Guoman hotels has teamed up with renowned millinery designer, J Smith Esquire, to create five bespoke hats - one for each of the five hotel's greeting doormen.
Launched at the start London Fashion Week (Spring/Summer 2012 Collections), the collaboration is entitled 'Guoman presents J Smith Esquire: 5'.
The hats are all unique designs which have been exclusively created and handmade for Guoman Hotels by the millinery label's owner and founder, Justin Smith, in his London studio.
Two exhibitions - on view at The Royal Horseguards and Charing Cross hotels - have been curated by Gemma Williams to celebrate the launch of the doorman hat collection and will also showcase couture collaborations and archive pieces from the last five years of Justin's work.
"I thoroughly enjoyed the design process for this project and spent a lot of time exploring all five of the Guoman hotels for inspiration. As all five of the hotels are so individual in their design and history, I have created each of the hat designs with a distinct embellishment. I have always been inspired by international design-takes for hotel doorman uniforms and so have used this interest to create a refreshed, couture take on what is such a classic, traditional bowler hat shape," explained Justin Smith, milliner and 'J Smith Esquire' owner and founder.
"This project is particularly special for me as it allows me to not only highlight my current collection with Guoman Hotels in the doorman hats, but also gather a selection of my previous designs and collaborations from the last five years into an exciting exhibition. To bring everything together within the hotels in celebration of the five individual doorman hats, together with five years of my personal millinery and hat creations is extremely exciting."
The retrospective exhibition and catalogue, curated by Gemma Williams, will be the focal point of the 'J Smith Esquire''s London Fashion Week presentation. Guoman Hotels' flagship luxury London hotel, The Royal Horseguards, will host an exhibition featuring all five of the doorman hats along with pieces from the 'J Smith Esquire' label and designer collaborations. Guoman Hotels' Charing Cross, a four-star luxury railway hotel located literally in the very centre of the capital, will play host to an interactive audio-visual experience which will illustrate the full creation process for the project as well as from Justin Smith's diverse career.
The designer doorman hats were launched as Guoman Hotels' doormen uniforms from the first day of London Fashion Week. The concentrated exhibitions will run across The Royal Horseguards and Charing Cross hotels for five weeks in total. Guoman Hotels welcome visits to both exhibitions complimentary during this time, no booking necessary.
For more information please visit www.guoman.com and www.jsmithesquire.com.
- Ends -
About Guoman Hotels:
Guoman Hotel Management Limited operates two hotel brands within the UK market; Guoman Hotels, an exclusive collection of deluxe hotels located in central London and Thistle Hotels, a chain of quality full service hotels in the UK's major cities.
Guoman Hotels in the UK consists of four landmark properties; Charing Cross, the Cumberland, The Royal Horseguards (current AA London Hotel of the Year 2010/11) and The Tower. Whilst each hotel in the portfolio is different with its own unique identity and style, each provides the very highest levels of comfort and service to its guests.
In 2010, Guoman Hotels launched internationally, with its new property opening in Shanghai. In the UK, The Grosvenor Victoria property will join the collection in the near future.
Guoman Hotel Management Limited is a wholly-owned subsidiary of GuocoLeisure Ltd, part of the Hong Leong Group which has hospitality and leisure businesses across the globe with hotels in Europe, USA, Australasia and Asia.
For further information please visit www.guoman.com
Stacey Stockwell, Siren PR, Room on the Roof, Riverside Studios, Crisp Road, London, W6 9RL, 020 8237 1210, www.guoman.com
