London Design Events 2025: What's On this Autumn
- Elena Tikhonova
- Aug 27
- 6 min read
Updated: Sep 19
Discover the best London design events 2025 — from the London Design Festival and PAD London to Frieze, Top Drawer, and the Decorative Fair. Explore dates, locations, and highlights of must-see art, design, and interiors shows happening across the city in autumn 2025
• Dates: 13–19 September 2025
• Location: Various venues across London — design districts such as Brompton, Shoreditch, Mayfair, Bankside, Design Centre Chelsea and V&A South Kensington.
• For Whom: Designers, architects, industry professionals, design students, and enthusiasts. A broad audience eager for creative inspiration.
• Description & Main Focus: A city-wide festival celebrating London as a global design capital, featuring installations, exhibitions, talks, workshops, showrooms, and retail pop-ups.
• Highlight: This year’s Brompton Design District, curated by Alex Tieghi-Walker, operates under the theme “A Softer World”, emphasising craft, gentleness, inclusivity, and non-traditional spaces, with contributions from emerging and diverse voices.
• Dates: 15–19 September 2025 (with extended “Longer View” pop-ups running until 16 October)
• Location: Design Centre Chelsea Harbour, Lots Road, London SW10 0XE
• For Whom: Interior designers, architects, specifiers, makers, and trade professionals seeking the hottest launches and fresh inspiration in luxury surfaces, fabrics, furniture, and craftsmanship
• Main Focus: A major sourcing and trend-setting event under one roof - hosting 135 showrooms including elite names like Pierre Frey, Schumacher, Ralph Lauren Home, alongside boutique ateliers such as Hector Finch and The Specified . Highlighted features include over 30 “Pop-up House Guests” in the Design Avenue that allow visitors to experience new collections beyond the core exhibition period . The programme is rich with learning and discovery opportunities - free talks, tours, masterclasses, and “Access All Areas” events featuring leading voices like Maria Speake, Rachel Chudley, Luke Edward-Hall, and Jacu Strauss, offering deep insight into design practice and business strategy.
• Highlights: One notable session -the BIID “Grow Your Business” talk on 16 September at 2pm -focuses on converting leads into commissions, with expert panelists such as Liz Bell, Omar Bhatti, and Augustine Atobatele sharing tactics and relationship-building advice.
World Design Congress
• Dates: 9–10 September 2025
• Location: Barbican Centre, London
• For Whom: Designers, business leaders, policymakers, educators, researchers — anyone interested in the role of design in tackling climate and environmental crises.
• Description & Main Focus: Seminar and forum-style event with keynote talks, workshops, book launches, unconferences, and interactive activations. The Congress is pitched as a catalytic moment for “Design for Planet,” bringing a global design community together to address sustainability and biodiversity.
• Date: 12-14 September 2025
• Location: Olympia London
• For Whom: Retail buyers, brand representatives, design-led businesses, and trend scouts.
• Description & Main Focus: A leading trade show for home, gift, stationery, and accessories, showcasing emerging brands and product trends. (Note: Venue based on past editions; recommend verifying on official website.)
• Dates: 16–18 September 2025
• Location: Shoreditch, East London (under the umbrella of London Design Festival)
• For Whom: Design professionals, interior designers, creatives, and industry insiders.
• Description & Main Focus: A curated fair focusing on contemporary design, materials, and craftsmanship, part of the broader London Design Festival programme.
London Open House Festival
Dates: 13–21 September 2025
Location: Across London, various buildings and sites in all 33 boroughs including historic and modern architecture.
For Whom: Anyone with interest in architecture, heritage, urban design, local history, and the built environment — including designers, architects, students, tourists, and residents.
Main Focus: Free open days and events giving public access to normally private buildings and spaces; guided tours, talks, walking trails, and neighbourhood explorations. It is a celebration of London’s architectural diversity, design heritage, and urban stories, with many unique “hidden gem” buildings included in the programme.
London Design Social
• Dates: 24–25 September 2025 (Wed–Thu)
• Location: Chelsea Old Town Hall, King’s Road, London
• For Whom: Boutique textile and home product lovers, interior designers, home decor enthusiasts, and press.
• Description & Main Focus: A showcase of boutique textile, wallpaper, and home-product brands, complete with expert-led conversations moderated by editors from House & Garden, Business of Home, and Veranda.
The Other Art Fair London
Dates: 9–12 October 2025
Location: The Truman Brewery, London
For Whom: Art lovers, collectors (both new and seasoned), independent artists, creative thinkers, and people interested in immersive art experiences.
