Fiona Barratt might have married English football star Sol Campbell but she has also become a leading name in her own right in the world of contemporary British design. Trained at the Chelsea College of Arts as well as the Parsons School of Design in New York, she initially worked at Kelly Hoppen – of Dragons’ Den fame – before launching her own practise, Fiona Barratt Interiors, in 2006.
Her latest move, to open a showroom in London’s Pimlico at the end of last year, has certainly made everyone stop and take notice. That’s because besides the lighting fixtures by New York’s Lindsey Adelman and Christopher Boots of Australia, the furniture is all her own, designed under the FCB London brand.
Barratt’s pieces are bold and geometric with an intricate finish; they’re so striking that they’ll often leave you amazed. Her work with solid cast bronze and sandblasted wood or her use of exotic fish skin certainly gives the impression that she’s not afraid to mix it up. Most recently, FCB London collaborated with Alexander McQueen to create what we firmly believe is the most covetable men’s valet. Ever.
Debuting at the Wallpaper* Handmade exhibition during April’s Salone del Mobile, the imaginative suit-stand resembles the silhouette of man and woman. “Collaborating with Alexander McQueen has provided a very sculptural, fashion edge to the piece,” Barratt-Campbell explains, “but the inspiration for the shape is actually taken from a table base in my furniture range.”
“I wanted to design a product that was practical and beautiful not only in design, but in materiality too,” she continues, “I wanted to use a mix of materials, each chosen for its uniqueness in appearance, colour and texture.” Those include high-gloss oak, bronze and brass etched with creeping ivy, as well as red alligator skin lined in leather, lasered with Alexander McQueen’s signature Prince of Wales check.
Though the valet certainly isn’t cheap, given its price of 50,000 GBP (86,000 USD) as Barratt-Campbell asserts, it’s a unique piece that is as useful as it is beautiful. “By including the two USB charging ports, the valet is very current in terms of technology and by including a tray for all a man’s accessories, a pull-out tie and belt holder, a shoe horn and foot stand, it is definitely practical.”
