Chicago—Chicago Design Week kicked off June 8-10 with NeoCon, the commercial design industry’s largest trade show, hosted here at The Mart. This year’s theme “Where Design Connects,” was evident in the hustle and bustle of showrooms and exhibition spaces—many of which featured the latest in commercial flooring design.
Attendance at NeoCon 2026 was on par with last year’s show according to pre-registration numbers. “Registration right up to the beginning of the show was based about where it was in 2025, slightly over,” said Byron Morton, vice president and co-head of leasing, NeoCon, told FCNews. “But I think the real telling number is that our hotel room block was up 10%, and I think from the energy and even the showroom visit numbers, that increase seems to resonate.
NeoCon had several new activations this year that drew swaths of attendees to these halls. For the first-time ever the show held a Preview Day on Sunday, with attendees able to spend quality time with participating brands. “Feedback so far is unanimously positive from all market segments, from showrooms and temporary exhibitors,” Morton explained.
At the same time, Design Days at Fulton Market continued to draw the design community to its streets. Now in its third year, the event counts five flooring suppliers among its featured showrooms: J+J, Tarkett, Mohawk, Milliken and Mannington Commercial.
(For more on NeoCon see the June 15th print edition of FCNews.)
