LONDON — The Londoner Hotel holds a special place in Chinese-born designer Huishan Zhang’s orbit.
It’s become his go-to venue to present his ready-to-wear collections and now, he’s designed the hotel’s Christmas tree.
“I am such a proud Londoner so the hotel for me over the years has come to symbolize London, from its amazing location in the heart of the city on Leicester Square,” said Zhang in an interview.
The tree, which sits in the hotel lobby, takes cues from the designer’s design vocabulary with the use of the black and white roses which he used in his resort 2024 collection, which was inspired by Eileen Chang’s 1944 novella “Red Rose, White Rose.”
Even though roses are not traditionally Christmas flowers, for Zhang they “symbolize love and joy, which is at the heart of Christmas.”
Susan Bender Whitfield, Tania Fares and Pippa Vosper.
“Christmas to me is about family reunions. Christmas isn’t traditionally celebrated in China but people do love to take this moment to be with family; over time it has become an important holiday to me as I cherish getting to spend time with my parents and loved ones,” explained the designer.
To celebrate the Christmas tree at The Londoner, Pippa Vosper and Susan Bender Whitfield co-hosted a party inviting the likes of Pippa Bennett-Warner, Anna Maxwell-Martin, Eunice Olumide and Karimah Hassan.
Hale Zero provided a DJ set with flowing Casamigos tequila margaritas and Ciroc vodka lychee rose martinis — all within the theme of the roses.