The show, at Abbotsford Convent for Melbourne Design Week, features chairs made from every material imaginable, from mirrors to ceramics, recycled denim, and bicycle handles.
There must be one that's just right, but some pieces are so refined they cost $25,000 - and according to exhibition co-organiser Dale Hardiman from Friends & Associates, if you buy it, you can sit in it.
Recent design graduate Makushla Harper's Windsock Chair is inflatable, and made from ripstop nylon so it's robust enough for camping trips.
Designer Ash Allen's wire chair is coated so it can be used outdoors, and it takes the shape of two cushions.
"I had this idea of creating volume with steel mesh and having two pillows touching each other, which is a recognisable form, referencing classic upholstered foam furniture," he told AAP.
Working from the two-car garage of his home in Melbourne's north-east, Allen created the commercial-ready design by wrapping steel around a wooden form and stretching the mesh by securing it with roofing screws.
While anyone can participate in the 100 items showcase, it's becoming increasingly competitive: in 2025 about 90 per cent of applicants were accepted, but in 2026 it's down to about half, with all of the pieces designed and made in Australia.
100 Chairs is one of more than 400 design events to be held across Victoria over the next 11 days, with the quality on display putting Design Week squarely in conversation with international design events across the globe, according to NGV director Tony Ellwood.
"We had no idea that in ten years the festival would grow to such a scale, and become one of the integral parts of the fabric of the Australian design community," said Ellwood.
Over those ten years, Design Week has staged about 2600 events, with more than 100 pieces acquired for the NGV collection.
The annual $10,000 Melbourne Design Week Award has gone to fourth-generation furniture maker Jon Goulder, who is presenting new work for 100 Chairs at the restaurant Yiaga and at Chapter House in the city with fashion label Alpha 60.
The pieces include two chairs in saddle leather substrate, and a massive 10-metre-long table made from leftover plywood.
Also at the Convent is Tom Fereday's exhibition Arum, including his cast crystal port lamps formed in precise curves to give the illusion of an invisible source of light.
Another attraction is Lost Hide, a series of pieces made from unused upholstery leather donated by the company Swiss Design.
Queensland design firm J.AR Office used the material to make leather mattresses and coverlets, which sit on top of solid steel beds.
"We've always wanted to design a bed, I feel there's a real gap in the market for good beds," said the firm's Jared Webb.
Melbourne Design Week 2026 runs Thursday till May 24 at venues across Victoria.
14°C