct impact on product culture and brand positioning in both domestic and international markets.

“Design + Industry shows that Brazil is not merely a supplier of raw materials or labor. We are a country of industry, projects, and creativity. When we connect manufacturing capacity with material research, designers’ critical thinking, and the country’s cultural diversity, we create products that speak the language of the world without losing their Brazilian accent,” says Irineu Munhoz, president of ABIMÓVEL.

The results of these collaborations will be presented at major industry events throughout the year, including the Salone del Mobile in Milan, Italy.

National Furniture Design Award: a showcase of Brazil for the world

If Design + Industry structures the process, the National Furniture Design Award functions as a showcase of the moment the sector is experiencing. With winners announced in October 2025 during the 12th National Furniture Congress in Curitiba, the inaugural edition attracted nearly 500 submissions from companies, professionals, and emerging talents from all regions of the country.

Seven official categories were awarded — including Serial Production Furniture, Artisanal Furniture, Innovation in Furniture Design, and Custom Furniture — along with three special recognitions — Brazilian Identity, Manufacturing Excellence, and Emerging Talent. The winning pieces and collections highlight diverse yet interconnected paths:

• Serial solutions aligned with industrial production while maintaining a distinct design language;

• Artisanal furniture that bridges traditional techniques and new applications;

• Experimental proposals responding to emerging social and environmental demands;

• Custom products and adaptable systems aligned with contemporary living;

• Projects by students and young professionals signaling the next generation of furniture design.

All these approaches share common ground: originality, production feasibility, socio-environmental responsibility, and alignment with real market demands, both in Brazil and abroad.

The winning pieces will also be exhibited at iSaloni 2026, one of the sector’s most important global meeting points. Participation in Milan Design Week, coordinated through the Brazilian Furniture Project, places the award within a broader internationalization strategy for the Brazilian furniture industry, which also includes initiatives at fairs such as ICFF (New York), IMM Cologne (Germany), and other international platforms scheduled for this year.

For ABIMÓVEL’s executive director, Cândida Cervieri, the National Furniture Design Award is a natural extension of the agenda built by the sector with the association’s support: “By taking the winning pieces to Milan, we are not only presenting products, but also stories, culture, and new paths. Every chair, cabinet, table, and furniture system carries jobs, technical knowledge, regional networks, supply chains, and a way of thinking about Brazil as a protagonist in global design.”

Registrations for the second edition of the award — organized by ABIMÓVEL with support from ApexBrasil and Sebrae Nacional — will open soon. Following the association’s official channels is essential to keep track of deadlines, regulations, and participation opportunities.

Brasilidade, a singular language, and productive capacity

The movements described — from the Brazilcore trend visible on streets, runways, and digital platforms to the growing presence of Brazilian brands and professionals in international rankings and fairs — form a coherent picture:

• A country with a singular aesthetic repertoire, rooted in diverse landscapes, raw materials, cultural influences, traditional knowledge, and strong digital presence;

• A furniture industry with consolidated productive capacity, investing in technology, skills, and modernization while preserving craftsmanship;

• A design ecosystem that understands innovation as an ongoing process, not merely as an ornament or a slogan.

“What we see today is the result of long-term construction, supported by a consistent strategy to strengthen the international image of Brazilian furniture through intelligence and market presence. This is what we will continue to invest in and build throughout 2026. Brazil is not only trending — it is also setting the tone,” concludes the executive director of ABIMÓVEL.

FURNITURE: OUR BUSINESS!

Brazilian Furniture Industry Association (ABIMÓVEL)
Press Office — press@abimovel.com | +55 14 99156-0238