People often ask me what my favourite London venue is? I think it must be RHS Lindley Hall. Whilst we are blessed with a so many incredible spaces in London there is something special about the beautiful Edwardian glass vaulted Royal Horticultural Hall.
The hall has hosted some of the most complex, and my personal favourite, experiences over the years which highlights the flexibility and chameleon ability to adapt and create unique environments each time! It’s the perfect blank canvas to bring stories to life and has won the hearts of many luxury fashion houses to showcase their new collections from catwalk shows to collection celebrations.
So, as I watched London Fashion Week over the last few days, as much as I admire the collections, I’m always most excited to see which venues have inspired the designer’s new chapter. It’s such a fine balance and I’m sure a difficult decision for the house as the environment needs to allow the collection to be the star but plays a massive part in determining how brightly that star shines.
We’re in the business of designing spaces to enhance and elevate our clients story telling but whilst we often think that must mean somewhere new, we also mustn’t forget about the perfect gems that we can polish to reveal their natural beauty and sparkle. I remember introducing Lindley Hall to the fashion world with Martin Cooper’s debut presentation for Belstaff which in turn saw him elevate the house into a global luxury lifestyle brand. The space was transformed into a moonlit English country garden complete with luscious grass, shingle pathways, oak vitrines and a black inky midnight sky. The incredible Tom Ford also loved the Hall and produced three consecutive season catwalk shows in the space which saw it transformed into what one guest described as “the inside of a beautiful crystal jewellery box”
And this transformation is what I find most fascinating with Lindley Hall. You can pretty much leave her as she is, and she delivers a stunning environment, or she provides one of the only spaces in London that allows you to create an entirely unique environment. Thanks to the extremely high ceiling, rigging capability, access, and unimpeded floor space through lack of pillars.
The sparkle doesn’t tarnished, 10 years on from the first Belstaff show, we have since introduced Chanel to the venue, first with the Riviera inspired Cruise Collection, recreating the ambience of the Monaco pool side runway and al fresco Mediterranean lounge and hospitality and most recently as the backdrop for a global broadcast.
The Hall just keeps on giving and we are excited to see what our next creation will be in the space that now feels like home!
Author: Suzanne O’Shea
Su is the Managing Director of Crescendo and is a dynamic Executive Producer with over 20 years experience in sourcing locations and curating experiences for luxury fashion houses including London and international Fashion Week runway shows.
