The inspiration for a fan like no other? An iconic name in British fashion, and one of Mayfair’s oldest squares.
For every new hotel that opens, Mandarin Oriental commissions a unique fan – and for our Mayfair address, where better to head than Vivienne Westwood? The hotel sits just across Hanover Square from 44 Conduit Street, where the legendary British label’s boutique has been dressing the capital’s fashion-forward rebels, rock stars and royalty since 1997.
Design inspiration came from a shared love of the square, built in the 1720s. “The fan sees two figures meeting and dancing theatrically,” says Alex Krenn, senior designer at Vivienne Westwood. “They are alive, well-dressed and mysterious – perhaps friends or glamorous lovers. They’re silhouetted against the square, which we turned upside down to work with the shape of the fan. Vivienne did this in the early days of her World’s End shop in Chelsea, with an image of Piccadilly Circus. She liked to turn things on their head.”