Design London announces Exhibitor Highlights for its debut edition next week

Running from 22-25 September, Design London will be housed in a brand new venue, Magazine London, on the Greenwich Peninsula, just a short walk from North Greenwich Station and the creative new Design District. The show brings together a highly curated selection of cutting-edge brands, from emerging talent to established design leaders, countless collaborations as well as a comprehensive talks programme.

The venue will house a multitude of global design brands including an abundance of esteemed Italian manufacturers such as Artemide, Cinova, Ethimo, Natuzzi, and TechnoGym, as well as South African Philosophy Furniture, bespoke Turkish furniture brand Fratelli, and Dutch producers Van Rossum, Bert Plantagie, and Artifort.

A key feature at this year’s event is a pavilion of Danish furniture brands offering solutions for positive environmental impact curated by Lifestyle & Design Cluster and championed by the Danish Embassy. While Denmark has long been known for its pioneering aesthetics, Design London is spotlighting the recent work of Danish design in the circular economy. This includes innovative uses of waste materials including FLID’s hand tools created from scrap wood and leather that are designed to be disassembled and reused, furniture made from leftover stone masonry materials by product designer Camilla Holm Pallesen who spearheads Genfärd, and a series of chairs by Wehlers which are primarily produced from 100% recycled plastic from fishing nets or other plastics found in the ocean.

Also highlighting the practical nature of recycled plastic is emerging British-Finnish design duo Mirka Grohn and Jo Wilton of &New who will showcase Jää, a new fully-recyclable collection made from consumer plastic diverted from landfill.

Ideal Standard will present its innovative design-led Atelier Collections for the first time. A partnership with renowned Italian design studio Palomba Serafini Associati, the collections mark a new era in design for the brand which takes inspiration from some of it’s classic designs. Design London will also see the launch of a flagship piece in the collection as part of a cinematic Together World Tour London event, which will premiere both at the show and virtually on 23 September at 11am.

Alongside an array of international exhibitors, is a rise of homegrown talent. Design London is particularly excited to showcase British fashion designer Henry Holland’s debut rug collection for East London rug makers FLOOR_STORY. The series integrates bold patterns and classic rave iconography, including smiley faces and psychedelic-style patterns, and alludes to ‘out of mind’ experiences with irregular shaped runners which seem to melt into their surroundings. Holland has also created a playlist especially for the display during Design London, linked here.

Christian Watson is a new name in British furniture design; his minimal collection includes a range of statement pieces and functional designs that are unified by a pared-back palette of materials and an uncompromising commitment to British craftsmanship. The signature range comprises future heirlooms including the dynamic Severus lounger, and statement pieces such as the monochromatic Wandle desk, Thoralby Mirror, and Eversfield Shelving, all of which will be on display at Design London for the first time.

The 4T System by Icons of Denmark in collaboration with award winning Danish designer Hee Welling is another work exhibited for the first time as part of Design London. Since its inception in late 2020, the 4T System has developed to include large scale pavilion style constructions, as well as its original configurations of wall units, focus booths and mobile units. During Design London, Icons of Denmark will be exhibiting the largest continuous 4T System ever to be created.

London-based furniture brand SECOLO will present Pingu and Laghi, which despite never being launched physically, are two of the brand’s best sellers that boast an exquisite material palette and high gloss finish. These will be displayed alongside the curvaceous Tateyama Sofa in a configuration never-before-seen. Italian lighting company, Artemide will also present new products from Bjarke Ingels (BIG) and Neri&Hu, as well as show their antiviral ultraviolet Integralis range alongside a selection of iconic pieces.

During this year’s London Design Festival, Design London celebrates its inaugural edition while a number of its exhibitors mark milestone anniversaries. Haberdashery London celebrates its 10th birthday as well as a permanent move to Greenwich where the studio has a workshop facility, and soon-to-open showroom. At Design London, the brand will create an experiential installation of Flux, a sculptural composition of bespoke illuminated pendants.

European furniture manufacturer Thonet marks the 90th anniversary of its iconic S 43 tubular steel chair by introducing the S 43 K childrens’ chair in a new colour collection inspired by minerals and gemstones. Another significant development is the brand’s expansion of its S 5000 range by Studio Irvine with S 5000 Retreat. Right in the middle of the development phase for the new S 5000 range, the Covid-19 pandemic hit – and changed and expedited the need to adapt our working spaces. Physical space and separation have taken on a whole new meaning which is the idea behind the S 5000 Retreat, a modular system of flexible workspaces suitable for both living and working environments.

The pandemic raised questions of uncertainty for graduate designer and founder of Six Dots Design, Joseph Ellwood, who channelled his own shortcomings and feelings of self doubt into his debut collection made in his parents garage in Cornwall. The collection includes a carved Sapele bench pyrographed with ‘This Chair Sucks’, and a set of four chairs which confront ideas of fragility.

Among the exhibitors will be [d]arc room returning to London for its fifth year with an established lighting area centred around the theme, ‘The Spectrum’, and a series of lighting talks led by experts. Exhibitors within this pop-up include Delta Light, John Cullen Lighting, Mesh, and Thorlux.

For the full Design London programme and exhibitor list, visit www.designlondon.co.uk.