Lee Broom and his Trio of Design at the London Design Festival
The London Design Festival, and particularly this year’s edition, stands as one of the most vibrant events in the European cultural calendar. And in the heart of Shoreditch, London’s creative district par excellence, one name shines with particular intensity: Lee Broom. The British designer, renowned for fusing art, functionality and spectacle into pieces that become contemporary icons, has presented his “Trio of Design”, an installation that brings together three of his most outstanding projects from the past year: Cascade, in collaboration with Lladró; Overture, created with Calico Wallpaper; and Chant, his first portable lamp.
Spread across the three storefronts that make up his flagship showroom on Rivington Street, this triptych installation not only celebrates formal and technical innovation, but also the power of storytelling. Each piece is a chapter in its own right, yet together they form a coherent conversation about transformation, materiality, and the capacity of design to transcend function and become a sensory experience.
The spirit of the “Trio of Design”
Lee Broom’s proposal for this festival is much more than a product showcase: it is an immersive installation that sets up a dialogue between three distinct disciplines — porcelain, wallpaper and handblown glass — under a unifying narrative.
As the designer himself explained during our exclusive conversation: “Although each project explores a different medium — porcelain, glass and wallpaper — they are all rooted in illusion and transformation. Overture looks at drapery as performance, Cascade turns porcelain into glowing lanterns, and Chant translates a chandelier into a portable object. Together they create a conversation on materiality, craft, and how design can move beyond function”.
This vision is essential to understanding Broom: his collections are not only about solving practical needs, but about provoking emotions, generating atmospheres and telling stories.
“His collections seek to provoke emotions, create atmospheres and tell stories.”
Cascade: porcelain transformed into light
One of the major milestones of the year for Broom is his collaboration with Lladró, the iconic Spanish house of porcelain craftsmanship. The result is Cascade, a lighting collection that debuted at Euroluce during Milan’s Salone del Mobile, now unveiled in London.
Inspired by traditional paper lanterns, these pieces transform the delicacy of porcelain into a translucent material that emits a warm, ethereal glow. Thanks to a modular system, the lamps can be arranged in vertical compositions reminiscent of cascading streams of light.
Broom shared with us his experience of working alongside Lladró’s Valencian artisans: “Visiting the Lladró factory was a key part of the process. Seeing the artisans’ meticulous handcrafting techniques and the level of detail required to shape porcelain helped me understand the material. Combining their mastery with my modernist design approach enabled us to create a collection that merges tradition with contemporary aesthetics”.
With Cascade, porcelain — so often associated with ornamentation — gains a new role: it becomes a language of purity, modernity and poetic luminosity.
Overture: turning walls into a stage
If Cascade celebrates Spanish artisanal tradition, Overture marks a personal milestone for Broom: his first foray into the world of wallpaper, in collaboration with Calico Wallpaper.
Initially presented during New York Design Week, the collection now arrives in the UK for the first time, reimagined for a London audience. Drawing on the designer’s childhood in the theatre, Overture explores drapery as a performative gesture.
“With Overture, walls become a theatrical space.”
As Broom explained during our interview: “My childhood in theatre had a huge influence. I was fascinated by how set designers used fabric and light to create illusions and entire worlds. With Overture, I wanted wallpaper to have that same performative quality: to transform flat walls into something alive, dimensional and full of movement”.
The result is a series of wall coverings that evoke monumental curtains, folds that appear to breathe, and surfaces that suggest constant movement. With Overture, walls cease to be architectural limits and instead become a stage where design performs.
Chant: portable light with a sculptural spirit
The third chapter of this triptych is the Chant Portable Table Lamp, a piece that extends the aesthetic language of the Chant chandelier while reinterpreting it as an autonomous and accessible object.
Crafted from handblown glass — available in clear or frosted versions — Chant takes its cue from 1970s architectural glass blocks. Its robust yet refined design makes it equally suitable for indoor and outdoor use, thanks to its weather-resistant construction.
“Portable lighting gives people the freedom to shape their spaces. With Chant I wanted to offer that flexibility without sacrificing craft or beauty. It’s practical, but also atmospheric — a light you can live with anywhere”.
With up to 40 hours of battery life, dimmable settings and artisanal finishes, Chant redefines what a portable object can be: not only functionality, but also atmosphere and style.
Function and spectacle: the Broom formula
Lee Broom’s work has always moved along the boundary between design and art, utility and theatricality. How does he manage to maintain that balance? He sums it up succinctly: “I start with a concept that feels emotional or theatrical, then refine it through craft and engineering so it works beautifully in everyday life. I know the balance is right when something is both functional and emotive”.
This philosophy is evident in every piece of “Trio of Design”: luminaires that are sculptures, wallpapers that are stage sets, portable lamps that are atmospheres.
Special editions and anniversaries
The festival also serves as a stage to celebrate important milestones in Broom’s career. The iconic Crescent collection celebrates its 10th anniversary and is reinterpreted in a bold blackened brass edition. In addition, the Orion series introduces a brushed antique brass finish, while the Hail and Vesper collections launch in brushed bronze.
These limited editions reinforce the idea that Broom’s work is never static: it evolves, transforms and dialogues with the present, while remaining timeless at its core.
Dates and location
The complete installation of “Trio of Design” can be visited during the London Design Festival 2025, from 16–21 September, at the Lee Broom flagship store: 91, 93 and 95 Rivington Street, Shoreditch, London, EC2A 3AY.
(*) Photos: Lee Broom.
