Furnishings & Design Istanbul (FDI) will be held for the third time at Istanbul Expo Center from 24–26 September 2026. Held under the motto “Where Design Leads,” FDI Istanbul 2026 will bring together the latest designs of 90 brands, 85 special selections across four exhibitions, and leading names from the world of design. Over the course of three days, FDI Stage & Talks will address design, creative economies, sustainability, digitalization and the transformation of the industry, featuring more than 30 prominent speakers, including Ross Lovegrove, one of the pioneers of biomimetic design.
Ahmet Güleç, President of MOSFED, the organizing body of FDI Istanbul, said: “For us, it is not only about trade; it is about changing the way an industry, a city and, over time, a country is remembered.”
A meeting point for strong design, sustainable production practices, value-added trade and branding strategies, Furnishings & Design Istanbul (FDI) will continue in its third year to focus more strongly on the defining role of design in the industry. Taking place at Istanbul Expo Center from 24–26 September 2026, the event will be shaped around a qualified brand ecosystem, intellectual content, collaborations and global visibility.
Ahmet Güleç, President of the Furniture Associations Federation (MOSFED), stated that FDI Istanbul is not merely a trade fair, but a structure that brings together the production power of Türkiye’s furniture and interior sectors with design, brands and cultural vision, saying: “Our goal is to move Türkiye beyond being merely a country that produces and exports, and to make it a furniture country that designs, builds brands and takes its place in global markets with its own value.”
Güleç noted that the strength of Türkiye’s furniture industry in production and exports has entered a new phase in recent years with its transformation around design, and said that FDI Istanbul is a concrete reflection of this transformation. Güleç added: “For us, it is not only about trade; it is about changing the way an industry, a city and, over time, a country is remembered.”
“We must export higher-unit-value, higher-quality, design-focused and branded products.”
Stating that Türkiye is one of four countries capable of producing across almost all furniture categories, MOSFED President Ahmet Güleç drew attention to the production capacity reached by the industry.
Ahmet Güleç stated that Türkiye’s furniture industry consists of 49,179 manufacturing enterprises, accounts for 9.7% of total manufacturing, and has created a major ecosystem by employing 500,000 people. He said: “Our production capacity is at the level of USD 14 billion, and a significant portion of this is exported to approximately 200 countries around the world. There are also challenges within this strong picture. Rising raw material, energy and labor costs, difficulties in accessing finance, and intensifying global competition have disrupted the balance between our production costs and productivity growth.”
Emphasizing that the industry must adapt to new competitive conditions, Ahmet Güleç continued:
“To minimize the impact of such challenges, we must take strategic steps by understanding the new competitive conditions around the world. We are at the threshold of an important transformation. Our furniture industry has written a global success story to date; however, we are now entering a period in which export growth can no longer be limited to price competition. We must export higher-unit-value, higher-quality, design-focused and branded products.”
“FDI Istanbul goes beyond conventional trade fairs”
Ahmet Güleç stated that they designed FDI Istanbul to bring design and industry, manufacturers and brands, and Türkiye and global markets together on the same platform, adding that the fair’s selective structure is also part of this vision.
“The way to move beyond price competition lies in design, branding, innovation and sustainability. With its selective structure, which makes working with designers and offering original products fundamental criteria, FDI Istanbul goes beyond conventional trade fairs and is redesigning competitiveness for Turkish industry,” said Ahmet Güleç, continuing:
“Every year, more of our brands invest in design, develop original products and strengthen their brands by establishing lasting collaborations with designers. Our goal is to make Türkiye not only a country that produces, but a furniture country that designs, builds brands and takes its place in global markets with its own value. Our broader vision is to make Istanbul one of the cities that comes to mind around the world when design is mentioned.”
90 brands, 4 exhibitions, 85 special selections
FDI Istanbul 2026 will bring the latest designs of 90 brands together with visitors, while four different exhibition areas will focus on different forms of production and expression in design.
FDI New Horizon Exhibition will bring together 42 independent designers, showcasing new-generation creative ideas. FDI Design Circle will be curated this year around the theme “The Memory of Material,” bringing together more than 30 products through the stories carried by materials.
The Masterful exhibition will feature special products designed by four design centers and produced by four furniture brands. The Big Soft exhibition will reconsider the concept of comfort not merely as a product feature, but as a spatial atmosphere; special works by six designers will be presented to visitors.
The Designer-to-Business (D2B) Program, which strengthens the commercial dimension of FDI Istanbul, will be expanded this year. The international buyer delegation program, organized with the support of the Ministry of Trade, will bring qualified international buyers from the USA, Germany, Italy, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Morocco, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, South Africa, Georgia, Croatia, India, Qatar, North Macedonia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Senegal, Slovenia, Tunisia and Greece together with Turkish brands.
Twenty-one different product groups will come together within the same design ecosystem at the fair.
A powerful stage discussing the direction of design
At the heart of FDI Istanbul’s intellectual and cultural program, FDI Stage & Talks will explore design, creative economies, sustainability, digitalization and structural transformation in the furniture industry from different perspectives over three days.
The program will feature 12 panels and more than 30 prominent speakers, with discussions focusing on better production, stronger marketing models, new-generation collaborations and the future of networking culture.
International guests of the program will include Ross Lovegrove, one of the pioneers of the biomimetic design approach. Alongside Lovegrove, international figures including Julio Rodrigo Fuentes, Philipp Trompeter, Signe Byrdal Terenziani and Carlo Biasia will share the stage with designers, architects, academics and industry representatives from Türkiye.
From Türkiye, numerous distinguished names including Şebnem Buhara, Defne Koz, Yeşim Kozanlı, Burç Özarıtan, Mustafa Toner, Kunter Şekercioğlu, Ece Yalım, Ahmet Raşit Karaaslan, Erdem Akan, Kerem Özerler and Pınar Hacıraifoğlu will also take part in the program.
In this way, FDI Stage & Talks will go beyond being a stage where current design topics are discussed, opening up discussion on new relationships between production, design, technology, sustainability and the business world.
The selective mind behind current, qualified and original content: Design Committee
Behind FDI Istanbul’s curatorial approach and content integrity is the Design Committee, comprising respected figures from different disciplines.
Focusing on the fair’s curatorial filter, content framework and the “Where Design Leads” motto, the committee transforms the qualified meeting between the design world and the industry into a strong, coherent program.
Chaired by academic and industrial designer Alpay Er, the Design Committee consists of interior architect and designer Ahmet Raşit Karaaslan, architect Aynur Yılmaz, interior architect Cem Cemal Çobanoğlu, strategic content consultant Cengiz Ayyıldız, industrial designer and interior architect Ece Yalım, designer, curator and educator Erdem Akan, and industrial designer Şule Koç.
FDI Istanbul in numbers
Across its first two editions, FDI Istanbul brought together 150 brands and 39,567 visitors from 64 countries, including Türkiye, in Istanbul. A total of 208 special selections were presented across 12 exhibitions featuring special creations. During the three-day FDI Stage & Talks program, 78 experts took part with presentations designed to inform, develop ideas and inspire action. Under the Designer-to-Business Program, 625 business meetings were held.
