It takes a bold personality to stand out in New York. That held especially true during May’s busy NYCxDesign festival, which included both the International Contemporary Furniture Festival (ICFF) and plenty of off-site events that led me along the Hudson River, deep into Brooklyn, and even into the residence of the Consul General of Sweden. At each stop, major brands and independent designers had to compete with the city to capture fairgoers’ attention — and imagination.

This year’s exhibitors held their own by flexing some creative muscle. New furniture, rugs and lighting all demonstrated serious heft — more aligned with the weighty, brutalist architecture of Marcel Breuer’s old Whitney Museum than the glassy, pencil-thin towers...