Apparatus returns after five years with Act V: Afsaneh

After five years without a new collection, New York design studio Apparatus has unveiled Act V: Afsaneh — a body of work built around the cycle of the seed and the flower.

"What I was trying to understand was, what does it actually mean to make light," says Gabriel Hendifar, the studio's artistic director. That question drove a collection he describes as a meditation on creativity, knowledge and the cycles of life.

"I really needed a moment to understand what I was saying and why," Hendifar says of the long gap. Over 14 years at Apparatus, he had built what he calls an impressive body of work, and he wanted to reconsider "the kinds of things and the ways of making that feel relevant now."

The name carries weight. Afsaneh is both his mother's name and the Persian word for fable.

What does the collection actually contain?

Afsaneh unfolds in four series, each named for a stage in its symbolic cycle:

• Esfand — the seed, symbolizing the mother
• Gol — the flower, the amplification of the seed
• Rahvi — the serpent and collector of knowledge
• Jahaan — the cosmos, where seed, flower and knowledge are shared

The seed becomes the collection's building block, appearing in sconces, vessels and an incense burner. "They feel like their own little universe, like they hold the entirety of the cosmos," Hendifar says.

In Gol, cast-glass seeds sit inside large fiberglass shades that suggest flower petals, jellyfish or octopuses, depending on your point of view. "This is the seed wrapped in beauty as a way to both protect it and attract the people who are meant to seek it," he adds.

The amulets in Rahvi use seven semi-precious stones, including tiger's eye, lapis lazuli and red jasper. Like the flower, they stand for both amplification and protection. "This is almost like a spiritual starter kit for leaning into the light," Hendifar jokes.

Jahaan, the final series, centers on the table. "It's where we gather to share knowledge. It's where we gather to share food. The table is the idea of community," he says.

On materials, Hendifar is deliberate: "We're working with materials that say something about the future, and something about the past, and place the work in an atemporal place."

How does it follow Apparatus's earlier Acts?

Previous Acts channeled late-1970s New York glamour, the "sparkly creative expression" of the Wiener Werkstätte, a reimagining of Hendifar's family's Iranian history, and a playful vision of the future. With Act V, he says, "I am trying to make sense of where we are collectively by looking back at the cycle of the seed and the flower, and what it can mean for us to hold ideas dear and to amplify them."

As with earlier Acts, Afsaneh is not just objects. It incorporates scent and performance. The fragrance pairs notes of damask rose and oud, evoking what Hendifar calls "moonlight in a desert rose garden."

This year he also debuted five short films made with the Martha Graham Dance Company. Hendifar, who grew up as a musician and self-described theatre kid, sees film as another block in building each Act. "It allows me to say a lot of things in a way that isn't always so direct…it can feel like a collage," he says.

What does the five-year pause change?

For a studio that once released work on a steadier rhythm, the pause signals a shift in how Apparatus frames its output: each Act now behaves less like a product drop and more like a staged world. When scheming a new collection, Hendifar asks, "What are we telling people in movement, sound and music? And what is the moment when we are gathering in a room together? What does it feel like to be at the party?"

The goal, he says, is creating a world people want to enter — and leaving them with something that lingers long after they leave.