Inside FT Weekend Festival 2026

Mid-September may be a highpoint in the fashion calendar with the start of London Fashion Week; however, it’s the first Saturday in September that FT readers and culture obsessives, or anyone with a thirst for intellectual stimulation, mark religiously in their calendars. Back for a stonking 11th year, the FT Weekend Festival brings together the brightest and best across politics, tech, culture, fashion, food, finace, property and more to put the world well and truly to rights. The stellar line up of speakers for 2026 ranging from household names to eclectic raconteurs, from Richard E Grant, Peter Capaldi, Paul Smith, Yotam Ottolenghi to Paul Theroux, was evidence how this event goes from strength to strength. All skillfully curated and facilitated by FT and HTSI editors and columnists.  And alongside the intellectual stimulation was plenty of bodily sustenance - with options to suit every palate - from cult rotisserie chicken to a refreshing glass of Louis Roederer Champagne. 
 

Christopher Kane takes up the Mulberry Mantle

“London’s greatest export is its talent,” declared Christopher Kane to an audience of fashion fans. Easily said when you’re the darling of Central Saint Martins. Still, the designer who launched his eponymous brand with his sister, Tammy, then straight out of university knows a thing or two about the industry. Ahead of his return to London Fashion Week, this time at the helm of Mulberry, Christopher chatted to HTSI’s Editor, Jo Ellison, about how he got his start (the first collection was “made at our kitchen table on Dalston lane”), his two-decade long career, how AI is changing the industry (“I’ll never rely on it for an idea”) and hinting at the upcoming Collection. SPHERE's Lisa Barnard was in the audience, asking how Mulberry plans to price its bags, in particular after prices were hiked up a few years ago to the brand's detriment. “The quality will look great; they’re beautiful bags. It has to be worth every penny,” he answered. You heard it here first. 

Who's Who? Paul Smith and Peter Capaldi

Who knew Malcom Tucker had a penchant for stripes? Sir Paul Smith, clearly, when he befriended Scottish actor Peter Capaldi in his shop decades ago. Describing the shop as uniquely “immediately welcoming”, a rarity at the time in luxury retail, Peter very early on identifies the brand’s philosophy that has endured for over 50 years. Meanwhile, surprisingly for a fashion designer, Paul declared “I don’t think you should be obsessive about looking good, You should know your character, know your personality, and if it feels natural for you to want to look smart or casual or bohemian, just go with the flow.” Movingly, both men pay homage to their wives – Peter stating that she “changed my life entirely, made me who and what I am now, made me do things that I would never have considered myself”; and Paul how his wife Pauline, has been at the centre of the business since its inception. 

Telling Tales of Hotels with History 

Few people have the inside track on the world’s best hotels quite like Jules Perowne. The PR powerhouse was joined on stage by her pal and fellow 'Hotels with History' podcaster, Richard E Grant, and FT Travel Editor Tom Robbins, to gab about the world’s most historic hotels. From Richard being “inadvertently set up for luxury hotels” by his father from birth to Jules’ insurmountable knowledge, the duo give the audience plenty of industry lore and gossip. The best tidbits include anecdotes such as Churchill (allegedly) importing Yugoslavian soil and placing it under a Claridge’s bed so a prince could be born on home turf, Hotel du Cap’s cash-only policy until the late noughties (that’s suitcases worth needed) and hidden rooms in the Le Bristol, Paris hotel concealing Leo Lehrman during WWII, where he designed plans to beautify the luxury hotel. 

Can you Sell Your Home in a Sluggish Market?

The British property market has been unruly for the past few years, to say the least, with house prices falling for the first time since 2023. Sellers, buyers and estate agents are buffeting against the winds of change, with little indication of when the storm will quell. Fortunately, a panel comprising Lindsay Cuthill, Founder of the Blue Book Agency; Jo Eccles, Founder and MD of Eccord; Louise Wilcocks, MD of the Modern House; and Stuart Bailey, Head of Super Prime Sales for Knight Frank, was available to make sense of the mess. The group diagnosed three types of sellers in the market: “those who are fatigued, who are overpricing or who are just trying to recoup what they paid”. Helpful tips emerged such as making sure the photography is absolutely right – “the first viewing takes place online” – heating the house during autumnal or winter viewings – “if the house is cold, it gets ruled out because buyers think nothing works” – and get your paperwork all lined up and lawyers instructed before you even put it on the market.  Whatever you do, resist the urge to tell anyone you’re in a hurry. 

