Brintons and LINLEY have collaborated to transform Burlington Arcade’s iconic carpet runway. For the first time in history, a highly anticipated design featuring 92 iconic buildings from around the world, has replaced the traditional 180-metre carpet which runs the full length of the arcade.The new carpet was unveiled on Monday 17th June by The Rt Hon Hugo Swire MP, Minister of State at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, with Burlington Arcade’s famous Beadles – the liveried guards wearing frock coats and braided top hats who have policed the Arcade since 1819.
This is the fruit of a collaboration between internationally renowned bespoke furniture and interior design company LINLEY and Brintons Carpets, who have united their talents to welcome international visitors to London’s most iconic shopping arcade.
Following a year when the eyes of the world were on London, thanks to the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the London 2012 Olympic Games, shops in Burlington Arcade celebrated a 42% increase in purchases from international visitors, helping to cement its position as a worldwide shopping destination.
Keeping the international spotlight firmly on London’s famous shopping experience, Burlington Arcade commissioned Brintons and LINLEY, to create a brand new, bespoke carpet that runs the full length of the longest and most beautiful covered shopping arcade in Britain. The focus of the design is to welcome international visitors to the luxury landmark, landmark, whilst acting as a showcase for British creativity, wit and design.
The contemporary design features iconic structures from every continent around the world; from bridges to cultural venues and centres of industry and business. Whilst contemporary, the design is still very much connected to traditional LINLEY marquetry and furniture and exemplifies architecture and heritage.
The design includes the Eiffel Tower in Paris, St Pauls Cathedral in London, Italy’s Duomo di Milano, Reichstag in Berlin, Seattle’s Space Needle, New York’s Empire State Building, Chrysler Building and Guggenheim Museum, the Christ Redeemer in Rio, the Sydney Opera House, Moscow’s Dormition Cathedral, The Aspire Tower in Doha, India’s Taj Mahal, China’s Pearl TV Tower and Forbidden City and The Sail in Singapore.
The carpet also features a few design surprises, and visitors who look carefully might see Mary Poppins flying over the London skyline, Quasimodo make an appearance in Paris and King Kong on New York’s Empire State Building.
Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, said: “As well as its reputation for heritage and culture, London offers unbeatable shopping, which draws people from across the globe and brings in millions to our economy. Burlington Arcade is one of the capital’s great treasures of shopping and this marvellous rug showcases great British design and manufacture. It’s a magic carpet ride across iconic buildings from around the world that will add to the arcade’s allure for Londoners and tourists alike”.
