London Design Festival 2024 runs from 14 to 22 September, and there is – as ever – more to take in across the city than a single pair of eyes or feet could possibly manage. That's where we can help. Here’s our guide – researched over the preceding weeks – to the places, products and people we will be seeking out.
London Design Festival 2024: what to see
sketch Art & Design 2024
12 September – 10 November
sketch, 9 Conduit Street, London, W1S 2XG
In collaboration with London Design Festival and Mayfair Design District, restaurant and gallery Sketch is back with its annual Art & Design exhibition. Titled ‘Dreamscapes’ the exhibition is in collaboration with three artists and designers, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, Paul Cocksedge and the emerging Ida Immendorff, who have added their personal touch to Sketch’s playful spaces. The overall theme nods to the heritage of the 18th-century building, including its deep rooted history with the suffragettes. Read our interview with Sketch founder Mourad Mazouz.
Design Everything x Kindred
14 – 22 September
Kindred, 15 Mount Pleasant London, WC1X 0AR
Design Everything, a design community and collaborative platform striving to bridge the gap between emerging designers and clients, has invited 18 London-based designers to collaborate with Kindred, a cultural hub for music, objects and vinyl, for the London Design Festival. To design for such a vibrant space, the artists were given objects which were categorised into form and function, with each designer encouraged to pick an object to redesign, allowing them to explore and expand upon their own practice. The outcomes range across various materials, including steel, aluminium, wood, ceramics, creating a playfully tactile space.
Bill Amberg Studio Marks 40 Years with Retrospective
17 – 20 September
White Collar Factory, 1 Old Street Yard, London EC1Y 8AF
Bill Amberg Studio marks its 40th anniversary with a curated retrospective during the London Design Festival. Four decades of design are celebrated through iconic works from its Rocket Bag, which holds a place in the permanent collections of both London's V&A and New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, to bespoke furniture, interiors and luxury products. The studio which was founded in 1984, will encourage visitors to discover early collaborations, and step into ‘Bill’s Cabinet of Curiosities’, which includes never-before-seen prototypes, and glimpse into the creative world behind-the-scenes at the Studio’s workshop.
Craft x Tech at the V&A
14 September – 13 October
Victoria & Albert Museum, London, Prince Consort Gallery
Following its successful Tokyo debut at Kudan House in May, Craft x Tech will be hosted at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. The project promoted by Hideki Yoshimoto, founder of the engineering design studio Tangent, and curated by Wallpaper's contributing editor Maria Cristina Didero, explores the symbiotic relationship of craftsmanship with art and design. It unites six craft districts from Japan's Tohoku region along with creators including Sabine Marcelis, Studio SWINE, Ini Archibong, Yoichi Ochiai, Michael Young and Hideki Yoshimoto. Each project celebrates cultural exchange to merge traditional craftsmanship with cutting edge technology.
Annie Frost Nicholson's K67 kiosk
3 September – 3 December
Coal Drops Yard, Kings Cross
‘How can we develop the skills to be more vulnerable and dispel thoughts of self-loathing and ego?’ This is what London-based artist Annie Frost Nicholson asked herself when tackling the subject of shame. As a result she designed The Juicy Booth in collaboration with K67 Berlin and The Loss Project. The kiosk is multi-sensory and uses colour, light and music, providing a refuge and sanctuary for visitors to explore the complex emotion of shame. Inside the kiosk, LED monitors spell out visitors’ confessions. If a visitor types that they are feeling anxious, the system maps their emotions with coordinates that correspond to a responsive colour spectrum. In the ten minute allocated slots the aim is for the visitor to leave happier and lighter.
The Plunkett Plan
18- 22 September
twentytwentyone, 18c River Street, London, EC1R 1XN
British designer William Plunkett (1928-2013) was a formative figure in the post-war design industry, intertwining his flair for engineering with his love for furniture design. twentytwentyone will present an archive of Plunkett's designs. The retrospective celebrates his broad ouevre, from the 1961 Aeropreen Award-winning chair to his collaborations with Christopher Farr Cloth and beyond. The Plunkett Plan demonstrates the evolution of Plunkett's design language through his pioneering approach to form, materials and commitment to reductionism.
