Future Talks Returns To Decorex Cape Town With Focus On Design Wellbeing And Innovation

Future Talks returns to Decorex Cape Town 2026 from 25-28 June at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.

The four-day programme brings together designers, architects, makers and industry leaders from across Africa and beyond for conversations that span architecture, materiality, business, cultural exchange and emerging practice.

Framed by this year’s Decorex theme, 'The Soft Life', the series moves beyond aesthetics to examine how the industry is responding to shifting ways of living.

Through panels, keynotes and conversations, the programme explores how we design and build, how creative businesses evolve and sustain themselves, and how spaces are increasingly shaped for wellbeing, restoration and sensory engagement.

What to expect

This year’s lineup brings a strong balance between local and international perspectives.

Decorex 2026 Designer of the Year LRNCE, the Marrakech-based studio led by Laurence Leenaert and Ayoub Boualam, will explore how layered interiors and objects can feel intimate, collectible and emotionally resonant, creating a global appetite for spaces with soul.

Titi Ogufere of Lagos Design Week will be in conversation with Decorex’s creative leadership about the growing exchange between African design platforms for Soft Power, while the Brazil design spotlight with Julia Franco of Nosso will offer insight into global craft, culture and material expression.

The Fifth Façade, led by ARRCC principals Jon Case and Mark Rielly, and The Shape of Practice, chaired by Chris Reid, will bring architectural thinking and the current state of the architecture industry into focus.

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Material culture and object design are explored through Ten by Ten, featuring Binky Newman, Sandile Cele and The Minimalist, while Material Comforts examines the role of texture, tactility and detail in shaping experience.

There are also plenty of new voices to be heard.

Walter Train and Mpumelelo of Good Better Best Studio are two up-and-coming design minds who will find their place on stage during 100% Fresh.

Building on this, The Business of Design, hosted in partnership with Capitec, follows the journey of rising studios building sustainable creative businesses.

The series concludes with Experiential Lighting, hosted by Martin Doller, and Ritual, Rest and Repair, featuring Roxanne Kaye of SAOTA.

Future Talks will be hosted by Bathandwa Ngwendu, whose multidisciplinary approach to storytelling brings a thoughtful and engaging dynamic to each conversation.

Designed for trade professionals, creatives, media and design enthusiasts alike, attendees can earn 2.0 CPD credits across the full series.

Full programme details and registration information will be available online.