London-based designer Ashish Gupta has brought his wonderfully campy flare to the lobby of The London EDITION in the form of it’s annual Christmas Tree. Tasked with the decoration of the festive fir, Gupta was inspired by his childhood memories in his native India and has used the collab to show guests of the luxury hotel his signature vibrant design codes. “I love colour and sparkle,” says Gupta. “And I’m always partial to a bit of camp, bad taste and kitsch, and this tree has that in spades, in the best possible way – think John Waters. But most importantly, it feels magical, which is a quality that is so important for me in my fashion practice and one of the reasons I love glamour and I use sequins. It also has a very analog feeling, which is a reflection of making things by hand, which is what I do in my fashion practice.”
The influence of Gupta’s Indian heritage appears in the materiality of the tree’s sparkling trim. “About half the tinsel came from India,” says the designer about his eclectic mix of materials, all of which are pre-used, second-hand or deadstock from the ‘60s to ‘90s. “I think it’s nice to be able to use these objects again. Some have been stored in basements and lofts for decades.”
“I actually love vintage tinsel trees,” Gupta continues, speaking of what he looks for in an ideal Christmas tree. “Tinsel trees were a real classic of mid-century Christmas decor, embodying the era’s space-age aesthetic and modern design. One of my aunts, who briefly immigrated to the US in the ‘60s, bought one for her kids and when they grew up, it was passed on to me. I used to love decorating [it]. Christmas wasn’t really a big thing in Delhi (where I grew up) but I would make fake snow out of cotton wool and the fairy lights were strings of plastic strawberries with little lights inside them, [which were] very popular in India at the time as wedding decorations. I still have this tree, and maybe this year I am finally going to unpack and decorate it at home!”
Another exciting development in the world of Ashish is the new e-commerce website he has launched, marking the first time his eponymous brand has broached a direct-to-consumer model. “I’m a bit of a technophobe so it always just felt quite daunting, but I think retail has changed so drastically and it just became necessary after all the changes that have happened, that have affected the industry so much. It’s actually been a huge learning curve and I’m really proud of it.” Discover Ashish’s new spot to shop here.
Photography by Henry Mills.