In Relentless Pursuit of Flavour 

Ottolenghi is to flavour what Picasso is to colour. The two appear inextricably linked, in part, because of the chef, restaurateur and author’s commitment to tastiness – he even titled one of his cookbooks Flavour. Joining FT food writer Tim Hayward on stage to discuss his new book, SIMPLE Too, Ottolenghi advocates a return to simple cooking in an era of food fads and restaurant hype. Describing modern life as “a noisy world”, he believes there’s a disconnect between people and their cooking instincts. The solution, as the title suggests, is pretty simple: put away the phone and get back in the kitchen for a naturally mindful activity. Presence over perfection, always. 

AI Changing Relationships and Human Connections 

Much has been said about how AI will transform our work or climate, but far less about how it will affect relationships and human connection. Legendary philosopher and author Alain de Botton put the world to rights with the FT’s AI editor, Madhumita Murgia, arguing that most human suffering can be attributed to a failure in translation and that AI isn't such a threat to intimacy. In fact, Alain believes the great thing about AI as it relates to relationships is that “it’s not particularly original” and that it can embody the voice of “common sense, of a village elder”. When pressed whether a chatbot developed largely by men in Silicon Valley may codify society’s blind spots, Alain did not shy away from the fact that it will “carry biases aplenty”, but through invoking Kant, “from the crooked timber of humanity, nothing straight can be made.” Machines, however, can straighten things out, so perhaps there lies the point. 

The Life-Changing Power of Dance 

“How much have you been touched today?” The Royal Ballet’s resident choreographer Wayne McGregor asks the audience. An awkward pause reveals the answer – barely at all. Wayne believes this reflects our collective failure to inhabit our bodies, rather than merely viewing them as tools. In part, the root of the issue lies in the classroom: just 13 per cent of UK schools offer GCSE or A-Level dance, and mandatory PE lessons have largely fallen by the wayside. Wayne’s tonic? “Shift the lens from dance and utility to the creative aspects of being able to work with your coordination. Have you ever thought about your backspace?” Perhaps physical intelligence is the new emotional intelligence? 

Writing the World and Capturing the Essence of Place

Colin Thubron and Elif Shafak lifted the veil on one of the most envied professions, travel writing. Joining FT Globetrotter editor Rebecca Rose on stage, the duo divulged how stories come from landscapes and the people who inhabit them. For Colin, each novel starts “with a lump in the throat, as if there’s something that needs to be explored,” whereas Elif chooses to “follow intuition and go wherever the story takes [me].” From there, the conversation roamed from the Tigris to the Thames, from ancient Egypt to modern Istanbul, exploring how place, memory and identity are the bedrock of storytelling. When asked about the future of the industry and the possible threat of AI, both Colin stated: “You can’t digitalise experience. AI writing is banal. I think the personality of a writer, even if it's an unfortunate personality and bad writing, is important.”

Data: Servant or Master?

Between people hyper-optimising every aspect of their life – lest we forget the three glasses of wine ruining Steven Bartlett’s week – or everyone and their dog constantly discussing AI, have we officially reached peak data saturation? Economics journalist and FT columnist Tim Harford was on hand to trace the lineage of our number obsession back to a 1930s Harvard Hall. Discussing the long and complicated history between humans and mathematics, Tim uses the example of the Vietnam War, where an unwavering commitment to a metric, in this case a body count, not only becomes futile but can have catastrophic effects. Ultimately, Tim concludes that even as a “proud nerd who believes in quantitative analysis”, “there is no substitute for looking at a problem, looking at the evidence and then taking responsibility for making your own decisions.” 

There is no need for Festival FOMO though, as all sessions are available to watch on demand online at FT Weekend Festival

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