Paul Smith has conceived the Christmas tree for fellow Covent Garden institution the Royal Opera House as a ‘peek behind the curtains’, with decorations inspired by a theatre’s backstage
Covent Garden has long been the home of Paul Smith: the British label’s headquarters and creative studio reside on Kean Street, while his store on Floral Street – opened in 1979 – is the brand’s most well-known retail address.
It feels apt, then, that the eponymous designer is lending his hand to another neighbourhood institution this festive season, conceiving the decorations for the Royal Opera House as it enters its busy Christmas programme (home to both Britain’s Royal Ballet and Royal Opera, the coming months will see productions of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, Handel’s Ariodante and Puccini’s Turandot).
Revealed on 6 November 2025, the ‘festive takeover’ centres around a vast 18ft-tall Christmas tree erected in the Paul Hamlyn Hall, the building’s light-filled conservatory on Drury Lane (originally built in 1859 as a flower market-cum-eveningtime dance hall, it was renovated and re-erected in 1996). Thematically, Smith said he was intrigued by the idea of ‘going behind the curtain’ – as such, the tree features backstage ephemera, from ropes, tassels and swathes of green velvet, to props sourced from the Opera House’s archives (look closely and you will spot fans, musical instruments and candelabras).
He had many memorable moments at the Royal Opera House, but most special was his recent visit to the props department. It’s incredible how much artistry goes into each production – it is very similar to his own runway shows he says. “I love the vibrant energy of the “backstage” and being able to celebrate the craft behind the curtain in the tree design was important to me.’
The Nottinghamshire-born designer has also added some decorations of his own: namely, a series of baubles in his ‘Signature Stripe’, a longtime motif of the label. Elsewhere, a series of miniature figures of skiers and ice skaters can be glimpsed when up close while baskets of baubles and step ladders give the appearance that the tree remains in the process of being decorated.
Smith’s takeover continues on the Davies Terrace, where a series of Christmas trees appear to be bursting out of crates, like those used to store the Opera House’s props. Here, they are lined with Signature Stripe fabric, while a series of handwritten messages from the designer decorate the terrace space – ‘the hope is to fill onlookers with festive joy,’ he says.
The project marks the first such takeover at the Opera House, a testament to the popularity of guest-designed Christmas trees across the British capital – perhaps most memorably at Claridge’s hotel, where fashion designers from John Galliano to Karl Lagerfeld have designed the lobby tree for the past two decades. Last year, it was the turn of Smith, who unveiled a playful Christmas tree that aimed to bring the ‘countryside in the centre of London’ and included a menagerie of wooden animals (Burberry’s Daniel Lee will design this year’s tree; the results will be revealed later this month).
By Jack Moss @wallpaper
