Frieze London draws 95,000 as fashion joins art week
Fashion shared the spotlight with fine art in London last week as 95,000 visitors passed through Frieze London and Frieze Masters in Regent's Park.
The two fairs — Frieze London for contemporary work and Frieze Masters for older art — took place from 14 to 18 October 2026, according to organiser listings on Frieze. WWD reported that visitors came from 108 countries and regions. The crowd was global.
Growth came from several markets. Organisers told WWD that visitor numbers from India and mainland China more than doubled compared with 2025. There were also increases from Hong Kong, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates and Brazil, with significant growth from the United States and Canada and growth from Germany and France.
Institutions turned out in force. The fairs welcomed representatives from 426 institutions across 51 countries and regions, a record number, organisers told WWD.
Sales were brisk. At Frieze Masters, Jan Brueghel the Elder's Still Life of Flowers in a Stoneware Vase sold for in the region of £5 million, WWD reported. Four paintings by Alice Neel sold for $1.6 million to $1.8 million each.
Frieze London produced its own list of big tickets. Sales included a new painting by Michaël Borremans for $1.5 million, Avery Singer's Solver (v.3) for $800,000 and George Condo's Figure Composition for $600,000. A historic work on paper by Richard Serra sold for $750,000, and a suite of works on paper by Louise Bourgeois sold for $400,000.
Fashion houses worked the week hard. Stone Island, the Italian outerwear brand, hosted a dinner curated by chef Merlin Labron-Johnson at 40 Duke, the members' club run by Selfridges, the London department store. The 2026 edition was the brand's 12th fair partnership with Frieze.
Dunhill, the British menswear house, held its annual series of talks at Frieze Masters. The series, titled Breaking the Mould, looked at how art, materials and ideas from the past shape the present. Speakers included artist and stage designer Es Devlin, artist Grayson Perry and artist Paul Pfeiffer.
De Beers, the diamond miner and jeweller, took space at Frieze Masters with an immersive installation tracing the origin of natural diamonds. The centrepiece was a cluster of rough diamonds, some glowing fluorescent blue, WWD reported.
Elsewhere, Net-a-porter, the online luxury retailer, and Erdem, the London fashion house, took guests to the British Museum for dinner and a private viewing of the Bayeux Tapestry. Soeur, the French womenswear brand, sponsored the PAD design fair and dressed the hosting staff in its designs. JW Anderson, the London fashion label, staged an exhibition called A Composition on Pimlico Road that opened during Frieze and runs until 21 October.
What makes this stand out is the overlap. Buyers came for paintings and sculpture. They also ate, talked and shopped on fashion's timetable, with brands providing the rooms where those conversations happened.
