Introducing C&TH’s ‘Titans Of Design’ 2026/7
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5 days ago
Ten of Britain’s most lauded designers join the C&TH roll of honour – each one nominated by a Class of 2025 Titan
Last year, C&TH launched its 10 Titans of Design, a cohort of the most iconic British interior design studios. This year, we asked our Titans to pay it forward and nominate their peers – the design icons they most admire – to form the 10 Titans of 2026.
The Class Of 2025: The Titans Who Nominated
Emma Sims-Hilditch
Emma Sims-Hilditch founded her studio from her kitchen table in 2009. Today, the team is 40-strong and known for reenvisioning heritage buildings through a contemporary lens.
Katharine Pooley
Pooley calls herself a ‘design chameleon’, describing her client-first vision. A highly sought-after designer, her projects span chalets, beach villas, châteaux and country estates.
Nina Campbell
Beginning her venerable career at the age of 19, Campbell is repeatedly named the doyenne of design. She has set the rules for how an English country home should look.
Sophie Ashby
Ashby is at the forefront of next-generation design in more ways than one: in 2020 she co-founded United In Design, providing opportunities for underrepresented young designers.
Tim Gosling
Since founding his eponymous and acclaimed studio in 2005, Gosling has become a leading voice in championing traditional techniques within contemporary design.
Taylor Howes
As a duo, Karen Howes and Jane Landino have since 1993 created cheerfully colourful homes defined by understated glamour, deep personality and artistic sensibility.
Martin Hulbert
Alongside Jay Grierson, Hulbert has for two decades created celebrated spaces, including Coworth Park and The Grove hotel, alongside private homes.
Martin Brudnizki
‘Be brave’ is Brudnizki’s design philosophy. And this bears out with the maximalist and fabulous global hospitality projects he has built a name on.
Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler
World-famous since the 1930s, the studio is now led by Wendy Nicholls, who continues to design some of Britain’s – and the world’s – most notable homes.
Louise Bradley
Over a career spanning 30 years, Bradley has established herself as a leading interior decorator and furniture designer, known for her glamorous but un-shouty aesthetic.
Meet The Titans Of Design 2026
Albion Nord
Nominated by Louise Bradley
Individually, the four founders of Albion Nord – Ottalie Stride, Anthony Kooperman, Camilla Clarke and Ben Johnson – strike impressive figures. Together, they are formidable. They recently designed the interiors of Britannic Explorer, A Belmond Train, a roving testament to their ability to pull together meticulous craft (with collaborators counting Luke Edward Hall and Rubelli). The studio’s residential portfolio – which includes grand listed estates – often threads old and new, and exceptional antiques sourced by the team are also available to buy. ‘Albion Nord’s instinctive balance of past and present lends character,’ says Louise Bradley, ‘creating projects you would feel instantly at home in.’
Alidad
Nominated by Wendy Nicholls of Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler
Born in Tehran, Alidad Mahloudji was raised surrounded by rich Persian arts and textiles – a visual reference his work today often alludes to. But it was at Sotheby’s, during his years leading its Islamic Art and Textiles department, where he discovered a passion for interior styling. In 1985 Alidad Ltd was born, and his first project so enamoured legendary World of Interiors editor Min Hogg that Mahloudji’s career was well and truly launched. Wendy Nicholls says she admires his unique vision. ‘It’s based on a thorough knowledge of every aspect of interior design – historical and contemporary,’ she explains. ‘He produces work unlike anyone else in its concept and detail.’
Anouska Hempel
Nominated by Tim Gosling
Anouska Hempel is a glamourpuss in the literal sense: the actress-turned-hotelier-turned-designer was a Bond girl in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. But it’s her design career that has forged her legend. ‘It’s a rare person that has the ability to look at design detailing and literally turn it on its head,’ says Tim Gosling, who counts Hempel as a frequent collaborator (‘for over 40 years’). As a hotelier, she established one of the world’s first boutique hotels, Blakes London, its interiors defined by the sense of theatre and eclecticism she is known for. ‘The confident mix of ideas is truly remarkable. Sheer opulence and magic,’ continues Gosling. ‘Her legacy is, without question, groundbreaking in its originality.’
