London Design Festival 2026: 14 highlights from a city-wide programme of AI, craft and 102 emerging designers
London's design world takes over the city from 12 to 20 September as the London Design Festival returns for its 24th edition, with 11 participating districts and a programme spanning landmark installations, a global design forum and dozens of partner events across the capital. Dezeen published a roundup of 14 must-see highlights on 3 September, offering the fullest picture so far of what is on offer.
Among the standouts is a takeover of Ham House and Garden in Richmond — a 17th-century National Trust property — plus a sound installation at the Wapping Hydraulic Power Station, a Victorian-era industrial building in east London. The programme mixes established names with fresh talent: furniture brand SCP and Gallery Fumi, both long-standing festival participants, appear alongside self-organised shows from younger designers. SCP is celebrating its move from Shoreditch to Clerkenwell with launches and events across a new five-storey space.
At the Victoria & Albert Museum in South Kensington, the presentation "Awakenings" centres on artificial intelligence as part of the Emerging Design Commission. Playfool, a design studio, presents a game there that reflects on human labour in the age of AI. Nina Davies' installation at the V&A examines how human bodies are starting to mimic AI-generated movement. Aziza Kadyri's work "Sender Unknown" combines Uzbek embroidery techniques with a bespoke AI model — traditional handcraft and machine learning set side by side. Dezeen
The V&A also hosts the Craft x Tech exhibition, running from 12 September to 18 October at Cromwell Road, SW7 2RL. The project pairs Japanese craftspeople with international designers — including Philippe Malouin and Bethan Laura Wood — to reinterpret traditional techniques through contemporary design. Dezeen
What makes this year's festival notable is how much room it gives to designers at the start of their careers. The non-profit collective Design Everything presents a show at Aram, the long-established furniture shop on Drury Lane, that transforms the downstairs gallery into the typical flat of a young designer. Every object is made by one of 102 emerging practitioners, selected via an open call that drew more than 500 responses. Each piece was created in response to a limitation — space, time, budget or access. The show is free to exhibit in and free to visit, and runs from 11 September to 10 October at 110 Drury Lane, WC2B 5SG. Upstairs, Aram hosts a free-to-use coworking space during the festival, and a pop-up from Italian design brand Arflex brings together established products and new releases making their UK debut. Dezeen
The festival's official website describes the event as celebrating and promoting London as "the design capital of the world." London Design Festival The 2026 programme includes Landmark Installations, Special Projects, a Global Design Forum and a Partner programme spread across the city. Among the special projects is the Art Explora Mobile Museum exhibition, which displays short-listed designs for an innovative roving museum that would tour the UK. London Design Festival The Soho Design District, running the full nine days, brings together architects, food and beverage specialists, branding agencies and property investors. London Design Festival
Dezeen Events Guide launched its digital guide to the festival on 27 August, featuring an interactive map to help visitors navigate the 11 districts. Dezeen
For anyone planning to attend, the festival sprawls across London from Richmond to Wapping. Most events are free. The trick is picking a district and walking.
