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London Design Festival 2022 is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. The major global design event will be held from September 17 till September 25, 2022, all across the city with an array of installations, exhibitions, and design launches. The design scene directed by Ben Evans CBE in the United Kingdom has grown exponentially over the last few decades, and as the world continues to face COVID-19 pandemic, cost of living crisis and impending recession, the festival's role as a platform for the creative industries has become more important—now more than ever. Over 300 design activities will be held across the capital city over the course of nine days by 12 distinct design districts, design fairs, and partners.
South Kensington Estates established the Brompton Design District, the oldest design district, in 2007. The district is a component of the contemporary design festival and creates an intriguing design interplay between a presentation of recognised companies and a specially selected programme by Jane Withers on the annual theme 'Make yourself at home.' The subject, as the name implies, will be led by a debate about home, its value and fragility in uncertain times.
Brompton, which extends from the Victoria and Albert Museum to Brompton Road, is a prominent design destination internationally. A steady stream of international design brands including Boffi, Cassina, Kartell, Lema, Liaigre, Meridiani, Molteni&C|Dada, Oka, Poliform, Poltrona Frau and Sé Chic London among others are located alongside renowned cafés and fashion shops making it one of the most significant cultural quarters in the world.
For LDF 2022, the district will be hosting an assortment of talks, design installations, art installations, exhibitions, and events, all of which will showcase the works of young and established designers alongside the works of leading brands. Cromwell Place will mark the district’s hub and will host four major design exhibitions from Brompton’s curated programme. Furthermore, the buzzing hub will also host Sony Design’s landmark project Into Sight, a life-sized media platform installation that will play on the sensorial effects of transforming simple boundary surfaces into infinite vistas through lighting design, colourful shifts, and sound.
Another exciting event in the district is going to be a thought-provoking discussion on the craft of recital. Kartell, in collaboration with STIR presents the 'Art of Storytelling'. The talk programme will feature five cross-disciplinary designers who will explore the concept of storytelling and narration.
Some interesting exhibitions that will grace the design district include Martino Gamper and Friends’ ‘No Ordinary Home’. The exhibition will be focused on objects to hold a plant and will bring together a selection of works by 14 designers, including Martino Gamper, Gemma Holt, Jochen Holz, Max Lamb and Bethan Laura Wood. Furthermore, the SEEDS Gallery will present ‘Two Kettles, No Sofa’ where product designer James Shaw and writer Lou Stoppard will explore the theme of moving in together. The presentation will incorporate the compliments and contrasts of two different personalities that come together to create a fictive environment.
While a discussion on design through immersive exhibitions will be a sensorial treat for the visitors throughout the district, the Design Museum, London will host three important exhibitions including ‘Yinka Ilori: Parables of Happiness’ which brings the multidisciplinary designer’s colourful practice and distinctive style to the platform; ‘Weird Sensation Feels Good: The World of ASMR’ and ‘The Future of Ageing’ curated by Design Age Institute and the Design Museum.
A lot of furniture and luxury interior design brands will also be exhibiting their latest product design and other collaborative works including Poliform’s ‘Incontri’, a special project with photographer Paolo Roversi at his flagship Chelsea store and B&B Italia’s radically renewed version of Mario Bellini’s Le Bambole. Luxury Italian brand Cassina will showcase their latest collaborations, products and editions and also debut ‘Cassina Details’, a complete collection of their interior accessories.
Presenting their latest collection, Molteni&C|Dada collaborates with a multimedia display interpreted by creative director and designer Vincent Van Duysen. The design firm NOOM, based in Kyiv, will also respond to the district’s theme with their exhibition Ukraine: Design for Real-Time, which features the Gropius Low Chair Military Edition by Kateryna Sokolova.
The district programme is further enhanced with the exposition of seven partners from Pentagram’s London and New York studios, who work in collaboration with Astrid Stavro and Huguet to create unique products. Ranging from tiles that gently shimmer in the dark to aesthetic coffee tables and much more. While most collections and products will embellish the district in their physical forms, the Conran Shop, an interior design brand, will transcend into the metaverse to present ‘Meet Me’ in the metaverse as a collaborative effort with It’s Nice That, an editorial platform. The unmissable and highly immersive world of virtual design and digital furniture design is sure to transform the windows of the outlet into an experiential landscape.
Alongside the aforementioned exhibitions, immersive installations and exciting new product launches, the Brompton Design District is sure to turn heads with the expansive display of the UK’s creative design directory.
The London Design Festival will be held across 12 design districts from September 17, 2022, to September 25, 2022.
Everything you need to know about London Design Festival 2022. Celebrating its 20th year, the festival takes over the city of London with installations, exhibitions, and talks from major design districts such as Brompton, Shoreditch Design Triangle, Greenwich Peninsula, Design London, Clerkenwell Design Trail, Park Royal, Mayfair, Bankside, King's Cross, William Morris Line, and Islington.
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