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From 13 to 21 September 2025, London once again transforms into a stage for creativity as the 23rd edition of the London Design Festival takes over the city. For nine days, installations, exhibitions, and events spread across districts and institutions turn London into a laboratory of ideas, where design is not just shown but lived.
This year’s edition opens with bold public commissions that capture the spirit of London itself. In Trafalgar Square, What Nelson Sees by Paul Cocksedge reimagines the city through sculptural telescopes, inviting visitors to look both at its history and its possible futures. Along the Thames, designer Lee Broom unveils Beacon, a glowing installation at the Southbank Centre. Made from recycled glass, it lights up in sync with the chimes of Big Ben, a luminous reminder of the city’s resilience and its capacity for renewal.
The festival’s experimental edge takes shape at Material Matters, staged at Space House from 17 to 20 September. Here, designers and researchers explore the potential of innovative materials, from mycelium-based structures to recycled automotive waste, highlighting a future where craft and sustainability converge.
Another key debut this year is Design London Shoreditch (16 to 18 September), a new trade fair dedicated to interiors, workplace design, and cultural innovation. With curated sections such as Design at Work and House of ICON, it promises to become a fresh hub for both emerging talent and established brands.
Anchoring the festival are London’s major cultural institutions. The Victoria and Albert Museum, the Festival’s long-time partner, hosts the Global Design Forum, a series of talks addressing pressing issues such as AI, geopolitics, and the role of design.
The Design Museum takes a playful and participatory approach, offering free display to four Green Transition Ecosystem research projects from across the UK that demonstrate how design is driving chane in housing, healthcare, local planning and resource management
Beyond its exhibitions, this year’s Festival carries global resonance. For the first time in nearly six decades, London hosts the World Design Congress at the Barbican Centre on 9 and 10 September, just days before the Festival opens. With the theme "Design for Planet”, the congress underscores the urgency of sustainable practice and the power of design to shape collective futures.
Spread across the city’s design districts—from Bankside and Brompton to Dalston and Mayfair—the Festival creates opportunities to discover London anew, through studio tours, street installations, and encounters that turn ordinary spaces into extraordinary experiences. More than a celebration, the London Design Festival 2025 is a reminder of design’s role as a catalyst: for dialogue, for innovation, and for reimagining how we live in a rapidly changing world.
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Cover Image: "What Nelson Sees" installation by Paul Cocksedge. Courtesy of Paul Cocksedge
