Mandarin Oriental Mayfair & Vivienne Westwood auction fan to aid War Child.
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In the heart of Mayfair’s Hanover Square, the new Mandarin Oriental sits just across from 44 Conduit Street, home of the Vivienne Westwood boutique.
Through a shared love of the historic area, one of London’s finest and oldest squares, Mandarin Oriental worked with the house of Vivienne Westwood to design a handcrafted fan to illustrate this elegant square and create a signature emblem to inform the individuality of the new Mandarin Oriental hotel.
The inspiration for the fan started with the historic Square, named in honour of George I, the Elector of Hanover. The square was laid out in the late 1710s and was originally lined with fine terraced houses, occupied by some of London’s most celebrated society figures.
“The design of the fan sees two silhouettes meeting, dancing. Dramatic– well dressed- mysterious, perhaps friends meeting in the afternoon, perhaps glamorous lovers. The two figures are inspired by traditional paper cut-outs and Vivienne Westwood campaigns. The silhouettes are framed on a hand drawing of the square, turned on its head. Vivienne did this in the early years in her Worlds End shop with an image of Piccadilly Circus upside down.” – Alex Krenn, Senior Designer, Vivienne Westwood.
Susanne Hatje, General Manager of Mandarin Oriental Mayfair, London set out the objective for the design saying: “Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group’s well recognised gold fan logo is the inspiration for every hotel in the Group’s portfolio to create their own unique fan that represents their own location, culture and personality. In the case of Mandarin Oriental Mayfair, we wanted to commission a fan that placed us in the heart of this vibrant district – at the crossroads of fashion, art and culture – and we could think of no better fashion house than Vivienne Westwood to create this stunning unique fan.”
The fan was completely handcrafted in the UK, bringing together traditional artisanal skills and craft, brought together by Ian Block from The Worshipful Company of Fan Makers (The Fan Makers Guild), founded in 1709.
The Silk Weaving for the fan leaf was created with The Gainsborough Silk Weaving Co Ltd, and hand woven in Suffolk. The Wooden Sticks that form the body of the fan were made from a London Plane tree that fell in a storm in St James’ Park, then hand carved and waxed by Malcom Cox, an expert in carving fan sticks.
The design was hand drawn in 8 layers on a light box – each element to the illustration has its own layer. The design was then screen printed onto silk in Southall by Ivo Textiles Ltd, while the finished silk leaf was pleated by London based Ciment Pleating. The Artist Tom Saunders then completed the painting of the design over the sticks. The charms for the fan were made in silver by the London jeweller, Katy Feldstein. Finally, the fan was then assembled at Ian Block’s workshop in London, A.T. Cronin Workshop Ltd.
As part of the collaboration, a second handcrafted fan will be auctioned by The Auction Collective to raise money for War Child, the only specialist charity for children affected by conflict.
Auction Live: 23rd May 2024
Auction Ends: 28th June 2024
As part of The Vivienne Foundation’s ‘Stop War’ campaign, the sale of the fan will support War Child’s Children’s Emergency Fund which supports children in crisis when disaster strikes, such as the outbreak of war or the rapid deterioration of a conflict situation. The War Child’s Children’s Emergency Fund is currently supporting children in war torn Gaza and Ukraine.
About War Child
War Child UK is driven by a single goal – ensuring a safe future for every child affected by war.
Using 30 years of experience and proven methodologies, War Child aims to reach children as quickly as possible when conflict breaks out and stays long after the cameras have gone to support them through their recovery. War Child works with local communities and governments to help protect and educate children, and support them to heal and learn, for a safer, brighter future. Because one child caught up in conflict is one child too many.
War Child understands children’s needs, respects and stands up for their rights, and puts them at the centre of everything it does. War Child boldly campaigns on the root causes of conflict and helps to amplify children’s voices, so that it can advocate for change on the issues that matter to them.
Together with its partners, War Child delivers vital work in 14 countries across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America.
Every day, its local teams are in communities and refugee camps creating safe spaces for children to play, learn, and access psychological support. War Child also specialises in responding rapidly to emergency crisis situations as they happen, offering immediate and critical aid impartially to keep children safe and help them through their trauma.
War Child UK is a member of the War Child Alliance, a global foundation made up of five fundraising offices and 14 programme offices.
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