Read this is the Evening Standard yesterday....
"Is that a stiffie in your pocket? Looks like you're off to a good party, then, because if Fendi, Mary Portas, Harper Collins and Missoni are anything to go by, this year's top summer shindigs have replaced e-invites with gilt-edged, shout-out-loud colours and staggeringly thick card invitations.
At bespoke stationer Smythson of Bond Street, which counts Lily Allen and Kate Moss as clients, Emma Woolley agrees there is a definite trend in the technological age where stationery has a new luxury status. "It's not just a utilitarian item now. There's an emotional connection. Whereas you could send off an email, the old-fashioned invite is more special. It's more likely to make people respond, too."There is also the cost to consider. At £6-£8 per invite, depending on the finish and the envelope, serious thought goes into who should feature on the guest list.
Impressive examples slipping through London letterboxes fall in to two categories. There is the sleek white, unbendable kind such as Victoria Barnsley's for a HarperCollins party. At the opposite end sits the extra weighty vivid orange and purple missive from Mary Portas for last week's preview of her new fashion collection. For this, she employed Essex-based Empress Design & Print.
"The Portas one was extra long so it was tricky but it looked good. If a standard card weighs 400g, that was around 1,200g and we had a wedding order last week for 300 invites of 3,500g, which is five whole layers - the biggest yet. We are seeing a lot more now," says an Empress engraving specialist.
Another noteworthy Empress client is Fendi, whose recent garish gold and yellow paperweight summoned guests to celebrate the launch of the brand's new fragrance, Fan di Fendi. Double the thickness of the Portas giant, Fendi admits that "this relocates the standard of the brand which is about luxury" and that weeks of preparation went into its design, taking into consideration everything from edging to foiling.
So if there's a pile of stiffies on your desk awaiting RSVPs this summer, get to it. Someone with a good guest list really wants you to notice."
Victoria Stewart
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