Black never goes out of style, but a trend for dark furniture and homeware was particularly evident at this year's Design Week Mexico.
During the festival, which took place in Mexico City from 10 to 14 October 2018, local studios showcased a variety of products in sable materials and finishes. Marble tables, bronze stools and volcanic-rock lamps were among the black pieces shown as part of the citywide event.
"I've seen a lot of black furniture, our visual feed is black all the way," said Joel Rojas of Bandido Studio, one of several that chose to present its products in the darkest shade possible. Here are eight examples we found:
Taking the trend to its extreme, design studio EWE displayed a series of black furniture in a coin factory decorated the same colour (main image), which it described as a "breathtaking match" for its designs.
Pieces on show in the Masa Critica exhibition included the collection of rough and knobbly Memoria stools and tables, which the studio created in black bronze using a technique employed since ancient times in Mexico. The showcase caused such a stir it has been extended for an extra week.
A tube of porous volcanic rock is combined with an aluminium tip to form this smokey-hued pendant light, designed by Mexico City-based Davidpompa as to contrast its previously brighter designs in shades of pink.
The decision to create the design in black followed "a tendency of getting a little bit more subtle again, and not being so shiny and so provocative," studio founder David Pompa told Dezeen, who added that the result is "a bit more elegant".
Puebla City-based Bandido Studio sculpted a huge chunk Mexican black Orizaba stone to create the droplet-shape base of the Mura table, then chose a smoked-glass top and a black aluminium joint to keep everything the same colour.
"It's about the material and how it behaves with the light," said studio co-founder Joel Rojas. "The reflection of the light makes it a little bit curious, a little bit dark."
Hectare Esrawe's design studio stained black all the wood in this simple collection of furniture, which was launched at its showroom in the city during the design festival.
Designs include a bookshelf, a dining table, and two chairs featuring black leather to provide soft seating.
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Resin table by Ezequiel Farca + Cristina Grappin and Moisés Hernández
Triangular chunks of greyscale resin are slotted together to form this stool designed by local architecture studio Ezequiel Farca + Cristina Grappin, and Mexican designer Moisés Hernández.
The seat is among a series of resin works in the Cala collection, launched by Mónica Calderón Studio in an exhibition at art gallery Labor.
Collector's Cabinet by Vidivixi
Blackened-oak drawers slot into the bottom of the black frame of Vidivixi's Collector's Cabinet. Weighed down by black marble, its other features include bronze-tinted glass, which is placed at the edges and mirrored on the inside.
As part of the inaugural collection from the studio led by Mark Grattan and Adam Caplowe, the cabinet is accompanied by a black coffee table and a dining table.
Find out more about Vidivixi's collection ›
Sēnsatō by Dórica Taller
Black-painted oak stools, chairs and highchairs, and a black standing lamp were among the dark designs displayed by Dórica Taller. The design studio and workshop chose the single hue to suit various moods and spaces.
"The colour's tendency leaves the sensations you want to feel up to you," said studio co-founder Sergio Morales. "You can combine it easily with other colours."
Urban Wood by Mutable
Design studio Mutable sourced wood scraps and then burnt them to give a crackled, blackened texture to this set of vases.
"It exposed the true character of the wood, because when you burn it you can see some of the most important things of the wood," said Mutable's Ernesto Azcarate. "It makes it more homogenous, it's more elegant that way."