Design Districts

Bankside Design District

Bankside is one of London's most creative districts running along the Thames from Borough Yards to Coin Street. It's a place with a rich industrial heritage and home to world-famous destination brands such as Tate Modern, Shakespeare's Globe and Borough Market making it one of the most visited districts in London. For 2025, in addition to hosting many first-time designers, Bankside will once again become a hub for typeface. Expect a packed programme of events, talks and interactive installations based around typeface and typography. Bankside Design District is coordinated by Better Bankside, a Business Improvement District (BID) with over 850 businesses in Bankside, London SE1. Better Bankside exists to make Bankside a better place to live, work and visit. 

Blackhorse Creates

Blackhorse Creates celebrates the joy of making in and around Blackhorse Lane, Waltham Forest, inviting visitors to discover, learn and interact with its vibrant design community.  Blackhorse Creates presents an open weekend of design, craft and making in our corner of London.  On 18 and 19 September, makers and creatives are opening their doors to show you behind the scenes – a rare opportunity to meet designers, discover processes and try your hand at making.

The district is centred around the thriving Blackhorse Lane area, designated a Creative Enterprise Zone in 2021, formally launched as the Blackhorse Collective in 2023 and now a dynamic cluster of creative businesses.

Blackhorse Creates is programmed by Blackhorse Workshop, a social enterprise dedicated to making, in partnership with Waltham Forest Council.  The community-led programme for 2026 is centred around the design and manufacturing excellence of the Blackhorse Collective Zone and this year has a focus on Youth Opportunity.

Brompton Design District

Brompton Design District is a design hub with an engaging mix of global design brands and cultural institutions including the V&A, alongside a curated programme of exhibits with a reputation for nurturing inventive design by independent designers. This year Brompton Design District!s programme of temporary exhibitions and installations is programmed by British-Italian curator and gallerist Alex Tieghi-Walker who succeeds Jane Withers Studio. Known for his emotionally resonant and material-focused approach, Alex will bring a new dimension to the programme—while building on the legacy of thoughtful, curated storytelling that has shaped Brompton's identity.

For London Design Festival 2025, the theme for Brompton Design District is A Softer World. Curator Alex Tieghi-Walker has invited designers and studios to join in a celebration of design that feels, connects, and softens the world around us. In a world that often demands certainty and control, A Softer World asks: what if design moved with care — and made space for us to do the same? The resulting programme will take place at The Lavery (formerly Cromwell Place) with further exhibitions taking place across the District which stretches from the V&A to Brompton Road. Set within a unique constellation of international design brands, independent retailers, pioneering cultural institutions, and celebrated local hospitality, Brompton continually redefines what a design district can be.

Chelsea Design District

Established in 1717, the Sloane Stanley Estate is one of the most prestigious landowning estates in London. Chelsea Design District boasts a mix of boutiques to well-established design brands, restaurants, and cafés, both national and independent across the King's Road and Fulham Road. Championing the very best of independent and creative names, the Chelsea Design District partners with several fashion, homeware, interiors, beauty, wellness, and food brands, with the community very much at its heart. Building on the heritage of names such as Vivienne Westwood and Mary Quant, who kickstarted their fashion legacy on King's Road, the District heralds the very best of design, sparking inspiration, creativity, and originality across the neighbourhood. This year, the District will deliver a range of the best creatives during the festival, celebrating its broad mix of ingenious and artistic talent.

Dalston to Stokey Design District

Dalston and Stoke Newington are home to makers, craftspeople, and multi-disciplinary studios where ideas come to life by hand. For it’s third year, the district celebrates the art of making: from glass blowing to screen printing, textiles to ceramics. Audiences are invited to see how things are made and meet the people behind the process. With a focus on sustainability and local production, many of the participants design, craft, and create in Hackney. This year’s programme will focus on craft, spotlighting how things are made through exhibitions, open studios, hands-on workshops, talks, and street-side happenings — all rooted in the rich making traditions of the neighbourhood.

