After ten years, Tent London and Super Brand are merging and returning to the Old Truman Brewery under one umbrella. The London Design Fair was inaugurated today with a new format that aims to augment and stimulate the creative and trading experience offered to more than 25,000 visitors expected in the heart of East London, with new installations and international proposals.
The first outcome of the merging of the two events concerns the exhibition area. Instead of the usual two floors, this year three floors of the iconic industrial location are being occupied. In all, 250 designers and independent brands, 200 global brands and 15 Country Pavilions will be housed over 12,500 square metres.
Among these, the Trentino Region stands out with its presentation of the outcome of the collaboration of four British designers, who have been working in close contact with Trentino companies to create products dedicated to retail. “The aim of the collaboration," explained Jimmy MacDonald, founder and director of the London Design Fair, “was to encourage profitable and long-lasting exchange, both from the artistic and economic profile, of all the subjects involved. Presented on our 10th anniversary, this project is particularly significant for use since it places the emphasis on a cardinal point of our philosophy: the connection between designers and industry.
“The roots of our proposal,” continued MacDonald, “are essentially commercial. Everything exhibited must necessarily have a strong trading spirit.”
Another installation of special significance celebrates the successful careers that were launched through participation in the trade fair. The ten now well-established designers of 10 at Tent present pieces that figured in their debuts at trade fairs and were then released on the international market.
In addition to promoting and presenting British design to the rest of the world, the event has become a sought-after shop window for the products of international brands and designers in Great Britain. Indeed, for the first time a number of Country delegations have been invited, housed in 15 Pavilions, to present their manufacturing expertise to a global audience.
Among these, a special space is dedicated to India through the installation This is India, curated by Jimmy MacDonald with Spandana Gopal, founder and creative director of the Tiipoi brand. The pavilion houses ten Indian designers and producers who offer an intimate and fresh look at the state of the art in the Indian manufacturing industry.
Specifically targeted at retail buyers, architects, interior designers and designers, the first two days are reserved to professionals before the doors of London Design Festival 2016 are then opened to the public.
