Shoreditch Design Triangle 2023 to host a buoyant design programme in east London

The pulse of the global design community is incessantly travelling from one destination to the next, saturating all its stopovers—from Milan to Singapore—in the hues of creative freedom. Next in the design calendar, this pulse makes its way to London as the city lays the groundwork for the upcoming edition of London Design Festival. Set to run from September 16 to 24, 2023, the design festival will morph into the nerve centre of everything design—inviting visitors from across the globe to immerse themselves in an assortment of design events. Through exhibitions, installations and spirited discourses, the festival fortifies the city’s stature as a design capital on the global stage.

The Shoreditch Design Triangle is a cultural event that celebrates the creative industry in east London. Established in 2008, it was conceived as a vehicle for the designers, companies and institutions in the area to join forces on the promotion of their activities during the London Design Festival. Over the span of fifteen years, the Shoreditch Design Triangle has organically grown into the biggest district of the festival, offering visitors a diverse street-level experience. The district returns for its 15th consecutive year with a spirited programme that mirrors the creative scene that defines the area. For its latest iteration, the design district announces the first round of 25 confirmed SDT participants, from leading furniture designers and brands, to the best new students in the land.

AIDA, in cahoots with textile artist Llinos Owen, will showcase her unique collection of textured tapestries. The visually captivating textiles draw inspiration from personal narratives, youth culture, mental health and relationships—paying tribute to the traditionally female-dominated tradition and crafts. Christopher Farr will mark the launch of a new rug design by Bauhaus Master Gunta Stölzl by joining forces with Turkish weaving workshop Kirkit. The weaving project derived from the partnership celebrates freedom of expression. 20 years - Unravelling two decades of design is a retrospection of Donna Wilson’s rich creative journey—bringing together her classic designs and unseen work. Textiles also make an appearance in Soft Power by SCP. The exhibition of sustainable design and ideas will feature the SCP 2023 Collection of Upholstery with designs by Philippe Malouin, Wilkinson & Rivera, Donna Wilson, Matthew Hilton, Terence Woodgate, and an SCP Edition by Sarah Kay.

Buster + Punch will celebrate its anniversary with a design exhibition that stages its hardware, lighting design, furniture design, and home accents from the past decade. The show will unveil Chopper, a lounge chair designed by Marcello Minale, the father of founder Massimo Buster Minale. Love at First Light, a playful lighting installation by Established & Sons, will take over the Betts Project Gallery. New lighting products by Martino Gamper and Sebastian Wrong will complete the show. Adding to the convoy illumination, Tala’s first permanent showroom in Shoreditch will mark its evolution from a specialist LED bulb manufacturer to a holistic lighting brand.

Furniture and product design will enjoy a significant presence in the design district. Kingston School of Art, with the All On Show, lays bare the creative journey of a troupe of emerging designers from Kingston University’s Product and Furniture Design program. From chair designs and vases to social and critical design, the creations aspire to evoke thoughts and emotions. While London Green Wood will partake in the event with handcrafted chairs made out of logs sourced from tree surgeons, Lozi will commemorate its 10th anniversary of designing and crafting plywood furniture at its newly opened workshop. On view at the Vitra and Artek Tramshed showroom, Tokyo-based architect Daisuke Motogi’s exhibition Hackability of the Stool features 100 versions of the iconic Stool 60 designed by Alvar Aalto in 1933.

London-based creators and studio Art Practice have curated a group exhibition presenting the alternative, non-screen-based output produced by the group. The show includes interactive, three-dimensional, and image-based work around the theme of Play. Hart Shoreditch will present another immersive exhibition titled Fundamentals of Caring in partnership with artist and illustrator James Daw, 4D animator Lisa Sheehan and photographer Anna Rotar. Possible Mirror will come onboard Shoreditch Design Triangle with a show of mirrors that blur the boundaries between art and design. The mirrors will be accompanied by artworks, photographs, vintage French silk patterns, ceramics, and catalogues. Layers by Town House is a collaborative effort by artists Rosamund Coady and Reed Wilson—exploring simplicity, surfaces and deconstruction.

Jasper Morrison Shop and Solid Floor dive into the inherent characteristics of materials and waste respectively. Through a selection of handcrafted objects from Japan, Jasper Morrison's shop aims to highlight the use of bamboo in the household and industry, its strength and versatility, and the skills and techniques that work it. Solid Floor, on the other hand, will unveil Re-create, an exhibition that calls upon designers to create objects using the offcuts from their timber flooring installations—subsequently speaking of the overlooked beauty in what s deemed waste.

Shoreditch is a modern mixed-use inner-city environment; its versatility and many facets translate into the multifariousness of the exhibitors who are soon to occupy it. Visitors who will tread the streets of the district will encounter both radical and formal ideas in formats ranging from product launches, exhibitions and installations to workshops, talks and tours. It is a home to both established brands and emerging practices and geography that encapsulates post-industrial spaces and newer developments by leading architects, Shoreditch becomes an ideal canvas for London’s simmering design scene.

London Design Festival is back! In its 21st edition, the faceted fair adorns London with installations, exhibitions, and talks from major design districts including Shoreditch Design Triangle, Greenwich Peninsula, Brompton, Design London, Clerkenwell Design Trail, Mayfair, Bankside, King's Cross, and more. Click here to explore STIR’s highlights from the London Design Festival 2023.