Cosentino’s newly released trend report—Shaping Tomorrow: Future Design & Architecture 2025-2026—featured key perspectives from more than 200 designers worldwide. Among them are several notable figures in the industry, including renowned British designer Tom Dixon, who has been creating a buzz in the market since the 1980s. Dixon’s rise as a designer, however, was never really a part of his initial plan. He started out as a bass guitarist for the band Funkapolitan before moving into the groundbreaking career he leads today.
Over the years, Dixon’s creations have become enduring icons, such as the S-Chair and Mirror Ball pendant light. Meanwhile, sustainability, for him, is achieved through longevity rather than recycling. “We’ve got the big benefit in working in a category that is very slow consumption if you do it properly,” he explains in the trend report. “My favourite story is that I have a writing desk that was my great-grandmother’s, and she bought it as an antique, so it was already, I guess, from the time of Louis XVI.”
In an interview with Robb Report Malaysia, the designer shares his takes on materials and designs that resist seasonal trends, the value of statement lighting choices, and how he adapts with the use of artificial intelligence as a tool.
What inspired the switch from a career as a bass guitarist to becoming a designer?
Just a motorcycle crash where I broke my arm on the eve of a tour and was subsequently replaced by a bass player who went on to play for Madonna, Michael Jackson, and Pink Floyd.
What does a day in your life look like when you’re working on a new project?
Gathering as much information on the context and the client, on the function, and the market, then throwing it all out of the window in a search for an unexpected outcome—but it’s important to be fully informed before you start.
Among your many iconic designs, which do you believe could one day be passed down through generations, the same way your great-grandmother’s antique desk did? What aspects of the piece make it likely to stand the test of time?
I’m still working on that, but we have recently been working on some conceptual furniture with a thousand-year guarantee called Flame. Its 30mm thick steel plate is destined to be earthquake and conflict resistant.
Having worked with so many materials, which do you think are best suited for longevity?
Throughout my career, I’ve worked with a wide range of materials—from glass to engineered mineral surfaces. Materials such as Cosentino’s Silestone and Dekton stand out when it comes to longevity. Each project calls for different solutions, but these surfaces consistently deliver durability, performance, and aesthetic appeal, making them ideal for long-lasting design.
You mentioned stripping trends out of style. At the same time, you’ve also noted that people have become more conservative in their furniture choices, how do you balance creating new designs that are both relevant and enduring?
I think there is a lot of potential when people change the way that they live—we are in a moment where our work and play patterns are changing: the way that we learn, eat, and socialise are changing, so there is opportunity there to design some new typologies that are not driven by trend but by bigger sociological change.
Why do you think people are prepared to be a bit more daring with lighting than in other design elements?
Lighting is often seen as part of the future world—undergoing a full engineering transformation driven by technology. With electronics having superseded traditional electrical components, there’s now much greater potential in terms of shape and form. This shift gives designers the freedom to explore new, daring concepts.
How do you utilise the power of artificial intelligence in your projects?
AI is mainly useful for speeding up the ideation process and for challenging us to think differently at an incredibly rapid pace—sometimes, even just as something to confront and dismiss, almost like a provocation.