Christopher Farr x Fondation Arp
16 - 22 September
Christopher Farr Studio, 18 Calvin St, E1 6HF, Shoreditch Design Triangle
Luxury rug brand Christopher Farr has collaborated with Fondation Arp, to present two new rugs. The hand knotted ‘Etude Ligne, 1941’, and CF Editions hand tufted ‘Aubette Study’ are inspired by the original artworks of Swiss artist and designer Sophie Taeuber-Arp. She was a key figure in the pre-WWII European art scene, and followed the Dada movement, which inspired her abstract sculptural head image that became a signature in her designs. The installation will include printed linen developed by Christopher Farr Cloth and furniture from 8 Holland Street.
Chandigarh Furniture by Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret
7 September to 4 October
Blue Mountain School 9 Chance St, London E2 7JB
Blue Mountain School presents an exhibition of historic furniture from the private collection of British-Indian collector, dealer and developer, Rajan Bijlani. The rare collection consists of furniture designed by Pierre Jeanneret and Le Corbusier for the Northern Indian city of Chandigarh in the early 1950s. Pieces were inspired by the city’s architecture and include the High Court Sofa Set, which was designed for the High Court with a timber frame; the Square Library Table, one of only twenty made for the Punjab University; and two Committee Chairs.
Molteni Mondo. An Italian Design Story by Molteni&C
14 – 22 September
Brompton Design District
Celebrating 90 years of design and innovation, Molteni&C is launching the brand’s first monograph in London. The Italian design behemoths have created an immersive installation in its flagship store on Brompton Road, and proceedings will be marked by a talk with Michael Anastassiades, whose 123 chair and Card bookcase for Molteni were standout highlights from Salone 2024. Focusing on Brompton Design District’s theme of ‘The Practice of Learning’, the conversation will dive into the power of collaboration and the role of design as a bridge between past, present and future.
Poltrona Frau with Faye Toogood: 'A Squashed Space'
14 – 22 September
157-153 Fulham Road, London, SW3 6S
Designer Faye Toogood takes over Italian brand Poltrona Frau’s Fulham flagship store for London Design Festival. The installation titled ‘A Squashed Space’ is a charismatic portmanteau of Italian refinement and English tradition showcasing the collaborative Squash collection, which was presented earlier this year and featured in Wallpaper’s latest design directory. The store is a backdrop for a captivating display, draped in leather with tactile furnishings, a blend which Toogood describes with signature wit and whimsy: ‘I’m thinking of this collection as English Folk with Italian Horsepower’.
APPARATUS: Open Gallery
16 – 17 September
Apparatus, 7 Mount Street, London W1K 3EH
The New York-based design studio hops across the pond to host an open gallery during this year’s London Design Festival. Informed by theatre and literature, Apparatus will present an array of lighting furniture and objects, including new editions to the Horsehair lighting collection and Cylinder series. The customisable, modular system has been somewhat augmented, emerging as different characters with vim and vigour. The Horsehair series welcomes ‘9 Pendant’ with columns of hair, brass and etched glass - signature elements of equine extravagance, which delight us enormously.
The Sun, My Heart by Marjan van Aubel
14 – 22 September
G16, New Wing, Somerset House Strand, London WC2R 1LA
Connect with the power of the sun in van Aubel’s immersive installation. 'The Sun, My Heart' uses a series of 70 specially modified lights inspired by the Dutch designer’s ‘Sunne’ solar lights, to create a constellation which charts the sun’s daily cycles from dawn to dusk. Commissioned by London Design Festival, in partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies, the installation evokes an emotional response, designed to synchronise the rhythm of visitors' hearts with solar rhythms.
Barbie x Greater Palm Springs by Nina Tolstrup of Studiomama
14 – 22 September
Strand Aldwych, London, WC2R 1ES
Mid-century modern architecture is celebrated through a Barbie lens, in a landmark project by Nina Tolstrup of Studiomama, in collaboration with Barbie and Greater Palm Springs.’Pavillions of Wonder’ are three pavilions inspired by Barbie’s 1960s Dreamhouses and the modernist architecture of Palm Springs. The imaginative pavilions are mildly surreal, with a desert-inspired infinity garden, geometric structures and swirling facades; a nod to modernist architecture and design, saturated in Barbie’s trademark pink.
