Bram Vanderbeke and Charlotte Lancelot are Designer of the Year 2026
Two winners honoured at the 20th anniversary of Designer of the Year
Knack Weekend and Le Vif Weekend announce today that Bram Vanderbeke and Charlotte Lancelot have been named Knack and Le Vif Weekend Designer of the Year 2026. The award was established in 2006 by Biënnale Interieur in Kortrijk and the magazines Knack Weekend and Le Vif Weekend. To mark the award’s twentieth anniversary, the jury has exceptionally selected two laureates, each contributing in their own way to the development and international recognition of Belgian design. An exhibition featuring the work of the twenty previous laureates is currently on view at MAD Brussels, where new presentations by Vanderbeke and Lancelot will be added from today.
From the jury report: “With this double distinction, we aim to highlight the complementary nature of today’s Belgian design scene. On the one hand, industrial production; on the other, artisanal craftsmanship. A woman on one side, a man on the other, each expressing themselves in a different national language. A soft, colourful, warm and accessible world, balanced by a monochromatic, bold and powerful counterpoint in stone or metal. Together, they strike a perfect balance for this 21st edition.”
To mark the award’s twentieth anniversary, the laureates of the past two decades are brought together with the two 2026 winners in Icons – 20 Years Designer of the Year at MAD Brussels. The exhibition brings together a selection of leading Belgian designers and traces the evolution of the design landscape over the past twenty years: from a strong focus on product and furniture design to an increasingly broad design practice, in which sculptural, artistic and collectible design have also come to play a prominent role.
Bram Vanderbeke
Bram Vanderbeke (1991) is a Belgian artist and designer based in Ghent. He studied Design at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent before continuing his education at Design Academy Eindhoven, where he graduated in 2016. His practice is diverse yet coherent, characterised by a strong focus on materiality, sculptural forms and monumental proportions. Working primarily with construction materials such as concrete, wood and aluminium, he creates structures that are both functional and sculptural.
His fascination with rhythm is evident in works such as Stackables, the first design he realised after graduating; the stool he designed for Dutch brand Leolux; and the X Series, a collection of modular systems made from folded aluminium sheets, developed in collaboration with Wendy Andreu for Nilufar Gallery. The X Series has also found its way into retail spaces, including the interiors of Bottega Veneta stores. Vanderbeke also regularly collaborates with galleries Hioco Delaney, which represents his sculptural work, and Uppercut, which focuses on functional design. Alongside his independent practice, Vanderbeke co-founded the design collective BRUT with fellow designers. Together with Wendy Andreu, he also designed the new museum shop at Design Museum Gent, which opened in early October.
Vanderbeke aims to continue developing commercial collaborations, architectural integrations and projects with galleries. He is currently working on projects with, among others, Petillon Ceuppens, Bart Dehaene and Archipl architecten, and will take part in WONDER Festival in Kortrijk.
For Icons – 20 Years Designer of the Year, Bram Vanderbeke presents his works Brick Chair, Alucast Column/Shelf and Intersect.
Charlotte Lancelot
Charlotte Lancelot (1980) studied Industrial Design at ENSAV La Cambre in Brussels, graduating in 2003. Before founding her own studio in 2006, she worked for two years with architect and designer Alain Berteau. Since then, she has developed a multifaceted practice at the intersection of illustration, interior architecture and product design, with a strong focus on textile design. Today, she combines her design practice with teaching as part of the Social Innovation Design master’s programme in Brussels.
Textiles have long been a key area of research in her work. Through techniques such as embroidery and weaving, Lancelot explores how traditional crafts can be translated into contemporary objects and interiors. Her collaborations with international brands such as GAN Rugs, Ames and Koziol demonstrate how she brings this experimental approach into an industrial context. “I am not so much interested in mass production. What drives me is the search for new ways of working with materials and techniques, also within existing systems,” she says.
A key moment in her career is Onda, a monumental wall tapestry developed in collaboration with GAN Rugs. The work was selected for the exhibition Personal Structures, organised by the European Cultural Centre as part of the 2026 Venice Biennale. Onda is the result of fifteen years of research into her own embroidery technique, in which enlarged felt threads unfold into a tactile landscape of undulating forms.
In the exhibition ‘Icons – 20 Years Designer of the Year’, Charlotte Lancelot presents her tapestries ‘Onda’ (for Gan Rugs), and Sea Foam.
