From February 12 to 15, the Valentine’s Day weekend becomes a distributed laboratory of projects, passions and visions
From February 12 to 15, 2026, Courmayeur Design Week-end returns to its symbolic destination with an edition that weaves together design thinking, landscape and human relationships. Presented at the ADI Design Museum in Milan, the new edition chooses the Valentine’s Day weekend to place the theme “Love & Passions” at its core, transforming Courmayeur into an Alpine stage dedicated to contemporary design.
Courmayeur Design Week-end: a people-centered format
Founded in 2000 and structured in its current format since 2020, Design Week-end has built a strong community over time, bringing together designers, companies and institutions. Described by its protagonists as “a collection of hearts beating and designing in unison,” it stands out in the Italian design week landscape for its focus on content, context and relationships.
As explained by Paola Coronel, creator and founder of the project, the approach never starts from the product, but from contemporary themes and a shared design poetics. An act of collective generosity that makes each edition a unique experience, deeply connected to the territory that hosts it.
“Love & Passions”: the theme of the 2026 edition
The theme chosen for Courmayeur Design Week-end 2026 naturally resonates with the lovers’ weekend, while opening up to a broader interpretation, becoming the key narrative for talks, installations, exhibitions and performances.
Defining the visual DNA of this edition is the work of design and communication studio Leftloft. The concept takes shape through 45 words of love, written and illustrated on 45 cable cars of Courmayeur Mont Blanc Funivie, transforming the Alpine infrastructure into a collective story suspended between sky and landscape.
Exhibitions, talks and installations: the heart of the program
Among the most anticipated events is the new exhibition curated by Giulio Cappellini and Giulio Iacchetti, hosted in the recently restored spaces of the former Hôtel de l’Ange, a historic Courmayeur building now returned to the city as a cultural venue. Following their experience in the 2025 edition, the two designers return with a project revolving around the heart, understood as symbol, form and creative engine.
The Talk on Top on Friday, February 13, features Marcel Wanders as a special guest at the Cinema Alpino at the Pavillon of Skyway Monte Bianco. An encounter that promises to combine international vision and personal storytelling, set in one of the most evocative locations of the entire event.
Meeting spaces and special projects
The duo Gino Garbellini and Michele Rossi designs a meeting space centered around the wooden pagoda created by aMDL Circle, the itinerant icon of Design Week-end. After Ostuni, the structure returns to Courmayeur with the hope of a permanent installation. Inside, 45 suspended hearts, based on a design by Nic Bewick and customized by as many designers, become the symbolic core of the edition.
Matteo Ragni returns with a project dedicated to love and lightness in collaboration with Medit, while Mario Trimarchi curates the Saturday, February 14 talk focused on Unexpected Loves—objects, situations and remnants capable of generating unforeseen emotions.
Youth, press, performances and cross-disciplinary exchanges
The program also includes printLab, conceived by Café Design with Canva and aimed at an under-30 audience, as well as a public reading workshop dedicated to love letters by architects and designers, curated by Martina David, Nicole Vignola and Amina Magi at the Courmayeur Library.
Iconic moments of the event also return, such as skiCAD, the historic ski race for architects and designers now in its 26th edition, featuring a trophy designed by Massimo Roj and the participation of leading studios and sponsors.
Brands, territory and new collaborations: Courmayeur as an Alpine design laboratory
Among the highlights of the 2026 edition is a new annual agreement for the enhancement of the Waldensian Church of Courmayeur, set to become a permanent venue for design exhibitions and installations. Numerous confirmed brands—including ALPI, Villeroy & Boch and Feral Drinks—join an ever-expanding network of Italian and international studios, forming the established Design Week-end Circle.
With this edition, Courmayeur Design Week-end 2026 reaffirms itself as an Alpine design laboratory: a cultural platform capable of connecting design practice, territory and community, transforming the Valentine’s Day weekend into an opportunity for connection, storytelling and shared experiences—even at high altitude.