The Wax Building opening exhibition
14 – 22 September
4 Garden Walk, Shoreditch EC2A 3EQ
The Wax Building is set to open during the London Design Festival, nestling into its Shoreditch location. The former Victorian factory has been transformed into four storeys, with an amalgamation of product design, lighting, furniture and interiors taking over each of its floors. On the basement-level floor a new London-based lighting company LightMass displays its illuminating structures. Furniture brand Cozmo takes over the ground floor, with Tamart setting up shop on the first floor, a design and furniture brand founded by architect Amos Goldreich. On the second floor Minimalux, known for its simple yet functional products, displays its work across the space.
Sophie Lou Jacobsen x de Gournay
19 September – mid-October
De Gournay showroom SW3 6EP
Artist and designer Sophie Lou Jacobson has teamed up with heritage wallpaper brand de Gournay to unveil a collection of new pieces including an array of vases, candle sconces, pendant lights, and mirrors titled 'Tulipa'. Hand-crafted, each piece offers a historical touch to any interior, gently nodding to de Gournay's renowned Chinoiserie wallpapers, and boasting a deep understanding of 18th and 19th-century furniture and decor. The de Gournay showroom will display the glass and ceramic objects which is an expansion of Jacobsen’s 'Giardino Segreto' (Secret Garden) series of floral-motif vases and candle holders that launched in May 2023.
‘Together In Battersea’ by POoR Collective x Battersea Power Station
20 September – 20 October
Battersea Power Station Turbine Hall A
Inspired by community, Power Out of Restriction (POoR Collective) has partnered with Battersea Power Station to create an installation inspired by the surrounding neighbourhood (read our interview with founder Shawn Adams). POoR Collective will also host a series of workshops for Wandsworth-based school children and youth groups to design an exciting piece of public art themed around ‘‘What does Battersea mean to you?’. This will be displayed in the Grade II* listed building’s Turbine Hall A during the London Design Festival.
'Communion' by Giles Tettey Nartey
14 - 22 September
V&A Cromwell Road, SW7 2RL
British-Ghanaian designer Giles Tettey Nartey, showcases his 'Communion' table which was specially commissioned for Wallpaper* Class of '24 exhibition in Milan. With support from AHEC and crafted with Amercian Hard maple by Jan Hendzel, the designer explores cultural traditions through the rituals of domestic life in Ghana. Nartey designed the table for the making fufu–a West African staple food, which is made by pounding cassava into a dough. ' Communion' is designed to bring together family and friends in the shared act of making food.
‘Vert’ by AHEC, Diez Office and OMC°C
14 September-14 October
The Parade Ground at Chelsea College of Art
American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) presents ‘Vert’, designed by industrial design practice Diez Office, and in partnership with climate farming experts Office for Mirco Climate Cultivation (OMC°C). Presented at the Parade Ground at Chelsea College of Art, this project was designed with a clear mission in mind- to propose an innovative architectural solution for cooling cities, while also providing green spaces, urban biodiversity, and naturally integrating with existing infrastructure. The design consisted of a series of ten metre tall timber sails, which are covered in climbing plants, offering a cool and calming space in the bustle of the city.
‘BLOND LABORATORY’ by BLOND
16 – 22 September
1 Kingsland Road, Shoreditch, London, E28AA
Industrial designers BLOND have asked seven designers to partake in its curated exhibition ‘Blond Laboratory’. The premise is to encourage ‘real-world’ inspiration over digital. BLOND asked each designer to create a response to artefacts they sourced- things that might be forgotten in an attic or left in a charity shop all within a budget of £20. Designers include: Jon Marshall (Pentagram), Form Us With Love, Julie Richoz (Julie Richoz Studio), Maddalena Casadei (Maddalena Casadei Studio) and James Melia (BLOND).
‘10 x 10’ by Floor_Story
Cairo Studios
Nile Street, London, N1
Rug dealer Floor_Story presents an exhibition of ten new editions from some of its iconic collaborations. Located at Floor_Story’s Old Street studio, the ‘10 x 10’ series will be presented together for the first time, with new editions from Henry Holland, Kangan Arora, Camille Walala, Adam Nathaniel Furman, Kitty Joseph, 2LG, John Booth, Gill Thorpe, Flock Studio and Diane Bresson. The fun and colourful exhibition celebrates the evolution of each designer, from the original partnerships, to how it has evolved to date. With experimentation in colour, techniques and influences, the exhibition showcases each designer's skill and craftsmanship.
