When NOWNESS asked five fashion designers to send a message to the world via eight laser-brandishing robots to mark this year’s London Design Festival (which runs concurrent with London Fashion Week), some of them decided to toy with us a little. Scott Sternberg of Band of Outsiders simply documented his love of baked treats; Thakoon broadcast an ominous warning to mankind, while Kim Jones of Dunhill was less cryptic when presented with the proverbial soapbox––he sent out a stark memo on the decline of endangered wildlife, including figures to back it up. Rick Owens soothed with a more reassuring approach, and Bella Freud added a typically cheeky wink to the project with a quote from a US founding father. The project, entitled OUTRACE, which borrows robots from Audi’s production line, was conceived by Clemens Weisshaar and Reed Kram of international design company Kram/Weisshaar. Fitted with LED lights instead of tools, the robots sit on a rotating platform and each write a letter in turn while being filmed by long-exposure cameras. The communiqués will be projected onto screens in Trafalgar Square from September 16 to 23, along with missives from the public who can interact via the website outrace.org.