EC1 Design District

EC1 Design District joins London Design Festival 2025, spotlighting one of London's most dynamic hubs for architecture and design. Centred around the wider Farringdon and Barbican areas, EC1 is home to an impressive concentration of architecture practices, design studios, and specification-led showrooms. This new Design District will celebrate the area's deep-rooted connection to the trade and specifier markets, offering a programme tailored to industry professionals and design enthusiasts alike. With its proximity to leading brands, emerging studios, and key institutions, EC1 presents a unique blend of cutting-edge design and material innovation. From curated exhibitions and open studios to product launches and talks, the district will provide a focused platform for dialogue, discovery, and collaboration at the heart of London's creative infrastructure.

Fleet St Quarter

Fleet Street, long known as the historic heart of British journalism and print, is stepping into a new creative era. In 2025, the Fleet Street Quarter will launch as a new Design District, reimagining a district steeped in centuries of communication and innovation. The Fleet Street Quarter promises to be a compelling new destination, where legacy meets innovation, and where the spirit of communication finds new form in design. 

Mayfair Design District

Established in 2017 by James Malcolm Green and Anne-Laure Pingreoun, Mayfair Design District (MDD) is more than a destination; it is a bold cultural movement redefining the heart of one of London's most iconic neighbourhoods.

Created to unite Mayfair's established and emerging creative voices across art, design, fashion and hospitality, MDD fosters an inclusive and dynamic cultural ecosystem through powerful storytelling, public art, exhibitions, talks and accessible experiences.

The District curates world-class collaborations and partnerships that bring global visibility to local creativity. From collaborations with Savoir, Mandarin Oriental Mayfair, Holly Hunt and V-Zug to programmes with leading galleries, designers, brands and cultural institutions, MDD champions the art of experience while creating meaningful connections between creativity, commerce and community.

Now one of London's largest and most influential Design Districts, MDD continues to challenge conventions while establishing Mayfair as a living, breathing destination for innovation, craftsmanship, heritage and cultural dialogue throughout London Design Festival, PAD London and Frieze.

Park Royal Design District

Home to over 250 studios set within one of London's most historic industrial areas, Park Royal Design District is a dynamic hub of creative production. Now in its fifth year, the district offers a rare chance to step inside active workspaces for a weekend of open studios, workshops, exhibitions and live demonstrations. What makes Park Royal unique is the ongoing exchange between heavy industry and design. This proximity between creative innovators and industrial businesses has given rise to a thriving circular economy, with many artists and designer-makers working with reclaimed materials, industrial offcuts and overlooked resources sourced directly from local manufacturers. Disciplines span furniture making, ceramics, millinery, glasswork, leathercraft, fine art, sustainable fashion and more - each contributing to a close-knit ecosystem shaped by collaboration, experimentation and material-led practice. 

Shoreditch Design Week

Shoreditch Design Week (SDW), London Design Festival’s largest dedicated district, is taking place 15–20 September 2026 with four main exhibition venues running the first three days (15–17 September) providing platforms to emerging designers, new materials, neurodivergent design and the latest interior innovations internationally. Evolving from the long-established Shoreditch Design Triangle, SDW marks a new chapter for the district with an ambitious and wide-ranging programme. SDW will unite leading brands and studios alongside emerging designers across more than 60 showrooms, galleries and creative spaces. Through a programme of curated exhibitions, installations, showroom activations, talks, tours and workshops, the district will host hundreds of events throughout the week.

Soho Design District

The Soho District debuts at the 24th London Design Festival, a fitting addition for one of the capital's most creatively charged and culturally significant neighbourhoods. Long celebrated for its eclectic character, dynamic design scene and cultural influence, Soho will host a curated programme of events, installations, talks and collaborations exploring design, commerce and community.

The district's visual identity draws on Soho's red-light history, neon signage and rebellious counterculture, reflecting the boldness of the music and creative industries that have defined the area for a century.

Running 12–20 September 2026, the Soho District will bring together leading architects, F&B specialists, PR and branding agencies, property investors and developers, property managers, construction and fit-out experts, and a wider network of creatives shaping London's future.

The programme opens with a chance for guests to network and soak up the district's energy ahead of a full week of events, underscoring Soho's enduring reputation as a place where creativity, collaboration and innovation have always thrived.