NOVEMBER | COVER FEATURE
Case study: Chubby Cloud,
London Fashion Week
Client: Anya Hindmarch
Event: Chubby Cloud, London
Fashion Week
Venue: Banqueting House
Date: 14-16 September, 2018
Number of attendees: 3,000
Following the success of her
heart balloons in February, Anya
Hindmarch injected an extra dose
of happiness into London Fashion
Week at Whitehall’s Banqueting
House. Visitors sunk into the
world’s biggest beanbag, designed
to mirror the cloud theme in her
autumn/winter 2018 collection, as
they looked up at the magnificent
17th century Rubens ceiling - the
largest surviving work by the
artist still in its original location in
Europe.
Why did you choose Banqueting
House for ‘Chubby Cloud’?
There was a lovely synergy
between the ‘Chubby’ Cloud and
the ‘chubby’ Rubens figures in the
cloud-filled ‘Ascension to Heaven’
ceiling painting in Banqueting
House’s Main Hall. It was the
perfect ‘light bulb’ moment when
we made this connection!
What was the kind of experience
you were hoping to create?
We wanted to speak directly
to our customers and (quite
literally) immerse people in our
world and our brand and for
them to experience things that
30
“There was a lovely
synergy between the
Chubby Cloud and the
‘chubby’ Rubens figures,”
– Anya Hindmarch
we love. We ran a series of live
talks, experiences, meditations
and music, with highlights
including bedtime stories read by
Poppy Delevingne and Claudia
Winkleman, Anya Hindmarch in
conversation with the Telegraph’s
Fashion Editor, Lisa Armstrong,
Professor Russell Foster talking
about and even
Radio 4’s Shipping Forecast read
live to music, all enjoyed on the
‘Chubby Cloud’.
Who was invited to the event?
The three day experiential
installation was open to the public.
We also held an industry event
for press and buyers from leading
media and department stores from
across the world. Tickets for the
events were in support of Historic
Royal Palaces’ charitable cause,
which reinvests event proceeds.
How early did the planning
process begin and what did it
involve?
The event was six months in
the planning. It started with us
approaching the incredible team at
Historic Royal Palaces to explain
the idea as we had created it
specifically for this space. It was
a BIG dream and they helped it
become a reality. We then had to
create the world’s biggest beanbag
working with a specialist team
who would respect the building
and all its important regulations,
embracing the complicated
engineering required to make this
dream a reality.
What was the duration of the
setup and what did it involve?
We had access to the space for
one day before the event launched.
There were a lot of hands involved
as the ‘Chubby Cloud’ beanbag had
to be filled on site. We also set up a
Chubby café and a Chubby shop for
guests to enjoy.
Was there any notable production/
catering?
There was a Chubby Café, where
guests could enjoy chubby inspired
cakes, and we also had a small
pop up store with the Chubby
collection and some special Chubby
Cloud merchandise. In addition
we held a very special dinner for
key international buyers attending
London Fashion Week.
How did guests respond to the
activations and the venue?
Tickets were sold out for all of
the events. The response exceeded
all of our expectations (with a
reach of 9 million at last count
through Instagram) but mainly it
was seeing the smiles on the nearly
3000 faces that passed through
that was the ultimate feedback.