The 23rd edition of London’s annual celebration of design is reaffirming the city’s status as a global creative capital. With some 300 events, running from 13 to 21 September, this year’s event brings together leading innovators, retailers and visionaries who capture the restless design spirit of the capital, honour cultural traditions and engage in critical dialogues on sustainability and technology. If you’re in town and eager to experience the very best of LDF, this curated list can be your essential guide.
Beacon by Lee Broom at Royal Festival Hall
One of the world’s most influential lighting designers — and a Spaces favourite — decamps to Royal Festival Hall with his striking new installation, Beacon. Supported by manufacturer BROKIS and consultant Materials Assemble, the work reimagines the humble streetlamp through an innovative glass-fusing process that upcycles discarded fragments into luminous forms. The result is a vast sculptural chandelier that references the Hall’s brutalist architecture and the spirit of the 1951 Festival of Britain, once hailed as a ‘beacon of change’.
Sustainability is at the heart of the project: once dismantled, its components can be repurposed as individual light fixtures, extending its narrative beyond the festival. More than an installation, Beacon serves as a public gathering point that creates a poetic dialogue with Big Ben across the river. At the stroke of the hour, its shades come alive in rhythm with the clock, underscoring London’s enduring creativity and its role as a global stage for design. Free
What Nelson Sees by Paul Cocksedge at Trafalgar Square
If you’ve wandered through the bustle of Trafalgar Square, you’ll know the towering monument to Admiral Horatio Nelson. Now, an installation by Paul Cocksedge, in collaboration with Google Arts & Culture, offers the rare chance to see the city from his vantage point. The striking experiential structure is composed of intersecting tubular forms reminiscent of miniature telescopes, offering visitors an AI-generated glimpse of London’s skyline through time from Nelson’s height. The cinematic vignettes distil the spirit of London as an ever-evolving metropolis and connect viewers to history. It cycles through the era of horse-drawn carriages and motorcars into a speculative future. Free
Beyond Foam at the Aram Gallery, Covent Garden
Wellness in furniture design goes beyond aesthetics, placing equal emphasis on comfort, ergonomics and emotional connection. To spotlight this, the Aram Gallery presents Beyond Foam, curated by research studio EcoLattice, which has developed a recyclable, scalable, affordable 3D-printed lattice material from elastomers such as TPU and automotive waste. Aram invited rising UK designers Arianna Kilachand, Harinad PM, Maria Bravo, Richard Price, Rupert Warries, Shivangi Vasudeva, Tom Howell and Tomas Thorsson to explore its potential, resulting in playful, interactive furniture concepts.
Highlights include ergonomic loungers, stress-relieving seating clusters Eco Fidget and CorpusForma, and a poetic reimagining of Eileen Gray’s iconic Bibendum Chair. Each design leverages EcoLattice’s technology to create lightweight forms optimised for improved posture and wellness. A hands-on material lab by exhibition designer Nina Zenhäusern allows visitors to engage directly with this next-generation foam replacement. Free
Vitra and Artek’s New Launches at Tramshed, Shoreditch
For design aficionados appreciate LDF’s perennial efforts to revive and reimagine historic furnishings. This year, Vitra and Artek transform their Shoreditch showroom, Tramshed, into a stage for landmark launches. Vitra unveils a major update to the Eames collection in sustainable European-sourced woods and refreshed palettes — highlights include extended La Fonda bases, a new outdoor Bikini pad for Wire Chairs, and the new Slow Sofa by Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec. Artek, meanwhile, marks its 90th anniversary with Gems from the Archive, a selection of reissued classics including rare designs from its rich history. Also debuting: the Artek + Marimekko collection, and an expanded Paul Smith collab. Free
Material Matters at Space House, Covent Garden
At the heart of all design lies material: the element that lends beauty, purpose and permanence to form. Now in its fourth edition, Material Matters opens at Space House, positioning itself not just as a showcase for innovation and sustainability but also a vital platform for business opportunity. Highlights include 3M’s DI-NOC architectural surface finishes and Anglepoise’s 90th anniversary celebration. MycoWorks exhibits its Reishi biomaterial with collaborations by five Danish studios. And Taiwanese brand FILIE Materials introduces recycled PVB-based alternatives from windshields.
Concurrently, the new four-day student design competition Only Natural opens fresh dialogue on bio-based solutions, and Futures Lab by ForEverydayLife and Fondation USM presents works from Studio Thus That and the Material Library of India. Tickets £12.
