London Design Festival 2024: The events and exhibitions not to miss

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

• Legacy of Tomorrow at art’otel Hoxton
• Craft x Tech at the V&A
• Design to Move exhibition by Technogym
• Duo by Melek Zeynep Bulut 
• Flying in Nuanced Colours exhibition at Uncommon Holborn
• Fortnum & Mason x Jaime Hayon
• Occhio
• Sunday Light at Montcalm East
• About The Author

On Saturday 14 September, London Design Festival (LDF) will return to the capital for a week of innovative design across art, interiors, fashion and technology. But with so much going on, it can be tricky to choose which of the hundreds of installations across the city to see. Lucky for you, Luxury London has put in the legwork to find the must-see exhibitions of London Design Festival 2024. Here are our favourites. 

Legacy of Tomorrow at art’otel Hoxton

Art’otel Hoxton, is launching a series of creative workshops and events to coincide with London Design Festival. The series of events are open to all, who can wander the permanent exhibitions in the gallery space of art’otel, or can book onto the industry, expert-led workshops to garner new skills and experience. The highlight? From 20-24 September, the hotel will play host to the merging of fashion, arts and technology in the format of Legacy of Tomorrow: a Metaverse exhibition with digital fashion by Kadine James. Developed in gaming platform Unreal 5.1, the exhibition spans a narrative arc with a moving image and longer passages in between for guests to explore the art in stunning resolution.  

Visit artotellondonhoxton.com

Craft x Tech at the V&A

The Victoria and Albert Museum will host cultural project Craft x Tech, as part of London Design Festival, within its Prince Consort Gallery. The exhibition, open until 13 October, will showcase a series of groundbreaking collaborations between six renowned international creators and master artisans from the Tohoku region of Japan. This innovative project – spearheaded by Hideki Yoshimoto, founder of the engineering design studio Tangent, and curated by Milan-based independent curator and author Maria Cristina Didero – brings together traditional craftsmanship and modern design, as well as an array of collaborations with distinguished creators. Don’t miss Dutch designer Sabine Marcelis as she presents traditional lacquered pieces, and Hideki Yoshimoto collaborating with Aizu Hongo Yaki artisans, the oldest type of pottery in the Tohoku region. 

Visit craft-x-tech.com

Design to Move exhibition by Technogym

From 14-19 September, wellness brand Technogym will bring its Design to Move exhibition to London from Milan. Celebrating Technogym’s 40th anniversary, the project was visually planned with acclaimed architect and designer Giulio Cappellini and curated by Bruno Cappellini, who inspired the artists to interpret the concept of wellness through their individual artistic and cultural lenses. Using a Technogym bench as a blank canvas, the exhibition will feature the designs of Kelly Hoppen, Nerio Alessandri, Myles Igwebuike, Elena Salmistraro, and Gustavo Martini. 

Visit londondesignfestival.com

Duo by Melek Zeynep Bulut 

Turkish-born, London-based designer Melek Zeynep Bulut will debut her latest installation, Duo, at Greenwich’s Old Royal Naval College from 14-22 September. The new work, located in the Painted Hall, marks another bold exploration by Melek into the realms of perception, space, and sensory experience. Set within the cavernous Painted Hall, a space originally designed by Sir James Thornhill in the 18th century, the installation employs an interdependent system of magnets, sensors, perception-altering surfaces, and acoustic reflectors that respond dynamically to the presence of visitors. Definitely one for the ‘gram. 

Visit ornc.org

Flying in Nuanced Colours exhibition at Uncommon Holborn

As part of London Design Week, Flying in Nuanced Colours arrives at Uncommon Holborn – a vibrant, immersive and large-scale series of installations designed by French paper-sculptor, Pauline Loctin. From 14 September, the bespoke commission from the B Corp-certified workspace provider will blend origami with multiple dimensions, while Loctin’s colour choices of chartreuse and hot pink were chosen specifically as two of the world’s favourite colours. 

The exhibition experience starts from outside Uncommon Holborn, where an undulating structure can be spotted from the glass-fronted entrance of the building. From here, the journey moves into the main hub of Uncommon Holborn, where the soaring paper installation featuring bird-like structures floats within the atrium. Visitors during London Design Festival will also have the opportunity to learn first-hand some of the techniques used and take-away their very own mini versions of the structures for them to feature in their own homes. 

Visit uncommon.co.uk

Fortnum & Mason x Jaime Hayon

Fortnum & Mason has partnered with artist and designer Jaime Hayon to create an immersive installation featured throughout its window displays in time for London Design Festival. Celebrating the British luxury retailers’ longstanding commitment to design and craftsmanship – and marking the 25th anniversary of Hayon’s distinguished art and design studio – the window installation, titled Celebration I, presents a visual story that captures Hayon’s creative spirit through whimsical silhouettes, dynamic shapes, and vibrant colours. The installation also features Malabarista: an intricate laser-cut panel taking over the Fortnum & Mason atrium. Depicting a man juggling stars and celestial elements, Malabarista symbolises Hayon’s perspective on creativity as a dynamic juggling act, where materials and experiences serve as tools for artistic exploration. 

Visit fortnumandmason.com

Occhio

Image: Laura Thiesbrummel

Coinciding with London Design Festival, luxury German lighting brand Occhio presents Luna: a new series of floating, celestial-inspired glass designs that can be controlled by contact-free gestures. This latest collection advances Occhio’s state-of-the-art technology and will be on display at the brand’s flagship in Fulham Road.

The highlight is the Lunanova chandelier, combining spectacular design with innovative technology: dark chrome mirrored Luna glass spheres in various sizes are arranged concentrically on a mirrored disk. The Occhio fireball float inside the spheres, providing powerful, directed light. And it wouldn’t be an Occhio chandelier if Lunanova didn’t offer fascinating control possibilities for magical lighting effects that go far beyond anything seen before. Available in three different dimensions and both ceiling-mounted and suspended, Lunanova unfolds its power as a centerpiece in high, prestigious rooms – a true interactive art installation..

Visit occhio.com

Sunday Light at Montcalm East

Shoreditch hotel Montcalm East will be hosting an array of exhibitions to celebrate London Design Festival. First up is Sunday Light, making its UK debut from 14-22 September which features LEDs that produce more than 30,000 lumens. Created by Nat Martin and Sean Hammett, who met while studying together at the Royal College of Art, it produces abundant, high quality light, replicating exposure to sunlight that improves mood, energy and alertness. Want to know more? Katherine Templar-Lewis of Kinda Studios will be leading a free panel discussion on how light affects the body and brain, how light is used in art, and when and why we notice good light at the hotel on 19 September from 6.30-8pm. 

Elsewhere during London Design Festival, discover Montcalm East’s Photographers in Residence Exhibition with Ravensbourne University. The permanent space, that’s been nurturing young talent since the hotel opened in 2021, features prints from four photographers that completed their residency at the hotel in 2023/2024.  

Visit londondesignfestival.com

Read more: Solitary in Stockwell: How London shaped the art of Van Gogh

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