Last night was a shopping event to raise awareness of Aspinal’s collaboration with War Child, for whom they are raising money through auction. Renowned artist and designer Annie Newman was decorating the bags live in the store, using 23 carat gold dust and Swarovski crystals to decorate the pegasus motif. The original designs themselves were hand-painted by artist Emma Shipey, who has been working with the brand since the launch of the debut Pegasus collection for AW16.
Annie took a moment to chat with us about her work and describe how personally touched she felt to be working with the heritage brand. Annie herself is fascinating – she’s previously worked with royalty, the Beckhams and Jimmy Choo, has survived cancer twice, and has a Pekingese called Princess Bunny. Girl crush.
We gathered in Aspinal’s flagship Brook Street store (which, FYI, was where Handel lived and composed. Who knew?!) for a night with creative director Mariya Dykalo, Annie, and representatives from War Child. Proceeds from two of the exclusive hand-embellished Pegasus Mini Trunks auction will go to War Child’s efforts to protect children affected by conflict and rehabilitation.
The Pegasus collection is built around the much-loved Aspinal shapes (box clutch, scarves, cross-body bag etc), but the Pegasus design itself was penned by Emma. It has a magical, other-worldly feel to it – all hand-drawn conctellations, stars, and mythical creatures.
We lounged in the central room eating macaroons and drinking champagne, surrounded by the most accessories. And homewear – how fancy would you feel if you had an Aspinal backgammon set on your coffee table?!! Goals.
I took a couple of styles for a road-test, and was particularly drawn to the cute-as-hell backpacks. They’re refreshingly modern, and seem to mark a growing urban direction for Aspinal.
You can shop the Pegasus collection here.
Olivia x
