Preview: what to expect at Shoreditch Design Week

Shoreditch Design Week returns this September with an expanded programme placing material innovation, emerging talent and inclusive design firmly in the spotlight.

Running from September 15^th-20^th as part of London Design Festival, the event will bring together more than 100 showrooms, exhibitions, installations and events across one of the capital’s most creative districts. New for 2026 is Material Matters at Unlocked, bringing together designers, manufacturers and researchers exploring the future of materials. Highlights include FRONT and Biomason’s Mimmik Tile, grown using bacteria rather than fired in a kiln; Carbon Cell’s biomaterial alternative to plastic foams; and acoustic products created by The Or Foundation using post-consumer clothing waste. Neve Beill Ceramics will present its Thames Matter collection, made using clay sourced from the River Thames, while Phyta Biodesign explores how façade and wall systems can provide habitats for wildlife.

Also making its debut is ND Selects at Kachette, a curated showcase from graduate design show New Designers. Focusing on independent businesses in their first one to five years of trading, it offers a first look at names including This is Oink, Rosie May Ceramics, Riolab Ceramics, Phil Berczuk Design and E.L.S Designs. For those focused on commercial interiors, Design at Work by OnOffice returns to Protein Studios, examining how workplace design can support wellbeing, efficiency and comfort. Sharing the venue is Neuroplaces, billed as the UK’s first B2B exhibition and conference dedicated to neuroinclusive and accessible design. Bringing together researchers, designers, workplace experts and industry leaders, it will consider more inclusive environments across workplaces, hospitality, public spaces and transport.

Image on the right is of Material Matters 2026, Prima Materia. Image credit: Tom Carter. Image on the left is JS. THONET. Image credit: JS. THONET

Elsewhere, Design Burger will launch its first publication, The Product Design 100, alongside a six-day exhibition featuring realised products spanning furniture, lighting, consumer electronics and transport. Sustainability continues across the programme. AHEC, Mitre & Mondays and Benchmark will present Wood for the Trees at the Tab Centre, an immersive exploration of responsible forestry, sustainable timber and the future role of forests in construction and design. International platform Isola Design also returns with emerging designers and independent studios focusing on innovation, sustainability and biomaterials. At House of Icon, 2LG Studio’s You Can Sit With Us returns for a fourth edition. Entitled ‘Messy Heart’, this year’s installation rejects perfection in favour of emotion, individuality and human connection, combining emerging makers with established designers. Raw Collaborative will also present ‘Design Intelligentsia’, bringing together collectible objects, sustainable materials and creative voices rooted in tradition, culture and history.

Binding the programme together is Voices of Shoreditch, a cohort of local designers and creatives including Bethan Laura Wood, Jasper Morrison, Lee Broom, Martino Gamper, Donna Wilson, Raw Edges and Rio Kobayashi, reinforcing the district’s distinctive cross-disciplinary creative character. The main exhibition programme runs from September 15^th-17^th, with the wider Shoreditch Design Week district continuing until 20 September.

Admission is free, with visitor registration required.

www.shoreditchdesignweek.com