Design Districts

From established studios to local creative communities, each district offers a distinctly unique perspective on London’s design scene. For 2026, London Design Festival unfolds across 11 Design Districts, showcasing the city's vibrant creative clusters.

Alongside longstanding favourites, the Festival welcomes a new district this year in Soho; Waltham Forest sees the launch of Blackhorse Creates – formerly part of William Morris Design Line; and Shoreditch's design offerings evolve under a new brand, Shoreditch Design Week.

Throughout Festival week, each district will host Design District Days, late-night openings and a packed programme of exhibitions, talks, installations, parties and more. Further announcements coming soon!

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 destinations including Tate Modern, Shakespeare's Globe and Borough Market making it one of the most visited districts in London. 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.

The district's full programme for LDF26 will be announced soon.

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 their corner of London. From 18-19 September, makers and creatives are opening their doors to offer rare, behind-the-scenes opportunities for visitors to meet designers, discover processes and try their 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 with this year focusing on Youth Opportunity.

Brompton Design District

District Day: Thur 17 Sept

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. For a second year, Brompton Design District’s programme of temporary exhibitions and installations will be 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 once again, bring a new dimension to the programme while building on the legacy of thoughtful, curated storytelling that has shaped Brompton's identity.

The district's full programme for LDF26 will be announced soon.

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.

The district's full programme for LDF26 will be announced soon.

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 its fourth year, the district once again, celebrates craft and the art of making. Audiences will be invited into open studios with the chance to meet the people behind the process. With a focus on sustainability and local production, many of the participants design, craft, and create in Hackney.

The district's full programme for LDF26 will be announced soon.

EC1 Design District

EC1 Design District joins London Design Festival 2026, 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. For its second year, the 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.

The district's full programme for LDF26 will be announced soon.

Fleet St Quarter

Fleet Street Quarter is a major new Business Improvement District established in February 2022. Encompassing an area which features Fleet Street at its heart, but embracing fascinating areas such as Chancery Lane, Holborn, Ludgate Hill, and New Street Square, the Fleet Street Quarter aspires to shape the area into a thriving place to live, work, and visit.   

The BID will create a strong business collective, providing a powerful voice for local businesses, enhancing the physical environment, injecting new energy into the area, and creating a safer and cleaner destination for all who live, work, or visit.   

Set amongst a backdrop of beautiful architecture, Fleet Street Quarter is home to a host of iconic cultural locations, hotels, restaurants, bars, and cafés. St. Bride’s Church, Dr. Johnson’s House and London’s Silver Vaults can all be found in this historic home of journalism. There’s also a great variety of pubs to be sought out in the Quarter, including Editor’s Tap, Old Bell Tavern, Old Bank of England and one of London’s oldest, Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, many of which have been known to be frequented by literary geniuses such as Charles Dickens, W.B. Yeats, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Dr Samuel Johnson, creator of the first English Dictionary.

Mayfair Design District

District Day: Mon 14 Sept

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 hosts 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 most influential Design Districts for collectible design, 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

District Day: Sat 12 Sept

Join Park Royal Design District from 11 - 12 September 2026 across various sites in Park Royal, London's largest industrial district, for the inaugural edition of Manufactory, a new festival for interdisciplinary art and culture.

​Presented through exhibitions, installations, site-specific interventions, performances, food, open studios, talks, workshops and participatory events, Manufactory invites audiences into the hidden spaces of production that shape the city. Unfolding across workshops, warehouses, studios and industrial sites, the festival opens up environments that are rarely accessible to the public, foregrounding Park Royal as a distinctive destination for contemporary interdisciplinary practice.

​Created by Park Royal Design District, Manufactory builds on five years of participation in London Design Festival, now expanding through new collaborations with ArtReview, Central Saint Martins and others. The inaugural edition is curated by newly appointed Programme Director Mazzy-Mae Green, whose programme encompasses interdisciplinary practices shaped by production, material experimentation and the social conditions of the industrial landscape.

Shoreditch Design Week

District Day: Tue 15 Sept

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.