Design often emerges, or asserts itself, at and from the edges: between disciplines, across geographies and in the delicate, liminal spaces where perspectives and experiences collide or coalesce. This is boundary work: a dismantling of design systems that have long been defined by and radiated out from the centre, whether that be global capitals, dominant production hubs or institutional powerhouses. Instead, it is at these seams—uneven, overlapping, generative—that new design narratives are being authored.

This year’s Global Design Forum, guest-curated by Samta Nadeem, curatorial director at STIR, and held at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), examined precisely that under its poignant theme, Design At/From the Seams. Through the lens of cinema, the Architecture & Design Film Festival (ADFF) seeks to make visible these seams—parallels, overlaps, borders—where design is less a fixed field, and more a porous, human encounter shaped by dialogue, context and narrative. The iconic venue’s Lydia and Manfred Gorvy Lecture Theatre, then, served as a characteristically sophisticated setting for the announcement of ADFF:STIR’s anticipated London debut, the full edition touted for 2026.

In anticipation of that and to open the floor for conversations and collaboration, on September 13, 2025, the coalition hosted its much-anticipated Curtain Raiser at the V&A, presented in partnership with the London Design Festival and supported by the British Council. The event commenced with an introduction by Nadeem, who welcomed the audience and outlined the agenda before opening the floor to Kyle Bergman, director of ADFF, and Amit Gupta, founder and editor-in-chief of STIR. Together, they expanded on the ethos of the multifaceted film festival and expanded on its future editions.

The audience was as compelling as the programme itself, a mix of invited guests and design enthusiasts, representing a cross-section of London’s diverse yet engaged creative community: architects, designers, cultural leaders and patrons of the arts. Among them were Peter Murray OBE, co-founder of NLA and London Festival of Architecture; LionHeart, artist, poet and visionary director; Elizabeth Dellert, director of strategy and development, London Design Festival; Sumita Singha, academic, author and architect; Dr Adam Kaasa of the Royal College of Art; as well as architecture and design firm UHA (who presented an installation titled Stack in collaboration with the Saraf Foundation at ADFF:STIR Mumbai 2025), whose presence underscored the multidisciplinary nature of ADFF:STIR’s appeal inside V&A’s storied lecture theatre.

“The idea of the festival is to bring together both design professionals and the general public who are interested in architecture and design”, Bergman noted, “and show films that have both a design story and a human one.” Cinema, when framed as such, becomes not only a conduit for knowledge but also a connective tissue, bridging audiences, disciplines and cultural contexts.

For Gupta, film’s immediacy, expression and reach are central to ADFF:STIR’s overall mission, its scope extending beyond the screen. “Cinema, film is a very powerful lens. When we decided to [introduce the festival] to the country, we decided to add multiple tenets and layers to it. How do we make cinema not a one-way process of consuming content?” he reflected. “We realised that public programming is also an integral part of any festival… Kyle and I [thought] why don’t we take this format to the rest of the world? [He’s] been doing it in America, we had a success story in Mumbai… so [we thought] let’s take it to the world; and that’s where we are.”

They were joined on stage by Ben Evans CBE, co-founder and director of the London Design Festival, who placed ADFF:STIR within London’s cultural ecology: “There is an informed, confident and sophisticated design audience in London who are curious and interested in new ideas and activities. Our key task is to introduce our audience to the content of our partners and hope it fosters future relationships. I hope it stimulates debate and discussion, and this relationship continues going forward.”

The evening was headlined by a special UK screening of the film Green Over Gray: Emilio Ambasz by Francesca Molteni and Mattia Colombo, which served as an apt anchor, examining the work and environmental ethos of the Argentine-American architect. The screening was followed by an insightful conversation between Bergman and filmmaker Francesca Molteni, which delved into Ambasz’s legacy, the role of climate activism in architectural practice and how film can illuminate design in ways other media may not be able to. Closing remarks were delivered by Sevra Davis FRSA, director of architecture, design and fashion, British Council, underscoring the evening’s international collaboration. Acknowledgements followed, with Gupta extending sincere thanks to the festival’s partners: London Design Festival, the British Council, Molteni&C, Occhio, Loco Design, Solus Ceramics and Caro Communications.

The evening shifted to and concluded with a reception organised by and held at Molteni&C’s flagship London showroom in the vibrant Brompton Design District. Conversations spilled from the V&A’s theatre into Molteni’s elegant interiors, accompanied by sparkling drinks and heightened conviviality. Here, the festival’s spirit crystallised further: a celebration of architecture, design, art and culture through the medium of film, drawing together London’s creative circles in anticipation of what is to come.

This Curtain Raiser was less a preview and more a promise. ADFF:STIR London uniquely positions itself as a festival that resists the monologue, embracing instead the ‘seam’. London is no incidental backdrop. As a global cultural capital, layered with histories, contradictions and an enduring openness to the new, it offers fertile ground for the kind of cross-disciplinary, cross-cultural encounter that ADFF:STIR inherently champions. Here, it finds not just a stage, but a collaborator. The seams, in this context, are beyond the thematic. Here, stories of design are told not in isolation, but in dialogue with cinema, with audiences and with the city itself, intimate yet expansive, technical but deeply human.

The ADFF:STIR Curtain Raiser was presented in partnership with London Design Festival and supported by the British Council, made possible with the support of Molteni&C, Occhio, SOLUS Ceramics and LOCO Design.