The London Design Festival has announced its four winners for London Design Medals 2018, recognizing designers who are making, or have made, a significant difference to our lives through their innovation, originality and imagination.

There are four Medals awarded each year; each recognising the contribution made by leading design figures and emerging talents to London and the industry. 

Hussein Chalayan. Image © Cem Talu

This year, fashion designer Hussein Chalayan has been named as the winner of the Panerai London Design Medal 2018, which is awarded to an individual who has distinguished themselves within the industry and demonstrated consistent design excellence. The 2018 Design Innovation Medal has been awarded to MIT Professor Neri Oxman, while the 2018 Lifetime Achievement Medal is given to Czech-born architect Eva Jiřičná. 

Neri Oxman is an architect, designer, inventor and professor at the MIT Media Lab. Image courtesy of LDF

The Emerging Design Medal went to fashion designer Grace Wales Bonner. The award recognizes an individual who has made an impact on the design scene within five or so years of graduation.

A panel of established designers, industry commentators and previous winners included Paul Thompson (Rector of the RCA), Tony Chambers (Wallpaper* Magazine), Justine Simons (Deputy Mayor of Culture), Tristram Hunt (Director of the V&A), Nadja Swarovski (Board Member of Swarovski) and Es Devlin (Designer).

Eva Jiřičná is a Czech-born architect based in London. Image courtesy of LDF

This year's London Design Festival will kick off on September 15 and continue till September 23, 2018 in various venues across the city, celebrating and promoting London as the design capital of the world. 

In addition, the British Land Celebration of Design Medal Exhibition takes place during London Design Festival, illustrating the breadth of work and scale of achievement of each of the winners.

Grace Wales Bonner graduated from Central Saint Martins in 2014, and just one year later was awarded Emerging Menswear Designer at the British Fashion Awards, followed by the LVMH Young Designer Prize. Image courtesy of LDF.

Informed by broad research that encompasses critical theory, composition, literature and historical sources, Wales Bonner explores a distinctive notion of luxury via a hybrid of European and African approaches. International stockists include Dover Street Market, Selfridges, 10 Corso Como, Joyce, Matches, The Webster and Galeries Lafayette. she has also presented at the Serpentine Gallery and the V&A, while also lecturing at Parsons in New York.

The British Land Celebration of Design recognises the contribution made by leading design figures and emerging talents to London and the industry, with four Medals awarded each year. 

Previous winners include David Adjaye, Zaha Hadid, Richard Rogers, Margaret Calvert, Dieter Rams, Paul Smith and Bethan Laura Wood.

Top image (from left to right): Hussein Chalayan, Neri Oxman, Eva Jiřičná and Grace Wales Bonner.

> via LDF