During Chelsea in Bloom the streets of London are transformed by creativity on full display. It is a particularly magical time of the season and a wonderful occasion to enjoy the vibrant neighbourhood. In keeping with this years theme of ‘Flowers in Fashion,’ I was delighted to unveil the latest installation adorning the window of my Walton Street boutique.
The display – curated by Emmanuel – features an abundant array of blooms, including peonies, ranunculus, roses, forget-me-nots, and a variety of delphiniums. Presented in soft shades of blue and pink, accented with touches of white and green, artfully frame the space and window.
Inside, a dressmaker’s mannequin is elegantly swathed in Sanderson’s newly launched Highgrove by Sanderson ‘Wildflower Meadow’ collection. As a final flourish, the display includes ‘The King’s Rose’, developed by British rose breeder, David Austin, which was officially launched at the Highgrove stand during the Chelsea Flower Show on Monday, 19th May, attended by Their Majesties King Charles and Queen Camilla.
In celebration of this collaboration, I spoke with Claire Vallis, Design Director for Sanderson Design Group, about the collection’s origins, the enduring influence of British craftsmanship, and how nature continues to inform the way we design and live.
What initially inspired the collaboration between Sanderson and Highgrove, and how did you translate that inspiration into the design process?
This collection was born from our strong historical connection to the royal households. We have provided fabric and wallpaper for royal residences for over 100 years as a Royal Warrant holder. To be able to design a collection inspired by the cherished gardens at Highgrove, the home of His Majesty King Charles III and Queen Camilla, is an honour and a moment in our history.
We worked in partnership with Highgrove and in close collaboration with The King’s Foundation, a charity founded by King Charles that builds and supports communities where people, places, and the planet can coexist in harmony. As custodian of Highgrove Gardens, The King’s Foundation was very close to this project, and we had a fantastic open dialogue with them to create these designs. They shared stories about the gardens, and we offered our interpretations in fabric and wallpaper designs.
Highgrove is known for its deeply personal and sustainable approach to gardening. How did those values influence the choice of materials, colour palettes, or motifs in the collection?
The natural beauty of each garden is really important to the collaboration. Nothing is forced or overly designed. Every garden blooms in its organic beauty, offering glimpses of history and travel as you go through it. It thrives in this way, which is essential to capture in the collection. Highgrove by Sanderson embodies the gardens and everything they represent.
That moment we visited the gardens as a design team will stay with me forever. The abundance, beauty, and care and attention to detail in the restoration and nurturing of these gardens, or ‘rooms’ as they are known, was something I hadn’t experienced before. The Stumpery, a garden inspired by the Victorian concept of growing ferns from felled tree stumps and giving back to the earth, was incredibly powerful.
We’ve selected materials with sustainability and design in mind. All of our wallpapers are produced here in the UK in our factory, Anstey Wallpaper Company, using FSC-certified paper. For fabrics, we worked with our fabric printer and selected mills to design and produce fabrics that texturally elevate the collection. Topiary View in Wedgwood colourway is made from 100% hemp, and it is stunning.
Balancing the design’s history and newness with its textural quality was very important. Shand Gate is exceptional embroidery, created using a technique combining two global crafts: air knife printing and embroidery. It highlights the markings and patterns of the jubilant gates.
Can you walk us through a particular print or pattern in the collection that you feel best captures the essence of the gardens at Highgrove?
Highgrove Toile is that showstopping design that encapsulates the garden’s enchanting nature in Sanderson’s most iconic handwriting. Iconic Highgrove features have been added to a design taken from an authentic archival toile, including the Oak Summer House, a topiarised English yew and His Majesty King Charles III’s bust. Even the circular stone seat made of Derbyshire gritstone by masons from Hereford Cathedral, which the Bannermans designed, features amongst the design. Each detail has been meticulously drawn and painted to seamlessly blend old and new.
While Highgrove Toile epitomises the gardens, Hydrangea & Rose is a glorious design that encapsulates the abundance of florals. Featuring the King’s Rose, which was unveiled by David Austin during Chelsea Flower Show this year, the fabric has been specially designed for indoor and outdoor environments in the High Tea colourway.
How do you balance honouring a place as iconic and emotive as Highgrove with introducing fresh, contemporary design elements that feel relevant to today’s interiors?
For us, it’s about respecting the natural beauty of the gardens, the intensive restoration by His Majesty and the nurturing that goes into it and understanding how to elevate that through fabric and wallpaper. We looked to our own treasured archive for references that felt unique and aligned with the garden and coloured them in a palette that felt fresh and contemporary yet respectful of the garden’s real beauty and hues. Our colour names are a nod to that sense of place. Tetbury Blue and Gloucestershire Pear reference place while High Tea celebrates the iconic Highgrove House and greens such as Lichen and Fern delve into the details of the gardens. It was a wonderful exploration of the gardens to come up with the palette and design elements that balance tradition and modernity.
Sustainability and heritage often go hand in hand – how did this collaboration reflect Sanderson’s evolving commitment to responsible design?
A significant part of this collaboration was the King’s request to produce as much of the product as possible in the UK. With our British factories (Anstey Wallpaper Company and Standfast & Barracks) at our disposal, we could consider this when designing and developing the products. All wallpapers in the collection have been made here at Anstey, and all printed fabrics are produced through our fabric printer, Standfast & Barracks. This is how we champion British design.
Our design studio is based in Chiswick, London. The site, Voysey House, is the original building designed for Arthur Sanderson by C.F.A. Voysey. This connection to our past is significant to us, as a British brand, and when we design and make, we always consider our heritage and commitment to British craftsmanship.
Working with Highgrove Gardens has been an honour as it exemplifies the meaning of Britishness in garden form and champion’s sustainable design.
This year’s Chelsea in Bloom installation has been a celebration not only of floral artistry, but also of shared craftsmanship and enduring creativity, brought to life through our collaboration with Sanderson Design Group and the enchanting Highgrove collection.
From the gentle elegance of wildflowers to the regal presence of The King’s Rose, the display is a tribute to the beauty found in considered details and cultivated spaces. I hope it inspires you, as it has us.
