Iconic Moroccan designer Hicham Lahlou to lead keynote at Australia’s biggest design trade event
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Global design powerhouse Hicham Lahlou joins Design Show Australia 2025 as keynote speaker and cultural ambassador.
From Casablanca to Copenhagen, Milan to Melbourne, Hicham Lahlou is a name that resonates across the international design stage, and the Design Show Australia is thrilled to announce internationally celebrated Moroccan designer as the headline keynote for Design and Build Week 2025. Australia’s leading event celebrating the design and built environments, returns to Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre from 12–14 June 2025. Uniting three powerhouse trade events – ArchiBuild Expo, Design Show Australia and Kitchen+Bath Show – this highly curated week is set to reimagine over 15,000sqm of exhibition space into the country’s most inspiring destination for architecture, interior design and next-gen living. Positioned as the industry’s most comprehensive design experience, Design & Build Week brings together architects, interior designers, developers, builders, cabinet makers, manufacturers and retailers for three days of cutting-edge innovation, product discovery, expert insight, and meaningful connection — all under one roof.
One of the most prominent figures in contemporary Arab design, Hicham Lahlou brings over 30 years of work across industrial design, urban planning and cultural diplomacy. Lahlou’s visit represents a powerful cultural and trade alignment between Australia and the Arab world, brokered in partnership with the Australia Arab Chamber of Commerce and Industry (AACCI) and the Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco who have sponsored Hicham’s trip. AACCI’s mission is to assist Australian companies exporting to or expanding into Middle East and North African (MENA) markets and Arab companies looking to invest in Australia. As a major sponsor of Lahlou’s visit, AACCI objective is to bring together local businesses and professionals for networking, education and collaboration for the growth in design, architecture and construction throughout the Arab world.
His exclusive appearance at Design and Build Week marks the inaugural official partnership between a globally recognised Arab designer and an Australian design trade show. Known for his ability to amalgamate tradition and modernity, weaving the cultural codes of Morocco and the wider Arab world into boundary-pushing design, the Former Board Member of the World Design Organisation, has had his work exhibited at the Guggenheim Museum (New York), V&A (London) and Institut du Monde Arabe (Paris). Additionally, he was named among the Most Influential People of African Descent (MIPAD) 2021, alongside Virgil Abloh and David Adjaye, and is the founder of Africa Design Days & Design Week Morocco, championing design as a tool for socio-economic development across the continent.
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