The London EDITION’s Partnership With the Design Museum
The hotel’s year-long collaboration shines a spotlight on Simone Brewster, one of London’s most thought-provoking designers
Few hotels have made culture as central to their identity as The London EDITION. The hotel has built a reputation for bringing genuinely compelling creative voices into its spaces, not as decoration, but as an integral part of the guest experience.
The hotel’s year-long partnership with the Design Museum feels like a natural extension of that philosophy. Together, they are supporting PLATFORM: Simone Brewster, shining a spotlight on one of London’s most thought-provoking designers. Brewster‘s practice draws on a remarkable breadth of reference—from ancient fertility figures to African diasporic traditions—and she works with an equally eclectic range of materials, including wood, hair, copper and cork, to create objects that are as intellectually layered as they are visually striking.
The collaboration stretches well beyond the walls of the museum. The London EDITION is weaving Brewster’s presence throughout its own iconic spaces: hosting an intimate dinner at Berners Tavern, a cocktail evening in the Punch Room tied to the release of the accompanying Thames & Hudson monograph, and an installation in the Lobby Bar during London Design Week. It is a partnership that speaks to something larger: a belief that great design and great hospitality are, at their best, telling the same story.
To tell us more about the partnership and the vision behind it, we sat down with Caroline Lever, Director of Culture and Entertainment at The London EDITION.
COOL HUNTING: What prompted The London EDITION to partner with the Design Museum for PLATFORM: Simone Brewster?
Lever: The collaboration naturally grew from our mutual appreciation and deep love of design, but equally, it reflects the London EDITION and Design Museum’s shared belief in creating opportunities and space for the current and next generation of creatives—the future voices and cultural icons shaping what comes next.
CH: Brewster’s work resists categorisation. Does that multidisciplinary spirit mirror how you approach cultural programming at the hotel?
Lever: While Brewster’s work resists easy categorisation, there is, of course, a unifying thread. Her practice is richly layered, weaving together references and narratives that span the ancient and the contemporary. A similar sense of layering can be found in the design of the the London EDITION, where a striking silver orb by contemporary lighting designer Ingo Maurer quite literally reflects the building’s Georgian features in the Lobby.
When it comes to programming, my role is to ensure the hotel remains culturally relevant within the local landscape. That means shaping a programme that reflects the depth and diversity of London and its many creative communities, spanning fashion, art, music, LGBTQ+, literature, film, food and design. Just as importantly, we aim to create space for both established voices and emerging talent.
This has taken many forms: our iconic Halloween Ball with fashion designer Dilara Findikoglu (whose work was featured in the recent Gothic exhibition at the Design Museum), our recent Frieze celebration with Sadie Coles HQ, regular book talks with Rizzoli, an ongoing live music series and our annual festive tree.
CH: The opening dinner at Berners Tavern feels intimate. What role do such gatherings play?
Lever: More and more I feel a growing appetite for real-life, intimate experiences. We want our spaces to feel like a home for the creative community, somewhere that fosters conversation and exchange, and a place to, quite literally, break bread together.
CH: You’ll also host a cocktail and conversation in Punch Room to mark the launch of the accompanying publication. How do you approach these moments differently from traditional talks?
Lever: Our book talks in Punch Room are always very special events as they are very personal, intimate and informal. Typically the evening begins with a cocktail followed by an ‘in conversation’ between the author and a notable figure from their world, with the audience and then another drink to round it off!
CH: How do you integrate contemporary design into a space already rich with identity?
Lever: In this instance, the aim is not necessarily to integrate rather, perhaps to highlight or spotlight a work by Brewster.
CH: What defines success for a collaboration like this?
Lever: We hope the collaboration will further strengthen our relationship with the design community and deepen the narrative of The London EDITION as a culturally driven brand in the public imagination. With our first collaboration with the Design Museum—and our first of this kind—success would ideally mean building on the partnership in the year ahead and creating expanded opportunities for future collaboration.
PLATFORM: Simone Brewster is free to visit on level 1 of Design Museum through January 2027.
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