LDF22: The Round-Up - The Conran Shop

The 20th-anniversary edition of the London Design Festival took place this week, celebrating and promoting our great city as the design capital of the world. The festival brought a rousing collective of digital artists to The Conran Shop Chelsea in collaboration with It’s Nice That, in addition to our latest and greatest collection of exclusive product launches for AW22, and a pop-up in our Chelsea store to celebrate Sir Terence’s Conran’s penultimate masterpiece. Keep reading to get the low-down.

The Conran Shop x It’s Nice That

Launching LDF 2022 with classic Conran Shop flair, we unveiled our immersive window installation, Meet Me in the Metaverse, at our Chelsea store. The display features some of our favourite new releases, highlighting Lucy Kurrein’s Bibendum series, the new PK0 A Lounge Chair, our own Pirouette Coat Stand, the anniversary edition Arco K Floor Lamp, our New Designers-winning Iris Lounge Chair by Huw Evans, and the exclusive Groovy Chair, but as you’ve never seen before. Six digital artists reworked these iconic forms to create an experiential digital landscape, bringing the works to life in a creative new way in the digital realm. The installation is accompanied by an AR filter designed by artists Chris and Christie, allowing you to step into the Metaverse and experience virtual reality. This year, we chose to recognise the importance of moving with the world of design as it grows and evolves, embracing new technologies, mediums and new talents along the way.

Sir Terence’s Legacy

On display in all its finery in Chelsea is one of Sir Terence Conran’s very last designs, the Triple-Four Racing Chronograph released by Brooklands Watch Company. The exquisite timepiece is inspired by Brooklands race track which held deep personal importance to Sir Terence, along with the classic Napier Railton racecar, an automotive which captivated him. A limited edition of just 500 pieces, the exclusive watch can be admired in all its glory in our Chelsea store, exclusively available at The Conran Shop.

The AW22 Edit

LDF offers the perfect time to showcase our very best and brightest from the autumn-winter edit, and this year was no exception. Alongside our Metaverse design heroes, we celebrated a series of tables by the in-demand Gareth Neal, our newest collaborations with the likes of Matthew Hilton and Daniel Schofield, and future Conran Shop classics designed by New Designers award winners Cameron Rowley, Frank Winter and Huw Evans. The collection was enhanced by our newest lifestyle additions, including exclusive prints by London artist Jonathan Lawes, hand-painted ceramics by Vaisselle and Aman Khanna’s new Claymen candles.

The Party

Thursday 22nd September saw the culmination of the London Design Festival with our annual party, which was our biggest yet. The Chelsea store was aglow with energy and exuberance as our guests entered the Metaverse and explored our latest icons, all with a glass of prosecco in hand and DJ Seb Emmins on the decks. It was a fabulous celebration of all that makes this city great, and we look forward to a fantastic year ahead for London design.

Design in The City

Out and about across the city, we enjoyed the Béton Brut residencies at Paul Smith’s Mayfair store and Cromwell Place, just a five-minute walk from Michelin House. We visited our friends Cassina, Vitra, and Carl Hansen & Søn at their ever-evolving showrooms, we stopped by British furniture designer Fred Rigby’s open studio in London Fields, and around the corner from there, we witnessed the opening of The House by M.A.H.