Glorious things to do in London this week (14-20 September 2020)

14 Sep 2020 | Updated on: 27 Sep 2022 | By Luxury London

This week, explore London Design Festival, a major new fashion exhibition by Gareth Pugh and Robin Gill's latest restaurant in Bermondsey 

London Design Festival, across London

Unity by Marlène Huissoud

Following the news of Terence Conran’s passing, the 18th edition of London Design Festival feels even more poignant, with physical and virtual events taking place across the capital until Saturday. Highlights include Tom Dixon’s Octagon exhibition, featuring eight creative spaces at his Coal Drops Yard HQ in King’s Cross, which is additionally hosting a pop-up bar. Also at Coal Drops Yard, French designer Marlène Huissoud has unveiled an interactive installation, Unity, which has been created in response to social distancing and the impact of Covid-19.

Across town, The New Craftsmen has launched a collaborative project in Mayfair, which brings together makers and interior design studios including Retrouvius, Sibyl Colefax and Waldo Works. Paul Cocksedge is presenting a new body of work, Slump, at the Carpenters Workshop Gallery on Albemarle Street and festival-goers can also embark on the Peckham Design Trail, which spotlights emerging and established design talent in South London.

When: until Saturday 20 September 2020Website: londondesignfestival.com

A major Gareth Pugh exhibition at Christie’s, St James’s

Due to Covid-19 restrictions, London Fashion Week has been scaled down to an innovative schedule of intimate presentations, appointment-only displays and digital events. Gareth Pugh is showcasing a major new multidisciplinary exhibition in partnership with Christie’s, featuring an ambitious series of film shorts and visuals by Nick Knight. The new autumn/winter collection is presented against virtual landscapes created by pioneering digital artist Jon Emmony, with a soundtrack spanning Patti Smith, Madonna and Frankie Goes to Hollywood. Intended as a radical statement of solidarity, all proceeds from ticket sales are being donated to Refuge, the UK’s leading charity tackling the effects of domestic violence.

Price: £10 per personWhen: 16-19 September 2020Location: Christie’s London, 8 King Street, London SW1Y 6QTWebsite: eventbrite.co.uk

Rails pop-up shop at Harvey Nichols, Knightsbridge

Rails, the Los Angeles-based label best known for its languid shirting (most recently worn by Beyoncé), has launched a new pop-up space at Harvey Nichols. A transitional capsule collection of laidback utilitarian staples is on display alongside an exclusive tie-dye loungewear set, in autumnal berry hues.

Also new at Harvey Nichols is Arddun Stores – a curation of independent, sustainably-produced lifestyle brands selected by Joe Petchelco. Found on the fourth floor of the department store, highlights include hand-blown glassware by Face Vessel, plant-based body and babycare by Bondi Wash and handcrafted jute bags by Maison Bengal.

Face Vessel large glass, £48; Maison Bengal bag, £85

When: throughout SeptemberLocation: 109-125 Knightsbridge, Belgravia, London SW1X 7RJWebsite: harveynichols.com

The Dairy Bermondsey opens at Bermonds Locke

Fans of Robin and Sarah Gill’s recently closed Clapham restaurant, The Dairy, can now rejoice at its reopening in Bermondsey. Set within the new Bermonds Locke complex – a development with 143 short-let, eco-friendly apartments – the restaurant retains all of the charm and panache of the original site, with a familiar menu of bold British flavours. Highlights include truffled Baron Bigod cheese with fig and walnut toast and honey; chicken liver mousse and rhubarb jam and wood-roasted lamb with ‘hayonnaise’, charred lettuce and mint oil.

Location: Bermonds Locke, 153-157 Tower Bridge Road, SE1 3LWWebsite: thedairybermondsey.com

Ai Weiwei: History Of Bombs at the Imperial War Museum, Lambeth

Chinese artist Ai Weiwei’s latest work, History of Bombs, is currently on display at the Imperial War Museum as part of a season of exhibitions, events and commissions that discuss the current refugee crisis. Visitors can explore Weiwei’s installation of no less than 50 bombs, which are depicted to scale in vinyl across the museum’s atrium. It is the first time that the space has been occupied by a single artist and also features prominent pieces from the museum’s permanent collection, including a Spitfire and a Japanese Ohka kamikaze plane.

When: until 24 May 2021Price: freeLocation: Lambeth Road, London SE1 6HZWebsite: iwm.org.uk

Read more: the best rooftop bars in London

The best rooftop bars in London: Boundary

Share