Italian furniture company Molteni&C is celebrating the legacy of Gio Ponti with a pop-up exhibition designed by the brand’s creative director Vincent Van Duysen. A highlight: the showroom will host screenings of Vivere alla Ponti, Francesca Molteni’s documentary paying tribute to the design legend. Pictured, ‘D.154.2 01’ armchair, by Gio Ponti

16-24 September; 245-249 Brompton Road, London SW3 2EP
 

Poltrona Frau is launching a limited-edition, 225-piece collection of the ‘Vanity Fair’ armchair this year. The patterned pieces will be on view at its Chelsea showroom, and in addition, a workshop for local schoolchildren will be led by Design Museum director Deyan Sudjic, followed by a talk. It’s all for a good cause too – the sale of the collection will support the construction of the Farm Children’s Museum in Favara, Sicily.

16-24 September, workshop on 21 September; 147 Fulham Road, London SW3 6SN

This year, Somerset House will focus on innovation in different design disciplines with ‘Design Frontiers’, uniting fashion, product design and graphics under one umbrella event. The various exhibitions taking over the Terrace Rooms and West Wing Galleries include ‘My Canvas’, an exhibition by Kvadrat comprising conceptual installations using its textiles by Teruhiro Yanagihara (pictured), BCXSY, GamFratesi and more.

18-24 September; Somerset House, London WC2R 1LA

Eight works in stone have been peppered throughout the Design Museum, inside and out this year. The likes of Eduardo Souto de Moura, Paulo David (pictured), Michael Anastassiades and Peter Saville were invited to explore the technical qualities and processes of marble and limestone – among the results, a slide and public seating.

16-24 September; 224-238 Kensington High St, London W8 6AG

Returning for its second year, the south-east London design trail spans areas from Deptford to Brockley, celebrating local craftspeople. Highlights include an exhibition at Peckham’s Copeland Gallery, where 13 designers have been invited to go back to basics and explore the fundamental qualities of water; and Irish studio Superfolk, which is showing its latest launches at Simple Shape in Brockley. Pictured, design by Unit Lab, part of the ‘Water’ exhibition

23-24 September; various locations across south-east London
 

Working in collaboration with Conran + Partners, Amsterdam-based food designer Ido Garini of Studio Appétit is bringing an all-singing project to King’s Cross restaurant German Gymnasium. There, a food and design extravaganza will include a Bauhaus-inspired installation and tastings running throughout the London Design Festival.

18-24 September; 1 King’s Boulevard, London N1C 4BU

Italian designer Adam Nathaniel Furman has been studying the architecture of Rome since 2014; this exhibition includes a series of models he created over the past few years plus a new, site-specific installation, Pasteeshio, a 3D-printed glazed ceramic work.

16 September – 10 December; 3 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London WC2A 3BP

MINI LIVING returns for its second Landmark Project, this year creating a micro-house in collaboration with architect Sam Jacobs. Exploring the future of urban habitats in cities, the space features a shared kitchen and micro-library for the public to interact with during the show. Jacobs was inspired by London’s penchant for geometric façades, reflected in the mirrored outer surface of his structure.

16-24 September; OXO Tower Wharf Courtyard, London SE1 9PH

Matteo Cibic’s conceptual works are coming to play at Seeds Gallery. The Italian designer’s latest body of work was inspired by humanist creatives – biologist Ernst Haeckel and artist Luigi Serafini to name a few. The exhibition sees a mixture of paper, ceramics, fur and digital elements realised in anthropomorphic forms, touching on notions of evolution and existence.

16 September – 8 October; 4 Thurloe Place Mews, London SW7 2HL

Faye Toogood has offered up one of her aluminium ‘Spade’ chairs to 50 fellow creatives, from 6A Architects to fashion designer Phoebe English. In return, each of them has donated a piece of their own to her exhibition. The items respond to the British designer’s aesthetics, and celebrate the idea of trade and collection. What’s more, visitors can also enjoy a site-specific installation by food designers Arabeschi di Latte. Now that’s food for thought.

