London Design Festival: the London Design Festival is underway and the sun is shining so if you're out and about this afternoon be sure to check out the Seven Designers for Seven Dials installations curated by Dezeen (+ map).
Above: Aerial Escape by Gitta Gschwendtner - German-born designer Gitta Gschwendtner has also taken inspiration from the area’s slum history, when each of the seven apexes facing the Seven Dials monument housed pubs linked by underground escape tunnels. In Gschwendtner’s installation, seven interconnected ladders link two windows either side of Earlham Street to seemingly provide an escape route across the road and beyond.
Aerial installations by young designers Faye Toogood, Vic Lee, Paul Cocksedge, Philippe Malouin, Aberrant Architecture, Gitta Gschwendtner and Dominic Wilcox are installed above the streets of the Seven Dials area of Covent Garden, London. Click on the map above for more details about each one.
Above: 7 x 7 by Faye Toogood - hanging high above the heads of passers-by on Monmouth Street, Faye Toogood’s installation is a series of 49 outsized workers’ overcoats, representing the different trades within Seven Dials that have shaped the area over the years.
While you're there, pop in and see the Dezeen team at Dezeen Super Store at 38 Monmouth Street, where you can still get 10% off any Dezeen Super Store purchase (excluding sale stock and Jambox) and enter our competition to win a designer watch worth £150 by downloading this flyer and presenting it at the shop.
Above: Bunting by Philippe Malouin - Philippe Malouin has erected a giant installation of bunting made from transparent PVC to celebrate and highlight the Seven Dials area and its landmarks. Blown by the wind, the sixty bunting lines point the way to the Seven Dials monument.
The map above is taken from a larger map we've put together to chart all the events at this year's London Design Festival. Explore the large map here.
Above: Illustrations by Vic Lee - London-based illustrator Vic Lee has created a series of flags that draw on the shady history of the Seven Dials area. The illustrations incorporate the old street names during the 17th and 18th centuries, a time when Seven Dials was a slum famous for its gin shops.
The Seven Designers for Seven Dials installations will be in place until 5 October and Dezeen Super Store is open until 30 September.
Above: Catchpenny Quackery by Aberrant Architecture - Aberrant Architecture’s installation consists of 18 large metallic coins hanging above the street. Each coin features a unique symbol that advertises one of the bogus products and services that used to be offered by quack doctors in the Seven Dials area in years gone by.
See you there!
