London Design Fair 2026: The Victoria & Albert Museum

The best place to start at LDF, and arguably the heart of the festival, is the Victoria & Albert Museum in South Kensington. It's home to the Global Design Forum, the Digital Design Weekend, and ten curated LDF installations hidden in endless corniced mazes of silverware, sculptures and sketch classes.

V&A X LDF Awakenings. Photo by Anki Delfmann

My personal highlight amongst the exhibits, Craft x Tech Tokai returned for a second edition, pairing artisans from six Japanese craft regions with international designers to rethink centuries-old techniques. Working across lacquer, metal, wood, ceramics, washi paper and textiles, the collaborations combined traditional craftsmanship with contemporary ideas and forms.

Craft x Tech Tokai. Photo by Anki Delfmann

Grid Unwoven, Mino Washi x Lanzavecchia + Wai for Craft x Tech Tokai. Photo by Anki Delfmann

Grid unwoven by Lanzavecchia + Wai is a self-standing screen that reimagines the traditional shoji using Mino washi and light. The paper's fibres flow from dense to delicate like a waterfall. Changing backlighting reveals its texture.

Fushi, Mino Yaki x David Caon for Craft x Tech Tokai. Photo by Anki Delfmann

Fushi by David Caon is a modular ceramic console and light made using the Mino Yaki technique. Precisely made identical forms are assembled around an internal structure, while the unpredictable Oribe glaze makes every surface unique.

Yamollo, Iga Kumihimo x Atang Tshikare for Craft x Tech Tokai. Photo by Anki Delfmann

Yamollo by Atang Tshikare is a sculptural light made using Iga Kumihimo braiding, inspired by fire contained within a mountain. Earth-toned cords form the enclosing structure, with light intensifying towards the peak and exposed threads revealing the intricate weave.

Seto Sometsuke Yaki x Eugene Kangawa for Craft x Tech Tokai. Photo by Anki Delfmann

Eugene Studio presented a beautiful series of wooden chairs and tea vessels, combining traditional Japanese joinery with Seto Sometsuke ceramics.

Kataginu , Arimatsu Narumi Shibori x Bethan Laura Wood for Craft x Tech Tokai. Photo by Anki Delfmann

Kataginu is a lighting series by Bethan Laura Wood using traditional Arimatsu Narumi Shibori dyeing and folding techniques. The sculptural forms are inspired by the exaggerated shoulders of the Japanese kataginu vest, turning dyed and folded fabric into luminous objects.

Over in the Lydia and Manfred Gorvy Lecture Theatre, this year's theme for the Global Design Forum was Worlds in Motion, focussing on design moving across cultures, disciplines and geographies. I was there for the Sunday, which was dedicated to Design for the Senses, covering topics of color, sound, taste and new creative workflows with artificial intelligence.

Flora: New Creative Methods at Global Design Forum at the V&A. Photo by Anki Delfmann

Flora hosted a session about how AI is changing the creative process, from faster iteration and decision-making to what becomes more valuable when the making itself gets easier. Disussions included going from photos to 3D models to avatars in games, and an anecdote about Helen Fielding making her Chat GPT call her Madam.

Global Design Forum at the V&A. Photo by Anki Delfmann

Alex Mustonen from Snarkitecture chatted with Bowmore's Master Blender Dr. Calum Fraser about similarities between designing and making whisky, using their new collaboration on the Captivo Collection as a jumping-off point for a conversation about place, materials, craft, and how all of these shape what we experience. The audience was also given the chance to see, smell and taste the results – always a bonus!

Towards the end of the festival, the Digital Design Weekend invited visitors to explore the intersection of art, design and technology through interactive installations, workshops and demonstrations. The projects tackled topics from AI and digital culture to ecology and multi-species worlds, and included DJ sets and drinks.

Digital Design Weekend at the V&A. Photo by Anki Delfmann