CIFF Shanghai 2026: Italian design meets China through taste, not just products
The Italian Lounge at CIFF Shanghai 2026 gathered 14 Italian brands, a multisensory space and a talk program, showing what happens when design, food and conversation share the same table.
I spent three days at CIFF Shanghai 2026 this September, and the first thing to say is the obvious one: when you go to a fair in China, everything is extremely big and extremely well organized. But most of my time went to one specific place, the Italian Lounge, right at the entrance. I was there as a reporter for DesignWanted and also as a guest speaker, so I followed it from the inside.
In this article, I want to tell you what the Lounge is, how it works, and what I took home from it: how a good environment changes the way a product is seen, why intellectual property is a bigger subject than the product itself, and why Shanghai is worth a visit for a designer.
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CIFF Shanghai 2026 – Highlights:
More than an exhibition area
The Italian Lounge is a project conceived and organized by Edimotion, and this was its fourth edition. At CIFF Shanghai 2026, the 58th edition of the fair, held from 5 to 8 September at the National Exhibition & Convention Center in Hongqiao, it gathered 14 Italian brands: Arflex, Bertone Design, Bialetti, Covema Group, ErreLab, Foscarini, Laminam, Natuzzi, Oikos, Oluce, Seletti, Smeg, Tabu and Zafferano. Together they cover furniture, lighting, surfaces, materials, appliances and objects.
The organizers describe it as a platform where design, culture, lifestyle and business meet, with a motto that says it all: Meet. Exchange. Connect. This year the idea went beyond design. With the contribution of La Costruzione del Gusto, table culture, tableware, food and wine became part of the experience, together with brands like Domori and Campari. The lounge moved from “Italian design” to “Italian lifestyle”.
A space to experience, and a program to follow
The space was conceived by Davide Pavanello Lab, with art direction by Vudafieri Saverino Partners, a studio with offices in Milan and Shanghai. The goal was a multisensory environment involving sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch. What I found was a particularly welcoming place, where Italian brands showed their products and their craftsmanship, surrounded by talks and food events: the classic Italian hospitality.
The program was just as structured. The cultural side was coordinated by Francesco Scullica, with the patronage of the Politecnico di Milano School of Design. The opening featured the Italian Vice Consul in Shanghai, Stefania Mortelliti, and Wu Yidong, Deputy Manager of CIFF Shanghai 2026, followed by the keynote “Italian Design Bridging Cultures, Ideas and Business”. There were also the “A Coffee with…” sessions with Covema, Natuzzi and Smeg, on color and surfaces, living culture and the future of the kitchen, and an “Aperitivo with… Laminam” at the Laminam showroom in Shanghai. IDEAS4WOOD, the design contest promoted by Tabu, was presented as well, and the networking cocktail “Around the Table(s)” closed the format.
The fair around the Lounge
I also had the chance to walk the whole fair. As usual, it is divided into sections: furniture, lighting, outdoor, technology. This is where you see the more innovative side of Chinese industrial production, which is often tied not only to design but to technology itself, with AI, robotics and everything that comes with them.
Another thing at CIFF Shanghai 2026 is that the quality of the stands is slowly improving. It is not only the pioneer brands, the most important ones: emerging brands are also starting to understand that a valid product is not enough. A good stand, good communication and good design around the product make it much more effective. The international presence, The Italian Lounge included, seems to be playing a growing role in this.
Why it’s worth going
Going to CIFF Shanghai 2026 is worth it for a simple reason: Shanghai is one of the most beautiful and interesting cities China offers, and the fair is a good excuse to see it. But there is also a professional reason. Besides showing what has already been done in design, the fair has many companies and sectors that need help from designers. It is useful for inspiration, and also for a bit of scouting.
The Italian Lounge will be back in September 2027. For me the lesson is simple: a product doesn’t stand alone. It needs a place, a story, people around a table. And if all of this is part of its value, it is also part of what needs protecting.
We also visited CIFF Shangai 2025 and CIFF Guangzhou in 2025, have a look on what we’ve saw there.
About the author
Mario Alessiani, founder and creative director of the Italian namesake design studio, specializes in product, lighting, and furniture design. His clients include companies such as Umbra, Fabbian, and Axolight. Mario also teaches at the University of Camerino, IED Rome and Sichuan Normal University in China. His work has been exhibited at prestigious events like the ADI Design Museum in Milan, Eindhoven Design Week, and Milan Design Week, earning him awards like the IF Design Award and Archiproducts Design Award.
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