British fashion designer Anya Hindmarch has teamed up with design collective Numen/For Use to create a London Fashion Week installation that sees visitors clambering through woven, electric-blue tubes in a Soho car park.
Forming part of a showcase called The Weave Project, The Tube is an installation designed to recreate the excitement of a children's playground for adults.
It comprises a series of twisting structures constructed from woven mesh and rope. Visitors can climb through the netted tunnels to experience the installation from all angles.
Installed in Brewer Street Car Park in Soho, The Tube has been open to the public for four days, from 16 to 19 February, to coincide with London Fashion Week.
It took three days for Numen/For Use – a trio of artists based between Croatia, Austria and Germany – to weave the structure. It then took seven days to erect, using 3,000 metres of rope for the suspension, and 11,000 square metres of net for the tunnel structures.
The group often create similar installations, with past versions including one made from a web of adhesive tape and another comprising carpet-lined cocoons.
The Tube installation marks the global relaunch of Hindmarch's Neeson bag collection, which provided the inspiration for the woven tunnels.
The new collection is an updated version of one of Hindmarch's most recognisable styles – a lightweight woven tote and cross-body bag, which take almost a week to make and features the brand's signature woven bow.
Hindmarch experimented with a big installation at London Fashion Week in September 2018, when she installed the "world's biggest beanbag" inside London's neo-classical 17th century Banqueting House.
"The Weave Project will be a completely immersive and playful installation that you can experience from the inside out," said Hindmarch.
"Following on from the Chubby Cloud, we like to take our customers on the journey behind the inspiration for our collections, in this case The Neeson," she added. "This is a beautiful sculpture and a complex project to bring to life but one that I can't wait to share."
The Weave Project also includes a themed cafe, plus a concept store stocking the Neeson collection and special-edition merchandise. Visitors can purchase the bags and have them personalised by on-site weavers, with hand-woven symbols, words and initials.
Hindmarch created another installation this month. Called Chubby Heart, it saw a plump red love heart wedged in between the pillars of Wellington Arch on Hyde Park Corner, to celebrate this year's Valentine's Day.
