Love all things Lanvin? Then you might want to check out this year’s Christmas tree of fashionably posh London hotel Claridge’s. Monsieur Alber Elbaz, the utterly charming and lovable artistic director of Lanvin, has personally decked it out… and it has left me cooing! Beyond adorable it turned out to be.
Going by last two years’ Christmas trees, designed by a pre-scandal John Galliano for Christian Dior, I half-expected something
frigid
artsy and high-brow. Then again it was Alber Elbaz, so a touch of whimsy is a given ‒ but I didn’t envisage this Downtown Abbey-meets-70s-nostalgia delight!
The tree is glimmering with multicoloured handmade Lanvin baubles, twinkly lights and glittery love-hearts, with various Lanvin-attired, slightly merry-looking marionettes lounging around the base with presents scattered all around them. But the best bit of this tree is the Christmas fairy – which is none other than Monsieur Elbaz himself! A marionette wearing the designer’s trademark bow-tie with sparkly wings sits atop the tree. And a pearl-clad Claridge’s maid with a feather duster in hand rounds off the picture. I told you it was too cute… now I want one of those dolls!!!
It was rather comfortingly old-school and warming, much like the hotel itself. Okay, this is going to sound like a plug-in but I can’t recommend Claridge’s enough, if you happen to be in londontown and want to *splurge* on your accommodation ‒ it’s totally worth it. Or, at least, try out the afternoon tea there – you’ll come out feeling like a prince/princess! Y-es, me & this Art Deco marvel (which was the inspiration behind Marc Jacobs’s A/W’11 collection for Louis Vuitton) share an endless love story.
So yeah, if you want to check out this joyful installation by Alber Elbaz, drop by Claridge’s lobby from 22nd Nov, 2011 – 2nd Jan, 2012 where it’s sitting pretty. Or, just by drop-by, for some sleb-
stalking
spotting (paparazzis are permanently camped outside!)… :-p