One of the defining figures in contemporary design, Giulio Cappellini reflects on hospitality, cultural identity, craftsmanship and the evolving meaning of luxury during his visit to London for Clerkenwell Design Week and Italian Design Day 2026.

Giulio Cappellini is one of the most influential figures in contemporary international design. An architect, entrepreneur, art director, curator and celebrated talent scout, he is renowned for shaping the careers of some of the most important designers of recent decades, including Tom Dixon, Marc Newson and the Bouroullec Brothers. As the driving force behind Cappellini, he has played a pivotal role in redefining contemporary furniture and product design through innovation, craftsmanship and cultural dialogue.

We meet Cappellini during his visit to London for Clerkenwell Design Week 2026, where he is presenting The Italian Hospitality – an immersive installation commissioned by the Italian Trade Agency and curated with INTERNI Magazine. His London programme also includes Italian Design Day 2026, The New Landscapes in International Luxury Interiors, and In Conversation With at Istituto Marangoni London. Across these events, Cappellini reflects on hospitality, luxury interiors, cultural identity and the evolving role of design in shaping contemporary living. Here’s what the towering figure of Italian and global designer has to say:

The Italian Hospitality explores hospitality through a dialogue between industrial production, craftsmanship and materiality. What experience did you want visitors to have within the space?

The Italian Hospitality reflects my vision of contemporary interiors: a mix of different objects between design and decoration. My intention is for visitors to feel ‘at home’, and to invite them to spend some time in a relaxed atmosphere.

The installation brings together companies with very different identities into a single immersive narrative. How do you create coherence across such diverse brands and design languages?

Today’s design language is multicultural: you can find design everywhere – from a mass-produced object to a uniquely crafted piece. As ever, the most crucial aspect I focus on is quality: quality in design, quality in the use of materials and textures. Dialogue is then possible because there is a shared excellence.

Italian Design Day 2026 centres around the theme “Re-Design: Projects that Regenerate Spaces, Objects, Relationships”. How do you interpret the idea of re-design today, particularly in relation to hospitality and the changing ways people use these spaces?

Re-Design, for me, means having a different approach to spaces, acknowledging that today we live, work and travel in a different way from the not-so-distant past.

In the past we had business hotels and holiday hotels. Now we are on holiday and maybe need to work for a few hours in our room or in the lobby, so there has to be an allocation for both a communal holiday experience and a private working space. Hospitality interiors are shifting and changing substantially to reflect and accommodate contemporary needs.

You have famously championed emerging designers throughout your career. What qualities do you look for in new talent today, and what excites you most about the next generation?

When I am assessing a new designer today, what I am looking for is new, fresh ideas. We don’t need new products any more, but new ways and new approaches that respond to the world around us, and hopefully precede it too. To be professional is important, of course, but passion is the most important thing.

“To be professional is important, of course, but passion is the most important thing.”

Giulio Cappellini

Today, there are emerging talents everywhere in the world, which is really exciting. We also need to take into consideration the new modalities of approaching a professional environment: now a young designer has to work with the marketing and R&D team of a company, for example, so collaboration and clarity of communication are key.

Your talk “The New Landscapes in International Luxury Interiors” at Istituto Marangoni London explores how luxury interiors are responding to changing cultural values and new forms of living. How do you see the definition of “luxury” evolving today?

Luxury, to me, means quality. Quality of products and respect for local culture and heritage. There is a local tradition that needs to be respected – hotels or houses cannot be the same everywhere in the world. They may feature the same objects with the same functionality, but the finishes, colour palette, and local uses and cultural traditions need to be taken into consideration. A successful luxury scheme, for me, mixes international design with local knowledge and expertise.

Across these conversations and installations, there is a recurring emphasis on emotional connection, craftsmanship and identity. In an increasingly digital and globalised world, what role should design play in creating spaces that feel genuinely human and culturally meaningful?

Design has a great responsibility – that hasn’t changed despite all the technological advancements. It has to create objects that are both beautiful and useful; it has to create environments where people can feel happy and able to dream. Of course, technology helps design, but it is a tool. The human touch is still at the core of design. There is a healing quality in well-designed spaces.