16-24 September; The Garage, 1 North Terrace, London SW3 2BA

Chelsea Harbour is a place to learn, design and explore this year. The eclectic, jam-packed line-up at Design Centre Chelsea Harbour spans hands-on workshops and talks from the likes of Patricia Urquiola and Nipa Doshi. The Design Centre is undergoing an expansion, with a host of new showrooms set to join its roster of luxury design players.

17-22 September; Lots Road, London SW10 0XE

Flourishing creative artery Design Junction returns to King’s Cross for its second year of pop-ups, exhibitions and installations. New projects inside include Wallace Sewell’s inaugural rug collection and a celebration of OMK’s most iconic designs, in addition to an Adam Nathaniel Furman-designed pavilion by Turkish Ceramics in the centre of Granary Square. Pictured, ‘Tokyo’ stool, by OMK

21-24 September; Granary Square, London N1C 4AA
 

The South Kensington hub returns with a solo exhibition by set designer and Panerai London Design Medal winner Es Devlin, in addition to an immersive light installation by Flynn Talbot (pictured), an outdoor stone lace structure by architects Elias and Yousef Anastas, and a 3D tapestry by Ross Lovegrove made in collaboration with Alcantara.

16-24 September; Victoria and Albert Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 2RL

Located in Mayfair – the newest district on the London Design Festival circuit – Sketch has collaborated with creative studio Matter of Stuff on an exhibition featuring works by 13 different designers. Look out for new launches by Sabina Belfiore Lucovich and Glen Baghurst, and drink up more design with a flight of bespoke cocktails concocted by Sketch’s in-house drinks maestros.

19-24 September; 9 Conduit Street, London W1S 2XG

This festival’s new Mayfair design route includes the latest works from Fredrikson Stallard, in an exhibition titled ‘Intuitive Gestures’. The London-based design studio will showcase experimentations in acrylic, alabaster, and metal, including sculptural tables, architectural shelving and artful mirrors. Pictured, ‘Antarctica’ dining table, by Fredrikson Stallard, 2017

12-28 September; 2-4 Kings Street, London SW1 6QL

Hosted in East London’s Truman Brewery, the London Design Fair boasts an increasingly international line-up of craft and design, with Portugal, Sweden, and the Netherlands all in the spotlight. USA has been chosen as this year’s guest country and its pavilion – curated by Sight Unseen – features designs by Ladies & Gentlemen Studio, Pat Kim and Bower. Pictured, rubber side tables, by Slash Objects, at the USA pavilion. Photography: Erika Lapresto

21-24 September; 26 Hanbury Street, E1 6QR
 

Mayfair’s Mazzoleni Gallery is launching a new series of collaborations – ‘Mazzoleni Invites’ – and first up is Dimore Gallery. Delving into Mazzoleni’s archive and their own collections, Dimore founders Britt Moran and Emiliano Salci have created five different rooms (living room pictured) inspired by post-war Italian art. Visible only through a porthole, each room is no more than a mise en scène – you can look but you can’t touch.

7-24 September; 27 Albemarle Street, London W1S 4HZ

British designer Lee Broom is continuing his yearlong celebration for his studio’s tenth birthday. Following on from his whimsical carousel showcase in Milan, Broom will present a selection of the firm’s most important designs from the last decade – this time in a mysterious, all-black colour way, against a portentous backdrop in his Shoreditch showroom.

20-24 September; 95 Rivington Street, London EC2A 3AY

The Jane Wither-curated Brompton Design District will host designers and brands, focusing on the stories behind their furniture and objects. Staged across three four-storey townhouses in South Kensington, exhibitions include collective Okolo’s photographic show of modernist architecture, and Peter Pilotto’s fusion of fashion and furniture. Pictured, bench, by Pedro Ramírez Vázquez, at Antropological Museum, Mexico City, 1964. Photography: Okolo/Adam Štěch

16-24 September; 2-4 Cromwell Place, London SW7 2JE