Chin, chin! Asprey’s new Peninsula London boutique raises the bar

One of the distinctive things about Asprey, the legendary British luxury house, is that, because it’s been around so long – since 1781 – it's got a perpetual vault of truly classic designs to reconsider whenever current tastes demand. Asprey barware is a fine example. In the inter-war years, the luxury department store was quick to appeal to the new social mix of white-collar office managers and louche high-society types who had taken to speakeasy jazz clubs, apartment living and cocktail bars like an olive takes to a dirty martini.

Asprey barware worth celebrating

The apartments and cocktail bars were symbolic of the new modish way of life, as young professionals swooped in on new-build art deco city flats, trundling in stylish bar trolleys as soon as they turned a key in the door. The Asprey catalogue was not far behind, and the company responded to the hedonistic glamour of the cocktail era with a range of witty, beautifully designed art deco Asprey barware, in line with fashionable tastes. And so it was that the at-home pre-dinner soirée became a thing.

It’s fitting, then, that the bar area at the new Asprey boutique at The Peninsula London inhabits the hotel’s key architectural ground-floor spot – a sheer sweep of floor-to-ceiling windows towards the historical London junction where Hyde Park Corner meets Wellington Arch. The ‘A’ silver-plated drinks trolley with symmetrical circular frame takes pride of place in the 213 sq m space, designed by Robert Storey of Storey Studio, the London-based architectural practice behind Asprey’s flagship Bruton Street London store.

There, Storey established a palette of Georgian-influenced muted purples and greens, which is replicated at The Peninsula London boutique, creating a seamless interior for specific areas, from handbags to silks, punctuated with museum-like vitrines.

The colours come into their own in this light-filled London thoroughfare, all the better to enjoy the jewel-like decanters, soft-hued champagne flutes and shimmering silverware that light up the bar area, inspiring a longing for a more glamorous life. Or, at the very least, a gin cobbler gaily poured from an Asprey Bobsleigh cocktail shaker.

Asprey.com