With just a week to go until the London Design Festival 2025 takes over the UK Capital, Hotel Designs has compiled your guide to some of this year’s unmissable events…
Each September, London Design Festival turns the city into a comprehensive celebration of creativity – a moment when design takes centre stage and the world comes to London to see what’s next. The 23rd edition, running 13th-21st September 2025, is no exception; marking over two decades of bold ideas, collaborations and storytelling that keep London at the heart of the global design map.
If you’re looking for inspiration on how to navigate this year’s extensive programme, here is Hotel Designs curated selection of standout highlights – from wellness-led concepts and sustainable material innovations to hotel showcases, landmark installations and immersive cultural moments.
JPA Design have extensively explored what a modern travel experience could comprise of, shifting from traditional practices to a more engaging human centric design; Afterglow | Image credit: JPA Design
Afterglow Frequencies by JPA Design
From the team behind the Belmond Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, JPA Design presents Afterglow Frequencies — an immersive wellness experience exploring biodynamic lighting and its effect on our circadian natural rhythm.
At their Hackney studio, visitors will move through two zones: Sunset, a softly lit space for reflection, and Sunrise, an energising environment of light and soundscapes. An accompanying exhibition showcases JPA’s latest wellness innovations, from private jet interiors to a prototype SAD light and sustainable aviation products. With lighting (both natural and artificial) such a hot topic in hospitality right now, this is one experience that might just leave you seeing things in a new light.
Image credit: EcoLattice
Beyond Foam by Aram and EcoLattice
This London Design Festival, Aram — the iconic 20th-century and contemporary design store and gallery — is hosting Beyond Foam, a forward-thinking exhibition that opens early and runs until late (11 September to 1 November) at Aram’s Covent Garden home.
Curated by EcoLattice, the show takes a closer look at sustainable alternatives to conventional polyurethane foam, a material that’s everywhere in furniture design but comes with serious environmental challenges. Enter EcoLattice’s ingenious 3D-printed lattice structure: a recyclable, scalable, and affordable foam replacement made from elastomers. Eight emerging UK designers have been invited to put this material to the test, reimagining what seating and comfort could look like in a more sustainable future.
Image credit: London Roca Gallery
Guided tour of Roca London Gallery with Margarita Valova, Senior Architect at Zaha Hadid Design
On Saturday 13th September, Roca London Gallery opens its doors for a guided tour led by Margarita Valova of Zaha Hadid Design. Over 90 minutes, visitors will discover the story behind the gallery’s award-winning architecture — from Hadid’s original concept to the innovative processes and materials that shaped its iconic double-curved interiors. The tour is CPD-accredited by RIBA, RIAI and BIID, making it as insightful for professionals as it is inspiring for design enthusiasts.
Image credit: twentytwentyone
Making Sense: Designing in London by twentytwentyone and Mentsen
Making Sense: Designing in London will bring together six design studios — Elliott Denny, Jones Neville, Michael Marriott, Ian McIntyre, Mentsen and Eleanor Pritchard — for the first time in a collective showcase at twentytwentyone.
Curated with Mentsen, the exhibition explores the space between handmade and industrial production, highlighting works shaped by material, process and utility. From ceramic architectural fittings and modular timber shelving to hemp-and-wool textiles and London-made furniture, the show celebrates thoughtful design with longevity at its heart.
Structured as interconnected living, working and learning spaces, Making Sense invites reflection on how designers navigate culture, economy and environment through their practice. Accompanied by a limited-edition publication and selected works available to purchase, the exhibition offers a rare glimpse into the nuanced world of London design today.
Image credit: Gareth Gardner
Material Matters
A cornerstone of the festival, Material Matters returns for its fourth edition in a bold new home — the iconic Space House near Holborn. Bringing together more than 40 global brands, manufacturers, and emerging designers, the fair explores material innovation and responsibility, from bio-based alternatives and recycled composites to heritage craft and advanced fabrication.
Highlights include 3M’s DI-NOC finishes, MycoWorks’ pioneering mycelium-based Reishi material, and FILIE’s recycled windscreen film innovations, alongside a strong showcase of emerging talent and thought-provoking installations. With curated exhibitions, standout talks, and a lively atmosphere running 17-20 September, Material Matters 2025 is the must-visit event for architects and designers.
Image credit: Rosie Reed Gold
Stage Left – Letter Pressed: workshops and masterclasses
At Hart Shoreditch – a firm London hotel favourite of Hotel Designs, Rosie Reed Gold presents Stage Left, Letter Pressed — a celebration of East London’s literary past and the tools, tales and talent behind the written word. Running throughout the festival, the exhibition is accompanied by free workshops and performances, with donations supporting local charity Ministry of Stories.
Highlights include Bring Word, an open-mic night blending poetry and live music; Tempests Are Kind, an immersive sound bath inspired by Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night; and an improvised a cappella musical from Acaprov, complete with a participatory workshop. Together, these events combine wellness, creativity and performance, transforming Hart Shoreditch into a space for connection and storytelling.
Image credit: Tollgard
Uncovering the World of MAN OF PARTS by Tollgard
From 13-20 September, Tollgard’s Belgravia showroom will host Uncovering the World of MAN OF PARTS — an exclusive UK pop-up showcasing the Canadian-born, post-national design house known for blending far-flung inspiration with European craftsmanship.
The exhibition brings together new and iconic pieces from an international roster of designers, each telling a story of place, culture, and craft. Highlights include Sebastian Herkner’s musically inspired Frenchman Street chairs, the alpine-evoking Via Bernina tables, and Gregor Hildebrandt’s poetic Berliner Promenade rug.
Curated with Tollgard’s eye for sculptural elegance and tactile storytelling, the showcase offers a rare chance to experience MAN OF PARTS’ vision of design as a truly global dialogue.
Image credit: Paul Cocksedge Studio
What Nelson Sees by Paul Cocksedge
For London Design Festival, Paul Cocksedge — in collaboration with Google Arts & Culture — transforms Trafalgar Square with What Nelson Sees, an ambitious public installation that lets visitors experience the city from Admiral Nelson’s vantage point atop his column.
Through a striking structure of intersecting tubes, audiences peer through telescopic portals to glimpse London’s skyline as Nelson sees it — past, present and future. Using Google’s AI filmmaking tool Flow, the installation reimagines the city across time, from horse-drawn carriages and gas lamps to speculative visions of hotter climates, pedestrianised streets and urban food production.
Anchored by one of London’s most iconic monuments, What Nelson Sees invites reflection on the capital’s history and its possible futures: a powerful meditation on perspective, place and change.
Image credit: 2LG Studio
You Can Sit With Us by 2LG Studio
As part of the new Design London Shoreditch (16–18 September), 2LG Studio brings back their celebrated inclusive show You Can Sit With Us — this time transforming the underground spaces of Shoreditch Town Hall into a vibrant queer salon.
Themed Green Carnation — a nod to Oscar Wilde’s discreet symbol of queerness — the exhibition gathers an inspiring roster of designers spanning lighting, furniture, ceramics, glass, textiles and art. Featured names include Marf Summers, Jutta Goessl, Bence Magyarlaki, Katie Eraser, Tino Seubert and more, shown alongside new works by 2LG themselves, including a rug launch with FloorStory and fresh collaborations with Sheyn.
More than an exhibition, the salon offers tarot readings, talks, and spoken word, creating a safe, celebratory space for dialogue and creativity. Set within the broader Design London Shoreditch programme — a bold new multi-venue showcase of brands, installations and cultural narratives — this is a standout moment in the festival for anyone interested in design as a force for inclusivity and connection.
Main image credit: The Design Museum
