The London Design Festival, now in its ninth year, just gets bigger and to mark this seemingly endless expansion the V&A are creating installations on an impressively large scale. During the city-wide event the Cromwell Street entrance to the museum will be dominated by a three-dimensional latticework spiral called ‘Timber Wave’ by award winning architectural firm, Amanda Levete Architects.
While inside the museum renowned milliner Stephen Jones has re-imagined, using computer scanning technology, a reproduction of the Museum's 1827 bust of Lady Belhaven, adding, of course, a contemporary hat.
Elsewhere visitors might struggle to choose which events to add to their itinerary, although those with a predilection for textiles might take note that The Finnish Institute in London is presenting the UK premiere of REDDRESS. Designed by Aamu Song, co founder of Helsinki based design studio ‘Company’, the work is more than simply a dress; created with 550 metres of fabric, designed to accommodate 238 people, 20 metres in diameter and three metres high it provides an intimate space for performances and discussions.
In Regent Street, Timorous Beasties will take over one of Liberty’s windows with a scheme featuring the ‘Liberty Bell’. There will be a moth trail through the store up to an installation on the 4th floor where the Bell Moth motif fabric will be sold by the metre as well as on a product line of cushions and lampshades.
Cole & Son will be launching its autumn 2011 collection, Geometric, which revives ‘Op Art’ with geometry and explorations of colour, line, movement and illusion. Manufacturing wallpaper since 1853, Cole & Son will also host tea and a tour at its North London factory on Saturday 24 September. In the nine days of the festival it’s impossible to see everything but turn the page for further textile highlights... London Design Festival, 17-25 September 2011, 150 venues across the city, T: +44(0)20 7734 6444, www.londondesignfestival.com
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