Carolynne Shenton
Nominated by Martin Hulbert
Martin Hulbert and Carolynne Shenton first met when the pair were creating rooms for immersive interiors spectacle WOW!house. ‘She has an elegant way with simple, natural and beautiful materials,’ says Hulbert. It is for Shenton’s work at Nobu Shoreditch that he nominated her, ‘where a wall of recycled bricks and tiles fits so perfectly into its Japanese-inspired aesthetic and East End location’. Shenton formed Studio Mica with Abigail Kendler in 2017, with an HQ in London and another in Margate. Though hospitality design is her critically acclaimed bread and butter, Shenton has designed a number of opulent penthouses and luxury villas across the world, from London to the Bahamas.
Francis Sultana
Nominated by Katharine Pooley
Francis Sultana is ‘a quiet force in the industry’, says Katharine Pooley. ‘His reputation is formidable and his designs to die for, yet you rarely hear about him.’ Madonna, Annie Lennox and Yana Peel certainly have, as Sultana has designed their homes. The Maltese-born, London-based designer is a go-to for international clientele in the know, particularly those seeking interiors with an artistic je ne sais quoi, as Sultana is CEO of London’s David Gill Gallery. He has designed historic hunting lodges, superyachts, palazzos and more, frequently crafting custom furniture to suit unique spaces.
Guy Goodfellow
Nominated by Emma Sims-Hilditch
‘I have long admired Guy Goodfellow’s work. He has a way of creating effortlessly beautiful interiors with a real sense of style and sophistication,’ says Emma Sims-Hilditch. Some of that sophistication stems from his background as a trained architect, which allows him to focus on the bones of a property as well as its decorative flourishes. His studio has been practising since 2002, and counts among its team a number of architects and draughtsmen as well as designers. Goodfellow has also forged a reputation for restoring listed period properties, a skill put to good use as he recently restored his own historic home in Lanarkshire, where he – charmingly – cares for a brace of Belted Galloway cows.
Joanna Wood
Nominated by Karen Howes & Jane Landino of Taylor Howes
‘Joanna Wood is a true design icon,’ says Karen Howes. ‘With over 40 years of experience, she has built an internationally recognised practice.’ Wood has shaped her pedigree across private residences and historic restorations alike, with projects spanning a converted Victorian school to Spanish castles. ‘She has long had the ability to mix classical and contemporary influences,’ continues Howes, ‘which in turn has begun to define modern British luxury interiors, blending tradition with contemporary living.’ Wood’s studio has in recent years become a family practice, too: her daughter Hattie Hansard is now part of the 15-strong team, intensifying an already personal client-designer dynamic.
Rita Konig
Nominated by Nina Campbell
We must be upfront: Rita Konig was nominated by her mother, Nina Campbell. But there’s no maternal sentimentality at play here – Konig, by her own right, is a formidable creative who threatens one day to unseat the design matriarch. Her career began in writing, with bylines in Vogue, The Telegraph, The New York Times and House & Garden, where she doled out design advice. An interior designer since 2012, Konig makes judicious use of colour in her work and steers clear of overdecoration; her design style is often described as ‘undone’. Those curious to get beneath the skin would do well to watch her course for Create Academy.
Susie Atkinson
Nominated by Sophie Ashby
It was when designing the early Soho House properties – namely, Babington House – that Susie Atkinson landed firmly on the map. Less concerned with recreating country chintz, Atkinson irrevocably evolved the English style. Sophie Ashby agrees: ‘Her influence on English interiors is far greater than she would ever claim herself. For years she has been creating beautiful, enduring work that has quietly shaped the way many of us think about decorating.’ You won’t, in short, find Atkinson embracing trends; her designs focus on longevity, and she’s known to turn to natural materials which offer something sensory as well as visual.
Veere Grenney
Nominated by Martin Brudnizki
New Zealand-born Veere Grenney nearly didn’t become a designer, so enamoured was he by a nomadic lifestyle that saw him travel the so-called ‘hippie trail’ in the 1970s. An exceptional villa owned by an English couple in Morocco changed his course forever. He would come to work under the auspices of Mary Fox Linton and at Sibyl Colefax and John Fowler, before creating his eponymous firm in 1996. ‘Grenney’s meticulous attention to detail, texture and materiality brings depth, character and a sense of permanence to every project,’ says Martin Brudnizki. ‘His influence on contemporary decorating is immense. His standards will inspire designers for generations to come.’
