Image from somersethouse.org.uk.
'Tis the season to be jolly, and we’re ho-ho-hopping into the festivities with a glass of mulled wine in hand.
It's the season of nesting, and a tempting phase rolls in when we can binge on Christmas films (Bridget Jones is at the top of our list, obviously), but the city's cultural offerings this month are worth getting out for. From the The Museum of Architecture’s Gingerbread City to get you salivating for festive feasts, or the V&A’s Drop In Design: Festive Origami workshop to craft decorations for the Xmas tree, London’s certainly got Christmas covered. For the scrooges lacking in Christmas cheer, fret not, as Alexander McQueen’s Roses exhibit is the perfect pitstop for a not-so-seasonal pastime.
V&A Drop In Design: Festive Origami
As pioneers of showcasing creative concepts in new artistic forms, the V&A certainly have not disappointed with this year's reinterpretation of the Christmas Tree. Gifted by the City of Colburg, Anna Huennerkopf’s bicentenary inspired Christmas Tree consists of 200 origami birds. Named Freedom, the piece is meant to evoke tranquility and joy for the bicentenary celebrations, with each bird representing one year.
Inspired by the Huennerkopfs work, the V&A’s Drop-In Design team have collaborated with origami artist, Coco Sato, in a number of origami workshops. Every Sunday, from now until Christmas, you can learn how to make your own Shimekazari, a traditional Japanese decoration to hang in your home. Say goodbye to Christmas baubles, we’re envisioning a tree of birds instead!
Drop-In Design sessions start on the 8th December 10:30 - 17:00, and continue every Sunday till the 22nd December, at the V&A Museum, Cromwell Road, SW7 2RL.
Image from vam.ac.uk.
Alexander McQueen Roses
In succession of their last installation in the McQueen Old Bond Street Store, Roses stands as a natural celebration of the symbolism of flowers held dear to the brand. Focussing on two centrepieces, members of the public are invited to examine the red Rose dress by Sarah Burton from her AW19 show, and the finale dress of Sarabande, Lee Alexander McQueen’s fresh flower dress from his SS07 collection.
Along with a number of archive pieces on display, explore the process and moodboards of selected garments, video footage of Judy Halil making the red Rose dress and a typographical video of how Burton’s floral vision have been a part of her collections at McQueen. The exhibit shows how fascinating the sharing of design and creative processes can be, and we certainly see why Burton deserves this year’s Trailblazer Award from the BFC.
Roses is open from 30th November at The Alexander McQueen Store, 27 Old Bond Street, W1S 4QE.
Photography by Chloe Le Drezen & Tim Beddow.
The Museum of Architecture’s Gingerbread City
Even the biggest seasonal misanthropists can’t deny that the food is one of the season's best assets. And the biggest advocate of this - whose use of festive cuisine has gone beyond just filling tummies- is The Museum of Architecture, whose fourth exhibition at Somerset House presents us with a city of gingerbread.
As an annual exhibition, this year’s theme explores ‘transport,’ with over 100 architects, designers and engineers creating and baking a mini, edible city inspired by cutting-edge technologies and sustainable design ideas. For the majority of us who'd be satisfied with a single gingerbread house, visit one of the daily family workshops that’ll teach you how to make oneself.
The Museum of Architecture’s Gingerbread City is open from the 7th December till the 5th of January, in the Lancaster Wing of Somerset House, Strand, WC2R 1LA.
Image from somersethouse.org.uk.
Also on The Monthly Agenda:
+ Your October Agenda: "The month where we wave goodbye to summer and say an apprehensive 'hello' to winter."
+ Your September Agenda: "Even for those of us who have long since graduated, the month still manages to bring with it a wave ofdreaded back-to-school anxiety"
+ Your August Agenda: "Pseudo-astrology aside, this month’s agenda certainly maintains this exuberant energy."
