Living Edge CEO Aidan Mawhinney shares his inside edge to great style

For the Living Edge CEO, style is “never trying too hard or for others, but for one’s own sanctity”

By Tyler Dane Wingco

Published: Nov 17, 2025

LIVING EDGE CEO AIDAN MAWHINNEY can trace his interest in design to one night in 1996 when he walked into Mash & Air, a futuristic bar and restaurant set within an old textile warehouse in Manchester designed by legendary Australian industrial artist Marc Newson. “[It] changed the course of things for me,” he recalls. “I had no idea who Marc Newson was then, clearly before he became one of the most prolific industrial designers of all time.” It’s a neat piece of happenstance that predates the Belfast-born Mawhinney’s move that same year to Australia, where he’s called the leafy streets of Sydney’s Paddington home ever since.

When Mawhinney joined the company in 2005, it was a commercial office furniture supplier still evolving past its original name, Furn-a-Home, which it dropped in 2000. With his global outlook and pedigree, Mawhinney ascended quickly to CEO two years later, helping transform the company into the country’s premiere outpost for international design. Under the Living Edge umbrella, Mawhinney has shaped the style-conscious Australian’s voracious appetite for the likes of Gufram, Memphis Milano, Carl Hansen & Søn, to name a few in the portfolio.

‘Authentic design’ has consistently informed what Mawhinney brings to market. “Anything that can withstand the test of time, whether it’s an already established classic or a future classic that will create its own longevity and legacy, is something that sits well with my style and morals,” he says. This also translates to how Mawhinney describes his everyday style – a “relaxed but smart” rotation consisting of brands like Arc’teryx, Stone Island, Moncler, A.P.C. and Psycho Bunny.

Perhaps living in Australia also explains why the labels he’s listed also bring to mind a details-obsessed urbanite with a penchant for techwear. “Different hemispheres with very different climates inevitably influence style,” he shares. His role has also taken him to Milan, Copenhagen, New York, Paris and London for their annual design fairs, cities he’s found encourage a mining for edge, personality and individuality in his style.

“There always has to be a level of comfort in how we express ourselves,” he says, referring to the styling of either an outfit or a home. “Never trying too hard or for others, but for one’s own sanctity.” In saying that, “I am [also] more of a sneaker person than a leather loafer person.”