In mid-October, in a museum in Hong Kong founded to bridge Italian and Chinese culture, the Hong Kong Design Centre laid out the plans for its annual design week, to be held from 1 to 6 December. This year Italy is the honoured partner, a choice that marks half a century of ties between China and the European Union and fifty-five years between China and Italy, and that looks ahead to the Winter Games in Milano Cortina. The gathering asks an old human question in a new setting: what does curiosity build, and how can East and West create something of value together?
Hong Kong's Business of Design Week 2025 Names Italy Year-Long Partner for December Summit
Italy returns for a third time as year-long Partner Country
Mark
Why does Italy as Partner Country matter this year in particular?
Mimi
The calendar lines up. It's 55 years of China-Italy relations, and Italy hosts the Winter Games in 2026. Ratti opens the Summit by presenting the Olympic torches he designed.
Mark
And it's not Italy's first time, is it?
Mimi
No. The Consul General said it's the third time Italy has been year-long Partner Country.
Luke
Worth noting that nearly everything here comes from the organisers' own announcement. The speaker list and themes are plans, not outcomes.
Mark
What's the business angle, beyond the talks?
Mimi
Hong Kong pitches itself as a 'Super Connector' between East and West. Alongside the Summit, DesignInspire and the Business of IP Asia Forum run at the same venue, so there's a trade side too.
Luke
But 'positioning' isn't a result. The announcement names no deals, attendance figures or targets for the Italy partnership.
Mark
The format sounds ambitious.
Mimi
Yes: in person, livestream and television, with AI translation in ten languages.
Luke
How well that translation tool performs is unknown until December.
Mark
So what should a reader watch for?
Mimi
Whether the six pillars produce concrete collaborations between Italian and Hong Kong or Mainland firms.
El Pulso
- Organisers are bringing more than fifty creative leaders and business decision-makers from across the globe into one Hong Kong summit stage.
- Six pillars, from urban design to AI and luxury, are being stitched into one dense week of talks, launches and exhibitions.
- The Italy partnership is being framed as a bridge between East and West, with Hong Kong cast as the connector and value-adder.
- Across Hong Kong, Vividly, DesignInspire and Maison&Objet events are spreading the week beyond a single venue.
- The real test is still ahead: whether the warm framing turns into concrete business deals once the week closes.
In mid-October, in a museum in Hong Kong founded to bridge Italian and Chinese culture, the Hong Kong Design Centre laid out the plans for its annual design week, to be held from 1 to 6 December. This year Italy is the honoured partner, a choice that marks half a century of ties between China and the European Union and fifty-five years between China and Italy, and that looks ahead to the Winter Games in Milano Cortina. The gathering asks an old human question in a new setting: what does curiosity build, and how can East and West create something of value together?
On 16 October, at the Guwei Museum in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Design Centre gathered the press to present the programme for Business of Design Week 2025. The museum was founded by Italian entrepreneur Franco Cutrupia, who spent four decades in China, and his Chinese wife Pauline Wei, and its devotion to cross-cultural exchange mirrors the East-meets-West spirit the organisers hope to carry into the week.
Running from 1 to 6 December under the theme 'Curiosity Ignites Design Innovation,' the event is the Design Centre's flagship. Italy is the year-long Partner Country, invited for anniversaries of diplomatic ties with the European Union and China, and because Italy hosts the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games. The organisers say the week will explore how curiosity has shaped Italian creativity in art, architecture, fashion and manufacturing.
The centrepiece is the Summit at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre from 3 to 5 December, where more than fifty leaders are expected from many countries. Speakers include architect Carlo Ratti, who will discuss the torches he designed for the Winter Games, Michele De Lucchi, and leaders from Ducati, Ferragamo and Buccellati. The Summit will stream in several formats, with subtitles and AI translation in ten languages, so that audiences far beyond the hall can take part.
Around it, other events fill the city, from the debut of Vividly Hong Kong to DesignInspire and an expanded Maison&Objet showcase. The question that lingers, as the Design Centre's leaders themselves acknowledge, is whether the partnership's fine words will translate into lasting business after the lights go down.
