Love is in the Air: Chubby Heart Balloons Fly Over London on Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is always an opportunity for brands to push their products and groups to push their agendas. But one designer is using it simply as an opportunity to promote London.

Heart-broken Londoners whose sweethearts have just dumped them might want to avoid looking up on Wednesday, February 14.

British designer Anya Hindmarch has hoisted giant "chubby heart" balloons above some of the capital's biggest landmarks, like Battersea power station.

She said she felt Londoners needed cheering up as they were struggling with the uncertainty of Brexit and with the constant threat of terrorism.

Chubby Hearts Over London is a design project conceived by Anya Hindmarch as a love letter to London and supported by the Mayor of London, the British Fashion Council and the City of Westminster. Find out more at https://t.co/1tZ0WUiaHU #CHUBBYhearts #AnyaHindmarch pic.twitter.com/DcJI9YhArn

— ANYA HINDMARCH (@anyahindmarch) 14 February 2018

"This is a love-in. We're using our platform to say our city is unbelievable, let's be positive and we'll find our way through all the tricky bits," said Ms. Hindmarch.

Happy #ValentinesDay! ✨
This is our ‘Love letter to London’ in collaboration with @anyahindmarch and other iconic London landmarks. Our 'Chubby Heart' will be squidged on the front of the hotel from 14th – 20th February ❤️ #CHUBBYhearts #DCmoments pic.twitter.com/2Abi6r5sNd

— The Dorchester (@TheDorchester) 14 February 2018

Social Media Buzz

The chubby hearts were greeted enthusiastically on social media with dozens of individuals and companies tweeting about it, including the Ritz and Dorchester Hotels.

Hindmarch, who spends most of her time designing luxury handbags, has teamed up with the Mayor, Sadiq Khan, and 13 city boroughs as part of London Fashion Week.

Happy Valentine’s Day! We’re delighted to reveal the very first Chubby Heart in Covent Garden from @anyahindmarch's Chubby Hearts Over London project. Head down to Covent Garden today to see the adorable Chubby Heart for yourself! #ValentinesDay #CHUBBYhearts #CoventGarden pic.twitter.com/woGoWLXaHX

— CoventGarden Insider (@CoventGardenLDN) 14 February 2018

"It's a passion project. By not doing a show this season, we had some capacity to do something that was not about fashion," said Ms. Hindmarch, who grew up in Essex but launched her label in London in 1987, aged just 18.

Her business has annual sales of US$57 million (£41.3 million) last year.

Waking up to our first sighting of @anyahindmarch’s Cubby Heart campaign, suspended outside our neighbors @theritzlondon until dusk this evening.
Photograph by S E M Grimsley. #CHUBBYHearts pic.twitter.com/kV81RoCnBP

— The Wolseley (@TheWolseley) 14 February 2018

'London is Center of Creativity'

"The first words that come up when people talk about British fashion are creativity and bravery, so we don't tend to follow, we lead with ideas. If you speak to any international buyer who comes to London, the thing they find unmissable about our fashion week is that raw ideas start here," she said.

Ms. Hindmarch is a vociferous opponent of Brexit and joined designers Erdem Moralioglu and Christopher Bailey in signing an open letter before the referendum in favor of staying in the European Union.

Thanks to all those who took part in today's Wayfinding #FontSunday. Here's a GIF from Anya Hindmarch's fashion concept, "Service Station". pic.twitter.com/RsWDFMi0vy

— Design Museum (@DesignMuseum) 11 February 2018