Europe’s Design Heavyweights Descend on EC1 for CDW’s Landmark 15th Edition
As Clerkenwell Design Week (CDW) marks its 15th anniversary this May, the festival welcomes design collections from across Europe. Spanning six countries – from Spain, Italy and Norway to Germany, Austria and the UK – this year’s line-up brings dozens of international brands and studios to EC1, making CDW 2026 the most wide-ranging showcase of overseas design the festival has ever staged.
Spain celebrates contemporary design
CDW 2026 will be the most expansive showcase of Spanish design yet seen in EC1 with 27 brands taking part.
INTERIORS FROM SPAIN has appointed designer Tomás Alonso to transform new CDW venue, the 16th-century Museum of the Order of St John, into El Salón, an immersive installation set within the museum’s atmospheric Chapter Hall. Produced in partnership with design journal Disegno, it brings together a curated selection of pieces including the Baleira lighting collection, also designed by Alonso for a·emotional light; the You and Me Monochrome ping pong table by RS Barcelona; modular acoustic polyester panels by Ideatec; the Oasis bathtub by Sanycces; latticed exterior stoneware screens by APE Grupo; and rammed earth tiles by Huguet. El Salón will also unveil three new exclusive product launches – Mediterranean Collection, a series of handcrafted lights by Yonoh Studio for BPM Lighting; the lightweight, durable and stackable KLOK Chair by Stephen Philips for Sellex, and a new version of the Senso flexible seating system by Mario Ruiz for Joquer.
New venue, The Museum of the Order of St John (left) will host El Salón; the KLOK Chair (centre) from Sellex; Senso seating from Joquer (right)
Tile of Spain has commissioned architecture studio LA ERRERÍA to transform the garden of the Order of St. John into The Secret Garden, an open and welcoming space that encourages visitors to wander, pause and linger in a space designed for contemplation and conversation. Inspired by Oscar Wilde’s celebrated play The Importance of Being Earnest, it consists of four parterres, each inspired by one of the seasons. Spanish ceramics from brands Adex, Cevica, Cifre Cerámica, Cristacer, Decocer, El Barco, Harmony, Inthetile, La Platera, Porcelanosa, STN Cerámica, Undefasa and WOW Design are incorporated into the installation, shaping furniture and sculptural elements that experiment with a range of finishes, colours and textures.
For the second year running, ANIEME, the Spanish Association of Furniture Manufacturers, and ICEX Trade and Investment presentThe Spanish Collection at CDW, transforming the evocative historic spaces of The Charterhouse with collections of furniture, rugs and home textiles defined by refined aesthetics, material richness and fluid forms. In the Great Hall, pieces by Ezpeleta, Expormim and Gandía Blasco will be on display, and Naturtex launches its new natural herringbone sisal product Ciudadela which is available as a rug, wall-to-wall carpet, runners or stair applications. The collection continues in the Old Library with pieces by Crevin, Omelette Editions, Rols Carpets and SKLD Studio.
Spanish brands will be exhibiting across more CDW venues this year. The Church of Design will showcase Kave Home; IB Connect will appear at Interior Hardware; and the showrooms of Actiu International, Andreu World, Forma 5 & esPattio, Ondarreta and will welcome visitors throughout the three days of the show. Cosentino will unveil two launches set to redefine its world of surfaces: Nomak, a new collection of carbon-neutral ultra-compact surfaces and Éclos®, an innovative mineral surface for kitchen and bathroom worktops.
Italy showcases luxury, hospitality, ceramics and stone 
Left to right: Giulio Cappellini’s design for The Italian Hospitality; Kubic glass washbasins by ARTELINEA; MILANO radiator by TUBES; steel panels engraved with Gingko leaves by Caino Design
The Italian Trade Agency (ITA) returns to CDW for the fourth consecutive year, introducing around 40 furniture, interior design and surface materials companies to the dynamic UK design market with three distinct activations.
This year, ITA has partnered with prestigious international design magazine Interni and appointed architect Giulio Cappellini – Design Ambassador of the 2026 Italian Design Day – to curate The Italian Hospitality at The Luxury Edit at Haberdashers’ Hall. This sophisticated installation will be furnished with two eye-catching products from ARTELINEA – the Plissé shelving system and Kubic geometric glass washbasins designed by Cappellini himself. It will also feature free-standing, sculptural MILANO radiators by TUBES; Nuvola floorlamps by Siru which merge Murano glass with metallic cage-like structures; a customised bathroom by RELAX DESIGN; and decorative stainless-steel panels engraved with Gingko leaves by Caino Design.
As Cappellini himself describes it, the work “represents a lounge furnished with Italian-made pieces, where industrial products coexist with handcrafted items, showcasing the expertise and quality of Italian production. The space is designed in shades of green combined with neutral tones and refined materials – an environment to admire and experience.”
Three Italian launches: Saxum tiles from CASALGRANDE PADANA (left): Mutaforma modular light by OliveLab (centre); Marble Surfaces by DOMOS DESIGN (right)
The Italian Collection brings eight additional brands to The Luxury Edit including high-end commercial seating brand SITIA; customised bathroom furniture suppliers TAILORMADE STOCCO; clay cladding experts FORNACE BRIONI; and BAUCE BRUNOwhich produces skirting in marble and granite. DOMOS DESIGN, which specialises in processing natural stone, launches three new high-end collections – Marble Surfaces, The Wood Stone Collection, and Breccia Veneziana. Mutaforma, a modular, adjustable ceiling lamp designed by Giulia Liverani for OliveLab, also makes its debut.
