Design, at its best, is never just about objects. It's about how we choose to live the spaces we build around ourselves, the materials we choose to touch every day, the way a room can shift the quality of a Tuesday morning. Future Talks 2026 at Decorex Cape Town understands this, which is why this year's edition arrives with a lineup that's as wide-ranging as the discipline itself.

Running from 25 to 28 June at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, Future Talks 2026, brought to you by Oggie, Africa's largest importer of sustainable hardwood flooring and cladding, assembles over 40 speakers across four days of panels, keynotes, and conversations. The programme spans architecture, materiality, business, cultural exchange, and emerging creative practice, all framed under Decorex's 2026 theme: The Soft Life.

The theme isn't a directive to go gentle. It's an invitation to examine how the design industry is responding to how people actually want to live now, with greater attention to restoration, sensory experience, and spaces that do emotional work alongside their aesthetic function.

The speaker lineup reflects both global ambition and a strong commitment to African creative voices. Decorex 2026 Designer of the Year LRNCE the Marrakech-based studio led by Laurence Leenaert and Ayoub Boualam will explore the emotional resonance of layered interiors. Titi Ogufere of Lagos Design Week joins for a conversation about the growing exchange between African design platforms, while Julia Franco of Brazil's Nosso offers insight into global craft and material culture.

Local and continental voices are equally prominent. ARRCC principals Jon Case and Mark Rielly lead The Fifth Façade, bringing architectural thinking into focus. Up-and-coming studios Walter Train and Good Better Best will take the stage during 100% Fresh, and The Business of Design, hosted in partnership with Capitec, tracks the journey of emerging studios as they build sustainable creative businesses.

Material culture, sensory experience, experiential lighting, and the intersection of ritual, rest, and design round out a programme that resists easy summary. The series will be hosted by multidisciplinary storyteller Bathandwa Ngwendu, whose approach brings thoughtful coherence to a conversation spanning many disciplines.

Trade professionals can earn 2.0 CPD credits across the full series. For design enthusiasts, it's simply four days of conversations worth having.

Decorex Cape Town — 25–28 June 2026 Cape Town International Convention Centre | 10am–6pm daily Tickets from R150 online | Book at register.decorex.co.za/cape-town

Decorex Joburg — 30 July–2 August 2026 Sandton Convention Centre | 10am–6pm daily Tickets from R160 online | Book at register.decorex.co.za/joburg

Full programme details at www.decorex.co.za