The Italian Lounge, a platform dedicated to Italian design and lifestyle in China, returns to CIFF Shanghai 2026. La casa in ordine is a media partner. It's worth keeping an eye on, as it's more than just an exhibition, but a platform for cultural exchange and interaction where furnishings, the art of living, and even conviviality and hospitality showcase quintessentially Italian savoir-faire.
From September 5th to 8th, on the occasion of the 58th edition of the China International Furniture Fair in Shanghai , The Italian Lounge returns to showcase Italian design to the Chinese and international public with an even larger and more structured edition, designed to connect people, ideas and cultures, transforming design into an opportunity for meeting and doing business.
Photo ©The Italian Lounge_CIFF Shanghai
Conceived and organized by Edimotion, with GWA as Strategic Partner, the project brings together a significant group of Italian companies: Arflex, Bertone Design, Bialetti, Covema Group, ErreLab, Foscarini, Laminam, Natuzzi Italia, Oikos, Oluce, Seletti, Smeg, Tabu, and Zafferano . These companies, diverse in their histories, languages, and production fields, together form a unified narrative of Made in Italy , from furniture to lighting, from surfaces to appliances, and even tableware. This participation confirms the growing potential of The Italian Lounge as a platform connecting Italian excellence and the Chinese market , capable of linking products, design culture, communication, and new professional opportunities.
Photo ©The Italian Lounge_CIFF Shanghai
The setting is an environment designed by Davide Pavanello Lab, where materials, colors, textures, and sensorial details create an atmosphere closer to that of a welcoming home than a traditional trade show space. Art Direction by Vudafieri Saverino Partners, a studio with offices in Milan and Shanghai, reinforces The Italian Lounge 's identity as a creative bridge between Italy and China.
THIS YEAR THE STORY IS EXPANDED TO CONVIVIALITY
Alongside design, another profoundly Italian trait enters the spotlight this year: tableware, food & wine, and hospitality become an integral part of the experience thanks to the project curated by La Costruzione del Gusto. Completing this journey through the rituals of Italian living are Campari with Aperol, Caffè Borbone, Domori, and Fratelli Beretta , who also bring the taste and culture of hospitality to the space. Talking about the Italian Lifestyle, after all, means precisely this: going beyond the individual object to describe a special and unique way of living, eating, spending time together, and sharing spaces. It's a vision in which design is more than just form and function, but becomes part of a broader experience that the entire world envies us.
Photo ©The Italian Lounge_CIFF Shanghai
AN INVITATION THAT CAN BE SUMMED UP IN THREE WORDS: MEET. EXCHANGE. CONNECT.
Indeed, encounter is the underlying theme of the three-day event, organized under the patronage of the Polytechnic University of Milan and led by Professor Francesco Scullica, the project's scientific coordinator. During the numerous scheduled events and talks, Italian and Chinese designers, companies, journalists, and institutional representatives will be invited to engage and explore, from different perspectives, Italian creativity and its relationship with lifestyle, space, objects, and the culture of conviviality. The Italian Lounge 's goal , in fact, is to do more than bring a few Italian brands beyond national borders: it builds a place where design can become a common language, a bridge between cultures and ideas, a meeting point between Italy and China, creativity and the market, design and lifestyle.
Photo ©The Italian Lounge_CIFF Shanghai
The Italian Lounge – 58th CIFF Shanghai
5-8 September 2026
National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai Hongqiao) – North Hall NA01
