Our third foray into the London Design Festival saw us take in the main two umbrella events, 100% Design at Earls Court and Tent London on the other side of town in the Truman Brewery. Both were significantly smaller this year (100% took up just one of the two halls it usually occupies). Tent felt a bit thin on the ground, but 100% benefitted from being smaller - the edit seemed more considered and the layout made more sense.
The same could be said for the festival as a whole. Things either felt a little disparate and thrown together or carefully curated to make sense of what's happening in design at the moment on a wider scale. Strict organisation around just two 'hubs', one in the east and one in the west, would be our advice to improve the coordination next year.
These are the things that caught our eye
Part Two
Halfway through the London Design Festival and, blessed with good weather, spirits are high. The second instalment saw us take in Tom Dixon's 'The Dock' and much of the Brompton Design district in the west of the city. Dixon created another 'hub' around his new premises at Portobello Dock and, though there were one or two notable highlights, we came away feeling it could have been a fifth of the size. Around the V&A things are curated a little better - Libby Sellers' showing of Dick Van Hoff's work in an old car park is exceptional and Nina Tolstrup's Pallet invasion of Jacqueline Rabun's showroom is ethereal, imaginative and well worth the wander to Hyde Park Corner...
The Pallet Project at Jacqueline Rabun
Elements by Dick Van Hoff at Libby Sellers
Part One
Much as we love design and London, the London Design Festival has in the past left us a little cold. Not through lack of effort, more by dint of the city’s scale and lack of coordination between events.
This year promised much though, according to Ben Evans, festival director, who answered our quibbles back in May. And after a gentle amble around town on the opening weekend, it does seem like things might be different this year – more coherent as a citywide event, more things of more substance, and above all, more things open at the start of the week so more time to cover it. These are our highlights thus far….
Designers in Residence at the Design Museum
Max Lamb at Johnson Trading Gallery
Size + Matter installations by Shigeru Ban and Marc Newson
The Tournament by Jaime Hayon, Trafalgar Square
Sori Yanagi tableware at Labour & Wait
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The artistry of Japanese wineFine wine from Japan may not yet register highly on the radars of most oenophiles, but for those who know, it's a hugely rewarding and rich tapestry of flavour. Drinks expert, Neil Ridley visits London's Luna Omakase for the launch of a new dedicated Japanese wine pairing menu
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In Los Angeles, Darling doesn’t want to be your average dinner spotVinyl, live-fire cooking, and California’s finest ingredients come together in this immersive new concept from a celebrated Southern chef
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'There is no way light and darkness are not in exchange with each other': step inside Christelle Oyiri’s sonic world in BerlinIn an explosion of light and sound, Christelle Oyiri explores celebrity, mythology and religion inside CANK, a former brutalist shopping centre in Berlin’s Neukölln
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A family home turns into an immersive exhibition space for London Design FestivalCeramicist Emma Louise Payne displays design in domestic surrounds for group show ‘The Objects We Live By’
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Ramzi Mallat’s London Design Festival installation is a bittersweet ode to BeirutCreated as a memorial to the 2020 Beirut Port Blast, Mallat's ‘Not Your Martyr’ installation at the V&A (until 19 October 2025) is made of 260 colourful glass ma’amouls
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A travelling exhibition of chairs hits the road for London Design Festival 2025Organised by Design Everything, ‘A Seat at the Table’ travels to different venues in the city, where the chairs support communal events
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The David Collins Foundation celebrates creativity in all its forms at London Design FestivalThe David Collins Foundation presents ‘Convergence’ at the Lavery during London Design Festival 2025 (on view until 19 September), featuring works from the Arts Foundation’s annual Futures Awards
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What not to miss at London Design Festival 2025We bring you the best new installations, exhibitions and products to launch at London Design Festival 2025 (13–21 September)
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Lee Broom’s brutalist-inspired ‘Beacon’ will light up London as Big Ben strikes the hourSet to pulse through London Design Festival 2025 (13-22 September) and beyond, the British industrial designer’s sculptural light installation on the South Bank draws on its surroundings
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Alex Tieghi-Walker unveils his plans for Brompton Design District 2025Ahead of London Design Festival 2025, we catch up with New York gallerist Alex Tieghi-Walker about his appointment as curator of the Brompton Design District programme
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‘R for Repair’ at London Design Festival displays broken objects, re-formedIn the second half of a two-part exhibition and as part of London Design Festival 2022, ‘R for Repair’ at the V&A displays broken objects, re-formed