On 16 October, at the Guwei Museum in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Design Centre (HKDC) held a press conference to lay out the programme for Business of Design Week 2025. The museum was founded by Italian entrepreneur Franco Cutrupia, who spent four decades working in China, and his Chinese wife Pauline Wei. It is dedicated to cross-cultural exchange and heritage, a mission the organisers say matches their own East-meets-West aim.
BODW 2025 runs from 1 to 6 December. It is the HKDC's annual flagship event. The Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency, part of the Hong Kong government's Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, is lead sponsor for the second year running, and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) co-organises. The theme is 'Curiosity Ignites Design Innovation.' Italy has been invited as year-long Partner Country, a choice tied to two anniversaries and one event. 2025 is the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and the European Union, and the 55th between China and Italy. Italy also hosts the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Organisers say the week will examine how curiosity has driven Italian creativity in art, architecture, fashion and manufacturing, while presenting Hong Kong as a 'Super Connector' and 'Super Value-Adder' between East and West.
The centrepiece is the BODW 2025 Summit, on the Main Stage of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) from 3 to 5 December. More than 50 creative leaders and business decision-makers are expected from Italy, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Czech Republic, Japan, the Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong and elsewhere. Six pillars structure the programme: Urban Visions, Mobility Revolution, Crafted Living, Luxury Reimagined, Innovating with AI & Technology, and Cultural Innovation & Creativity. Topics range from Olympic torches to tech-giant headquarters, electric vehicles and boats, motorcycle and aircraft design, VR eyewear, typography and next-generation entertainment. Some sessions will be presented by MGM China, the M+ museum and Maison&Objet.
The opening keynote goes to Dr. Carlo Ratti, an architect, engineer and curator of the Venice Biennale Architettura 2025, who will present the torches he designed for the Milano Cortina 2026 Games as a case study. Michele De Lucchi, founder of AMDL CIRCLE and designer of the Nordic Pavilion at Osaka World Expo 2025, will speak alongside Tereza Šváchová, architect of the Czech Pavilion there, on turning national identity into architectural experience. David Imai, who defined Tesla's aesthetic and now leads the luxury electric boat brand Arc, will appear with Dr. Andrea Ferraresi, Strategy & Centro Stile Director at Ducati. Angelica Visconti, Vice Chairman of Ferragamo, will discuss how curiosity drives patent technology and material research, while Nicolas François Luchsinger, CEO of Buccellati Holding Italia, will address heritage craft and innovation. Companies such as EssilorLuxottica, the Design Museum and Monotype are also among the participants.
The Summit will be delivered in a 'tribrid' format: in person, online livestream and television broadcast. It will stream on bodw+ and social media, with English subtitles and a simultaneous AI translation tool covering ten languages: Italian, English, Cantonese, Putonghua, French, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, German and Arabic.
Joseph Lo, HKDC Chairman, said curiosity pushes design to better understand and serve people, and that the Italian partnership points to the emotional connection between people and environment as the core of innovation. Italian Consul General Carmelo Ficarra said Italy is honoured to return for a third time as year-long Partner Country, calling it a milestone for ties with Hong Kong's creative sector.
Other events run alongside. On 3 December, the inaugural Vividly Hong Kong takes place at DX design hub, marking its first anniversary, together with the DFA Awards Presentation Ceremony 2025 and the openings of the DxGBA Gravity and Neon exhibitions. HKTDC hosts DesignInspire, themed 'Where Connections Spark Inspiration,' from 3 to 6 December at the HKCEC, along with the Business of IP Asia Forum. It includes an expanded Maison&Objet Intérieurs Hong Kong 2025 with 'Design Factory,' 'Design Showcase' and 'Le Club' zones, plus Fusion Vista, designed by Alan Chan and emerging artist Chilai Howard, showing Italian and Hong Kong design. Participants come from the Mainland, the Czech Republic, Japan, Macau and Taiwan. Tickets are on sale with limited-time discounts. The open question is whether the Italy-China framing yields concrete business outcomes after the week ends.
Citas Notables
Italy is deeply honoured to return for the third time as year-long Partner Country, a significant milestone for its partnership with Hong Kong's creative sector.— Carmelo Ficarra, Consul General of Italy in Hong Kong and Macau
The true kernel of innovation lies in deepening the emotional connections between people and environment.— Joseph Lo, Chairman of HKDC
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