The city’s celebration of all things design is back for another year
Running from 13th – 21st September, London Design Festival showcases London as a design capital of the world through events, fairs, installations, pop-ups and exhibitions happening all over town. LDF also highlights different Design Districts across the city from Bankside to Shoreditch Design Triangle to Park Royal, and spotlights the greatest design talent from around the world. From collaborations with the V&A (not surprising given that it’s one of the world’s leading art and design museums) to Landmark Projects, here are all the best things to see at this year’s London Design Festival.
What Nelson Sees by Paul Cocksedge
Artist Paul Cocksedge is giving you a chance to see what Admiral Nelson sees from the top of his column with this sculpture. Made from a series of intersecting tubes that form telescopic viewing portals, the piece allows viewers to see Nelson’s perspective of London fifty metres up. You’ll also be able to see vignettes that showcase how London has changed over the past 200 years and what the city might look like in the future.
Sat 13th – Tues 16th September 2025
Nelson’s Column, Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 5DN
@paulcocksedge
Beacon by Lee Broom
This sculptural lighting installation, designed by Lee Broom and positioned outside the Royal Festival Hall, takes inspiration from the Southbank’s brutalist architecture and the legacy of the 1951 Festival of Britain. Made from upcycled discarded glass fragments, Beacon illuminates with a choreographed light show as Big Ben strikes the hour, and once the festival is over, the components can be repurposed into individual light fixtures.
Sat 13th – Sun 21st September 2025
Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX
londondesignfestival.com
There’s No Place by Jakkai Siributr
With his textile installation There’s No Place at the V&A, artist Jakkai Siributr is exploring themes of identity, belonging and home, inspired by his personal attempt to understand the ongoing refugee crisis on the Thai-Burma border. The project creates a dialogue between the displaced Shan communities at Thailand’s Koung Jor Shan Refugee Camp and viewers around the world, with a specially made soundscape featuring field recordings of where these refugees live accompanying the piece.
Sat 13th – Sun 21st September 2025
V&A South Kensington, Cromwell Rd, London SW7 2RL
@jakkai
Love Always, London by Jessica Spowart
Write a love letter to London and leave it for other people to find and share, with a little help from Jessica Spowart, this LDF. Her project, Love Always, London, invites people to write a short phrase that expresses their love for London, which’ll be turned into augmented reality typographic sculptures added to parks, green spaces and design districts. These will form part of a collaborative love letter to the city, accessible by walking the design trail with an online guide.
Sun 14th – Fri 19th September 2025
Bankside, London SE1 9TG
jessicaspowart.com
The Sun Is But a Morning Star by Qloud Collective
Presented by Qloud Collective, The Sun is but a Morning Star is a group exhibition featuring nine international artists working at the intersection of craft, material, and intimacy. Held at Great Pulteney Street Gallery, the show, inspired by Henry David Thoreau’s evocative line “The sun is but a morning star”, displays works that invite the viewer to pause, reflect and reconnect with the physical during a time of urgency and crisis in the world.
Sun 14th – Sun 21st September 2025
36 Great Pulteney St, London W1F 9NS
qloudcollective.com
Material Matters 2025
Material Matters, the fair that celebrates material intelligence, is back at LDF for the fourth year, this time at the new location of Space House in Holborn. Running across four days, there are installations, exhibitor spaces and products from over 40 brands, designers, makers, and manufacturers to explore.
Weds 17th – Sat 20th September 2025
1 Kemble Street (Kingsway), London WC2B 4AN
materialmatters.design
JOMONJOMON by Ryunosuke Okazaki
Artist Ryunosuke Okazaki, who was born and raised in Hiroshima, Japan, uses peace as a central theme of his work, and he’s making his European debut with the display of his JOMONJOMON series. The pieces – futuristic garments featuring curves and symmetrical forms – are inspired by the sculptural pottery of Japan’s Jōmon period (c.14,500 to 300 BC), which express reverence for nature and hope for blessings. The seven pieces on show are accompanied by a short film that explores his creative process.
Sat 13th – Sun 21st September 2025
V&A South Kensington, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 2RL
vam.ac.uk
House of ICON
For three days, House of ICON is taking over Shoreditch Town Hall with a celebration of the spectrum of interior design. Brands like Dare Studio, Thonet, Ultrafabrics, La Erre, Arpa, and Masierore will be transforming the rooms with everything from Scandi minimalism to bold maximalism. 2LG Studio will also be presenting ‘You Can Sit With Us’, their inclusive group show in a salon setting featuring queer designers, and Lois O’Hara will be creating a bar installation in her signature curved style.
Tues 16th – Thurs 18th September 2025
Shoreditch Town Hall, 380 Old St, London EC1V 9LT
designlondon.co.uk
More Than Human at The Design Museum
With More Than Human, an exhibition featuring the work of more than 50 artists, designers and architects, The Design Museum is asking why has design focused on the needs of humans when we exist alongside billions of animals, plants and other living beings? The show offers a new perspective on design, namely how to design with and for the natural world in the face of a climate emergency.
Until Sun 5th October 2025
224-238 Kensington High Street, London W8 6AG
designmuseum.org