‘Off The Shelf’ by Rio Kobayashi and Webb Yates
14 September 2024 to 28 February 2025
Olympia London
Olympia hosts its first ever London Design Festival pavilion, designed by Wallpaper* Class of ’24 artist Rio Kobayashi. Titled ‘Off the Shelf’, the installation, created alongside award-winning engineering firm Webb Yates, is an amalgamation of its surrounding architecture and the traditional Japanese wooden homes of Kobayashi's childhood. It is a seamless blend of science and craft, integrating traditional techniques alongside contemporary engineering. Using limited screws, joints, or material alterations; it is instead assembled from standard components cleverly weighted, or clamped together. This method ensures stability and durability while allowing the pavilion to be easily disassembled back into its original, off-the-shelf parts, the bulk of which can be returned, reused, or resold, demonstrating an innovative approach to sustainability. Acting as a platform to showcase other craftspeople and designers, it will be open from the 14 September 2024 to 28 February 2025.
‘The Muffin Collection’ by George Smith x Commune Design
Launches 18 September
George Smith flagship
SW6 2EH
George Smith, the English furniture and fabric company, and Commune Design, the California design studio celebrate ten years of creative partnership, revealing The Muffin Collection during the London Design Festival. The creative duo’s latest collection draws inspiration from the art deco movement, intertwined with a contemporary flair. Drawing inspiration from French interior designer Jean Michel-Frank, this collection encapsulates a spirit of playful elegance and is available in a sofa, armchair, chaise, and ottoman.
‘The Practice of Learning’ in the Brompton Design District
14 – 22 September
Located around the Brompton Design District
London’s longest running design district fails to disappoint, continuing to showcase a variety of designers with a programme of temporary exhibitions focusing on experimental design, also sitting alongside a series of new collection launches and events from international design brands. This year, they have been asked to respond to the theme ‘The Practice of Learning’ curated by Jane Withers Studio. Designers participating include: Marco Campardo, Guan Lee, Attua Aparicio, Sarah Van Gameren, Andu Masebo, Michael Anastassiades, Patricia Urquiola, Studio AMOS, Giles Tettey Nartey, Nelly Ben Hayoun-Stépanian, POoR Collective and RCA Class of 2024 Design Products Graduates. Design showrooms based in the District launching new collections and design pieces include Cassina, Occhio, Liaigre, Giorgetti and Poltrona Frau while Molteni&C celebrate their 90th anniversary with a new monograph Molteni Mondo. An Italian Design Story.
‘Well Made: What it means today’ by Pearson Lloyd
14–22 September
Yorkton Workshops, E2 8NH
Pearson Lloyd, a London-based design studio known for designing functional beautiful and efficient systems that serve the needs of clients, and society at large, presents its curated exhibition to redefine the meaning of ‘well made’ in relation to contemporary challenges. In seeking contributions to the exhibition, Pearson Lloyd sent invitations to a diverse group of people and practices from across the design landscape, offering unique interpretations of certain designs varying across hand-held proportions, low cost and ease of access.
'Fields of Vision' by Blessed Foundation
Closes 19 September
Blessed Foundation
6 Stannary StreetSE11 4AA
Blessed Foundation presents its group exhibition ‘Fields of Vision’ during the London Design Festival, celebrating the works from three US-based multidisciplinary artists: Ai Xia, Jamica El, and Alfredo Salazar-Caro. Integrating them into the Blessed Foundation space, the artists encourage visitors to question their relationship with nature, society and the future of sustainable practices.
Material Matters
18 – 21 September
Bargehouse
Oxo Tower Wharf
Nested into the Oxo Tower Wharf on London’s Southbank, Material Matters returns again bringing together over 50 globally renowned designers, manufacturers and organisations to showcase the many interpretations of how the design industry can address issues around the circular economy and why material intelligence is so important to all our lives. There will be two themes this year; ‘Biodesign’ and 'Working with Waste’ .The first one is the innovative use of bio-materials, showing products made from mud to orange peel. The second theme is waste. The exhibitors delve into working with recycled plastics, textiles and more, discovering another us rather than burying or burning it.