About Knack Weekend Designer of the Year
Designer of the Year is an initiative of Knack Weekend and Le Vif Weekend, together with the former Biennale Interieur Kortrijk. The title was first awarded in 2006 to spotlight Belgian design talent, with Alain Berteau as its inaugural laureate. A complete overview of all previous laureates is available at weekend.knack.be/designer-of-the-year/.
The 2026 jury consisted of Evelien Bracke (Design Museum Gent), Maarten De Ceulaer (Designer of the Year 2025), Lisa Declercq (Design Nation/Designregio Kortrijk/Wonder Festival), Lauren Fonteyn (Flanders District of Creativity), Giorgia Morero (WBDM), Marie Pok (CID Grand-Hornu), Amélie Rombauts (Knack Weekend & Le Vif Weekend), Dieter Van den Storm (MAD Brussels) and Maud Willaerts (Design Museum Brussels).
Icons - 20 years Designer of the Year
To mark the twentieth anniversary of the Designer of the Year award, Icons – 20 Years Designer of the Year opened at MAD Brussels on Thursday 1 October 2026. The overview exhibition brings together work by all previous laureates. Last night, the works of Bram Vanderbeke and Charlotte Lancelot were officially unveiled, entering into dialogue with those of their predecessors.
Rather than offering a conventional chronological retrospective, Icons presents a broad cross-section of twenty years of Belgian design. From furniture and lighting to ceramics, textiles and collectible design, the selection reflects the increasingly diverse nature of the Belgian design landscape over the past two decades.
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The many collaborations between Belgian designers and international design brands form a common thread throughout the exhibition. Bram Boo, for example, is represented with the Overdose Desk for Bulo, while Alain Gilles presents the Big Table for Bonaldo, and Vincent Van Duysen is represented by the black Linea Chair for Molteni&C. Julien Renault is represented by several designs for HAY, while Linde Freya Tangelder presents the Wax, Stone, Light floor lamp in Murano glass for Cassina.
Icons – 20 Years Designer of the Year offers more than an overview of twenty winners. The works on display highlight the increasingly diverse nature of design practices today. While the early laureates worked primarily in furniture and product design, the field has expanded considerably. From the ceramic objects of Studio Biskt to Maarten De Ceulaer’s sculptural and playful Cairn Lights collection, Icons shows how design is increasingly moving between functionality, art and craft.
The participating designers are Alain Berteau (2006), Nedda El-Asmar (2007), Stefan Schöning (2008), Sylvain Willenz (2009), Bram Boo (2010), Nathalie Dewez (2011), Alain Gilles (2012), Jean-François D’or (2013), Marina Bautier (2014), Muller Van Severen (2015), Vincent Van Duysen (2016), Unfold (2017), Frederik Delbart (2018), Linde Freya Tangelder (2019), Sep Verboom (2020), Sébastien Caporusso (2021), Studio Biskt (2022), Julien Renault (2023), Paulineplusluis (2024), Maarten De Ceulaer (2025).
Practical information:
- The exhibition is on view from 1 October to 12 December at MAD Brussels, Nieuwe Graanmarkt 10, 1000 Brussels.
- The exhibition is free and open to the public from Wednesday to Saturday, 11 am to 6 pm, online reservation required via mad.brussels.
Designer of the Year in dialogue with the city
A collaboration between MAD Brussels and CollectEd_ brings the celebration of Designer of the Year into Brussels’ design landscape. From Thursday 29 October to 21 November 2026, CollectEd_ will present work by the two newly announced winners, Bram Vanderbeke and Charlotte Lancelot, in its shop window.
CollectEd_ is a gallery and showroom located on Place Brugmann in Brussels. Founders Özge Salihoglu and Frédéric Doerflinger bring together a carefully curated selection of established designers and emerging talent. Furniture, textiles, rugs, objects, ceramics and lighting come together in a setting where materials and craftsmanship take centre stage.
The presentation complements Icons – 20 Years Designer of the Year at MAD Brussels, creating a dialogue between the exhibition and the city. The window displays offer a subtle nod to the scenography of Icons, visually connecting the two presentations. Through this collaboration, MAD Brussels aims not only to raise the laureates’ visibility within the exhibition, but also to connect them with audiences and professional networks beyond its own activities.
Practical information
- The presentation at CollectEd_ opens on Thursday 29 October with a cocktail reception from 6 pm to 9 pm.
- CollectEd_ opening hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 11 am to 6.30 pm.
Images can be downloaded immediately by clicking on the images in the press release. For further information or interview requests, please contact::
Claudia