Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour has announced that it will recalibrate its Focus/20 event, offering a hybrid format that will deliver a safe experience to trade-only visitors, and an online programme for a global audience.
With a highly anticipated line-up of international designers, makers, and thought leaders, the event will be a celebration of the human imagination and demonstrates the positive way that design can bring people together, wherever they are.
Focus/20 kickstarts with a virtual launch on Sunday 13th September; note that no showrooms will be open on this day. From Monday 14th to Friday 18th September, tailored visits will be offered to trade professionals only.
At the event, visitors will be able to see elements that are vital to their hospitality schemes and take inspiration from a first look at the latest colours, patterns, and materials. Adding another layer, a curated selection of house guests in the Design Avenue will bring fresh perspectives.
The new Focus/20 format aims to manage the number of people in the building, limit queuing, and reduce contact. Sourcing will take place in the showrooms, which can more easily adhere to social distancing guidelines. All trade-only visitors need to register and can make an appointment with the showrooms of their choice via a new booking facility, ensuring a productive visit.
Details such as impeccable materials and finishes are best seen close up, and designers can view high-performance products in person. Many showrooms have long-term relationships with designers and the collaborative nature of project work leads to impressive results. Whether seeking ideas for a new bar, finishing touches for a suite, or design solutions for a lobby, this is where hospitality interiors of quality, individuality, and distinction come to life.
The Focus/20 virtual programme – all free to view – will reach out to a global audience, strengthening the Design Centre’s mantra to connect, converse, and create. This year’s line-up includes business-focussed sessions with designers such as Linda Boronkay of Soho House, Charlotte Rey, and Alexandria Dauley, as well as with next-generation names such as Georgina Collett of Collett Zarzycki, and Minnie Kemp of Firmdale Hotels.
Don’t Miss ‘Spotlight: Pan Pacific’, an online session hosted by Sleeper Magazine on Monday 14 September at 11:30 am GMT. With Pan Pacific Hotels & Resorts set to make its European debut next spring – bringing 237 keys to One Bishopsgate Plaza, a high-rise residential and hospitality development in London’s buzzing Aldgate district – Sleeper’s Assistant Editor Ben Thomas catches up with design studio Yabu Pushelberg and General Manager Anne Golden ahead of its opening.
A new snapshot series titled ‘Right Here, Right Now’ will provide access to the creative forces behind international design studios. They include, amongst others, Bernie de la Cuona, Lucy Vaughan, Sarah McGregor (Colefax and Fowler), Peter Gomez (Zoffany), as well as Dara Caponigro, the Creative Director of Schumacher, and Staffan Tollgard who will present new products from Bassam Fellows.
Online masterclasses will include one on the alchemy of lighting with Sally Storey, Sophie Paterson, and Andrew Hills of Porta Romana; scenic wallcoverings with US designers Timothy Corrigan, Mark D Sikes, and Dimonah and Mehmet Iksel. Informed by neuroscience and psychoanalysis, Sue and Tom Stuart Smith will discuss the benefit of gardens, whilst a session on the future of superyachts will feature Dickie Bannenberg and Simon Rowell. The Personal Shopper will be sharing knowledge of what’s in the showrooms, and the Design Discovery Tours and Style Radar sessions will report on the veritable treasure trove at the Design Centre.
As a design destination at the London Design Festival, Focus/20 is at the heart of the wider momentum across the capital. A hybrid offering, as both a physical and online experience, will encapsulate how design can continue to innovate and unite in a positive way.
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