Movie: Dezeen takes a tour of the inaugural West End Design District during this year's London Design Festival, taking in highlights including the Sanderson hotel, shoe designer Tracey Neuls' store and the Republic of Fritz Hansen showroom.Â
West End Design District is a new London Design Festival district launched this year by design show designjunction - see the digital map Dezeen created for the district here.
designjunction show director Deborah Spencer says she launched West End Design District because she felt central London was underrepresented during London Design Festival.
"There are hubs going on in the east, hubs going on in the west, but there had been nothing happening in central London," she explains.
designjunction curated West End Design District in partnership with Visa Luxury Hotel Collection and this year the district included the local Sanderson, Claridge's and W London hotels alongside showrooms and stores such as Aram, Molteni&C Dada, Republic of Fritz Hansen and Tracey Neuls.
In the movie we visit the Sanderson hotel on Berners street, refurbished in 2000 by French designer Philippe Starck, which featured an exhibition of paintings and sculptures by American artist Miya Ando during London Design Festival.
"We're very proud to be in the West End Design District," says Verena Haller, senior vice president of design at Morgans Hotel Group, which owns the Sanderon. "There are a lot of design stores around all in walking distance and it really attracts young designers and celebrities."
Next we visit shoe designer Tracey Neuls' store on Marylebone Lane, who designed special reflective versions of two of her signature shoes in collaboration with bicycle brand Tokyobike.
"For London Design Festival Tracey always designs a limited edition shoe," explains manager Jane Howard. "This year we've teamed up with Tokyobike. We've done two classic styles of Tracey's with added reflective detailing, which are perfect for cycling."
Finally, we visit Danish furniture brand Republic of Fritz Hansen's showroom on Margaret Street, which featured an installation called OFF/CUT by Chung Tyson Architects.
"This is a structure made out of our waste veneer and leather materials from our production facility in Denmark," explains Martha McNaughton of Fritz Hansen. "The whole idea behind it is an exploration into the re-use of waste materials."