At St John’s Square South, the Ceramics of Italy pavilion celebrates new surface collections from twelve brands including SIMAS, LA FAENZA, Veniston, TONALITE, DECORATORI BASSANESI and innovative ceramics brand CASALGRANDE PADANA which will launch its Saxum collection of porcelain stoneware tiles exclusively at CDW.
Across Clerkenwell, Italian brands including ETHIMO, Moroso, Marazzi, MIRAGE, True and Iris Ceramic Group will open their showrooms to visitors.
Norway debuts at CDW
Eikund Fluffy chair (left); Jensen Beds (centre); Lavikite and Anorthosite from Lundhs (right)
Norwegian Collection brings together four pioneering brands to present The Norwegian Boutique Bedroom within the atmospheric cloister of the Church of Design, exploring material truth, heritage and the art of restorative interiors. Revived mid-century classics from Eikund, including Fredrik A. Kayser’s Fluffy chair sit alongside world-leading sleep solutions from Jensen Beds. Larvikite and Anorthosite, Norwegian stones from Lundhs, offer tactile coolness contrasting with the enveloping warmth of ethical, circular premium goose down from Norsk Dun. Together, the collection presents a deeply considered vision of Scandinavian comfort and longevity, where craftsmanship, sustainability and natural materiality combine to define a new standard for the restorative interior.
German precision
Three German launches: Krall + Roth’s SINUX foamless seating (left); Parador’s Harmonia flooring (centre); KUSCH+CO’s Lupino Lounge (right)
The German Collection at Catapult on Sekforde Street focuses on practicality and high-spec engineering, presentingPURLINE polyurethane flooring from wineo; shading solutions from SUNDRAPE; flame-retardant textiles fromIndorama Ventures; smart home systems from JUNG; high-quality kitchens from EXPRESS KÜCHEN; and accessibility systems from HEWI. Furniture brands range from commercial suppliers BRUNNER and THONET to high-end, heavy-duty table manufacturer TREWA. Textile engineers KRALL + ROTH launch their SINUX range of foamless soft seating (pictured above) at CDW this year. Dresden Zimmer, a collective of seven small and medium-sized businesses, represents the more artisanal aspect of German design.
German flooring brand Parador will unveil its new engineered wood collection Harmonia (pictured above) at its showroom on Great Sutton Street in EC1; KUSCH+CO, which specialises in solutions for healthcare facilities and passenger terminals, introduces its new Lupino Lounge (pictured above); and office furniture provider Sedus launches its se:cove lounge chair and its S3 Hub Pro secure storage solution.
Austrian craft and creativity
ADVANTAGE AUSTRIA showcases the creative power of craftsmanship at The Crypt in The Order of St John with The Austrian Collection. Tailormade timber flooring from AUSTRIAWOOD and mafi, and elegant furniture from HUSSL and BRAUN LOCKENHAUS offer timeless elegance, while sculptural lights from STUDIO PALATIN and handcrafted pieces by WOKA LAMPSdemonstrate artisanal ingenuity. Kohlmaier’s MEZZAFERAS range of spherical seating and tables is a nod to the distinctive designs of the 1960s.
A decade of British design
St James’s Church has hosted the British Collection at CDW for ten years, displaying contemporary classics from home-grown brands including Another Country; Benchmark; Christopher Wall Design; DARE; Dovetailors; Goldfish Furniture; Goldfinger; Heals; Hitch Mylius; Leandesk; Matthew Burt; Origin; Souplesse Designs; Torc Pots; VERY GOOD & PROPER; and Hill Cross Furniture & Tamarisk Designs.
Building on the success of his video conferencing table, James Burleigh is unveiling new designs with more organic forms that enhance user comfort around a screen, while Barnby Design presents the new Clayden Console Table (pictured below), crafted from sustainably sourced oak. Fox & Furb Design Studio introduces its typographically inspired Sit Chair (pictured below), and the new Woody soft seating chair and sofa from ob&b will also launch exclusively at CDW. Design studio Spared, has created an installation at the British Collection that reimagines site-specific, post-consumer waste into new prototype tables that explore emerging material possibilities.
Three British launches: Fox & Furb’s Sit Chair (left); Clayden Console by Barnby Design (centre); Deadgood’s Lollipop Chair (right)
Many British brands have spruced up their showrooms across EC1 to showcase new and established products and collections. Premium design-led furniture brand Nth Degree opens its brand-new showroom, launching the Microskin Edition of its Pietra Collection which is engineered specifically for outdoor living. Viaduct unveils its new 454 Chair, and Deadgood introduces two new products – its HB Table inspired by the sharp lines of a classic pencil, and its graphic, bold and unapologetically fun Lollipop Chair (pictured above).
Clerkenwell Design Week 2026 takes place across EC1, London, from 19 – 21 May. More details about the festival will be announced in due course. For more information, please visit clerkenwelldesignweek.com – registration is now open.