Main Focus: Showcasing original and affordable artworks by over 175 independent artists, this event combines traditional fair elements with immersive installations, performances, DJs, and a social atmosphere (with a bar) to make the art-fair experience more dynamic and accessible.
The Decorative Antiques Fair
• Dates: 30 September – 5 October 2025
• Location: London Evolution, Battersea Park, SW11 4NJ
• For Whom: Trade professionals in interiors and ceramics, decorators, retailers, and enthusiasts of decorative arts.
• Description & Main Focus: A long-standing fair dedicated to decorative homewares, ceramics, furniture, lighting, and crafts. A key sourcing event for retailers and interior professionals.
• Dates: 6–7 October 2025
• Location: Olympia London, Hammersmith Road, London W14 8UX
• For Whom: Independent, luxury, and boutique hoteliers, interior designers, technology and service providers, trade professionals, and hospitality industry innovators
• Main Focus: A premier business event tailored to luxury and boutique hospitality, featuring over 200 curated exhibitors showcasing design, tech, and service solutions. It’s built around the theme “Redefining Luxury”, spotlighting evolving guest expectations, personalization, and sustainable experiences. The event also boasts a dynamic seminar programme—including the Hotel Business Stage and Innovation Stage — and networking in the Social Business Space to inspire fresh ideas and industry connections.
• Dates: 12–15 October 2025 (4 days)
• Location: Olympia London, Hammersmith Road, London W14 8UX
• For Whom: Interior designers, architects, luxury trade buyers, specifiers, manufacturers, and design enthusiasts covering both trade and consumer audiences
• Main Focus: Europe’s leading luxury interior design trade event featuring over 280 curated exhibitors showcasing high-end furniture, lighting, textiles, wall and floor coverings, and decorative accessories. Highlights include the immersive Making Spaces artisan showcases, an expert-led Talks Programme on trends and sustainability, and standout experiential zones like the VIP Lounge designed by Adeko & Co., the branded Bar by Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler, plus the Decorex x Natasha Mann creative collaboration. It’s a premier destination for sourcing, networking, and immersive design insights
• Dates: 14–19 October 2025
• Location: Berkeley Square, Mayfair, London W1
• For Whom: Collectors, galleries, interior designers, art and design aficionados.
• Description & Main Focus: The UK’s only fair devoted exclusively to 20th-century and contemporary design. International galleries exhibit rare, collectible pieces ranging from furniture to art objects.
• Date: 15-19 October 2025
• Location: Regent’s Park and surrounding venues
• For Whom: Art collectors, galleries, curators, and cultural professionals with an interest in contemporary art.
• Description & Main Focus: One of London’s most prominent contemporary art fairs, attracting global participation. Often overlaps with design interest in art/design crossover —highlighted in your list.
Affordable Art Fair — Battersea Autumn
Dates: 15–19 October 2025
Location: Evolution London, Battersea Park, London SW11 4NJ
For Whom: Art buyers on a budget, first-time collectors, galleries; people who are curious about art and want contemporary works without the usually high pricing barriers. Also welcoming families and educators via workshops and accessible programme-elements.
Main Focus: Offering thousands of original artworks starting from approximately £100, this fair blends gallery shows with special installations, Graduate Artist exhibitions, events tied to themes (e.g. Black History Month), drop-in workshops, family-friendly programming, and evening “Art After Dark” sessions. It is very much about making art collecting inclusive, inspiring, and fun.
• Date: 22-27 October 2025
• Location: Berkeley Square, Mayfair London
• For Whom: Antique collectors, interior decorators, gallery owners, and upscale enthusiasts.
• Description & Main Focus: A major fair featuring high-quality antiques, art, and decorative arts drawn from antique dealers and galleries — emphasising historic design and craftsmanship.
HIX LDN (Hotel Interior Experience London)
• Dates: 26–27 November 2025
• Location: Business Design Centre, 52 Upper Street, London N1 0QH
• For Whom: Architects, interior designers, developers, hotel operators, investors, project managers, FF&E procurement professionals, and hospitality design insiders from across Europe
• Main Focus: Europe’s leading hotel design event, HIX LDN blends exhibition with immersive experiences: curated installations, talks (HIX Talks), installations, and social events. Under the 2025 theme “Culture Clash”, it explores how diverse cultural influences redefine hospitality interiors. The show presents over 160 top-tier interior labels and emerging design voices, making it a key platform for trendsetting, networking, and sourcing the future of hotel interiors.
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