Contents
- 1 Angus Buchanan On His Zeitgeisty Projects
- 1.1 Interior Design: What creative path led to founding Buchanan Studio?
- 1.2 ID: You design interiors, products, parties, and more. What brings it all together?
- 1.3 ID: This year you did an installation for the Venice Biennale, what was the theme and intent behind it?
- 1.4 ID: Is your own home a testing ground?
- 1.5 ID: How do you approach set and event design vis-a-vis interiors?
- 1.6 ID: Your Studio chair recently went viral, what do you think captured people so intensely about it?
- 1.7 ID: You also have a new range of fabrics.
- 1.8 ID: You’re known for high-production photoshoots (often featuring dashing sighthounds!), how important is it for you to create these fantastical worlds in which to show your objects?
- 1.9 ID: A house you designed for artists Philip and Charlotte Colbert has been described as a “theatrical funhouse” and features such quirks as 108 silicone breasts adorning a clawfoot bathtub. What was the brief for that home?
- 1.10 ID: Dream future project?
The Studio Chair (with Saluki). Photography by Alex Bramall.
Angus Buchanan cut his teeth assisting the great fashion and portrait photographer Mario Testino before segueing into set design and now, interiors and product. With his wife Charlotte, he runs London design firm Buchanan Studio, a zeitgeisty multidisciplinary studio whose projects have gone viral numerous times (you may recall their neotenic Studio chair.) We chatted to Angus about Buchanan Studio’s latest endeavors, including a boob-centric installation for the Venice Biennale, their own whimsical home, dream future projects, and more.
Angus and Charlotte Buchanan of Buchanan Studio. Photography courtesy of Buchanan Studio.
Angus Buchanan On His Zeitgeisty Projects
Interior Design: What creative path led to founding Buchanan Studio?
Angus Buchanan: Buchanan Studio was founded in 2018 after I had been working as a set designer, designing everything from photo shoots to fashion shows. Charlotte had been working in brand partnerships and advertising, and we came together to create what is now Buchanan Studio, a multidisciplinary creative design studio.
ID: You design interiors, products, parties, and more. What brings it all together?
AB: We love a challenge, we love an interesting creative brief, and we love working with inspiring people and places. We’re very selective about the projects we take on and enjoy working across various disciplines. We truly believe that it makes us better designers. What underpins everything no matter the genre is an attention to detail, an appreciation for quality and craftsmanship, and a sense of eclecticism.
A private event designed by Buchanan Studio. Photography courtesy of Buchanan Studio.
“The Booby Trap”, an installation on breast cancer at the 2024 Venice Biennale. Photography courtesy of Buchanan Studio.
ID: This year you did an installation for the Venice Biennale, what was the theme and intent behind it?
AB: We were thrilled to be asked to work on an installation for the Biennale by curator Carolina Pasti, who approached us as she was starting to put together a group exhibition, “Breasts”, that is being held at the Palazzo Frachetti through November. The exhibition explores how breasts have been understood and represented in art. Our remit was to create a site-specific installation for the entrance into the exhibition: a long, windowless and featureless corridor that Carolina wanted us to transform into something visually arresting and immersive.
For our installation, dubbed “The Booby Trap,” we lined the corridor in a beautiful pale-pink velvet—inspired by the color of breast cancer awareness—that was lavishly and asymmetrically draped over a vinyl floor. The focal point is the ceiling of 35 silicone breast lights that we had made with prosthetic nipples emanating a soft pink light down the length of the corridor. The cartoonish and uniform appearance of the breast lights belies the complexities that surround the female breast and what it represents in symbolism, motherhood, disease, and sexuality.
ID: Is your own home a testing ground?
AB: We have been known to (affectionately) describe our own home as a prototype graveyard! It is certainly true that much of the test pieces and initial prototypes are still very much in use at our home, but it also houses treasured antiques and items that we have collected over the years. When we bought the house, we were drawn to it for the fact that it was an entirely blank canvas that had not been touched or intervened with for decades. Much of the original Edwardian features remained and we wanted to celebrate these while also creating a fairly neutral backdrop for our furniture and fabrics collection.
One of the biggest design decisions in any house is the kitchen and, for us, this was to be situated in a large modern extension. In here, we decided to juxtapose the Edwardian theme of the rest of the home with a more modern and utilitarian aesthetic anchored by a polished concrete floor and a fully stainless-steel commercial kitchen produced by one of our restaurant kitchen suppliers. We love the practical beauty of the stainless steel.
The bathroom of the designers’ London home. Photography courtesy of Buchanan Studio.
The kitchen of the designers’ London home. Photography courtesy of Buchanan Studio.
ID: How do you approach set and event design vis-a-vis interiors?
AB: Set design is in our DNA as a brand and we love tackling these briefs. When designing events, it’s a chance to really create a world that guests can be fully immersed in. We love to try and hit all the senses, be it with evocative scents, intriguing soundscapes, even playing with room temperatures! It’s a time to be brave, to try new things, and to also collaborate and work with new inspiring makers. Our approach to interiors projects is heavily influenced by my background in set design. People’s homes and commercial projects alike are all opportunities to really create a unique world for our clients. We like to design something new and original on every project.
AB: The Studio Chair was a design that we had been iterating and thinking about for quite some time before it launched. We spent a huge amount of time sourcing the best upholstery weight—100% pure Belgian linen—and agonized over mixing our perfectly refined range of colors, which we print on the fabric here in London. We had always said to each other that if we loved and wanted the chair in our own home, then maybe a few other people would too but, when we launched, we didn’t have any huge expectations or ambitions as to what success might look like.
We also launched during the Covid pandemic so we had worried this might also play against us. As it turned out, the chair’s classic stripes and bold appearance seemed to be exactly what people wanted at that time and I think it allowed people to inject some fun and character into their homes. We have adored seeing pictures of people’s chairs around the world and all the amazing and very different homes they have ended up in.
The Studio Chair (with Saluki). Photography by Alex Bramall.
The Studio Chair in Rose. Photography courtesy of Buchanan Studio.
ID: You also have a new range of fabrics.
AB: The fabrics started life as only available on the Studio chair but we were asked more and more by customers to sell the fabric by the meter. It was a natural progression to start selling the original Studio Stripe, alongside a few more designs we added in. We now have a a signature floral, Ticking Rose, plus plain velvets and linens to complement them. The fabrics all have a timeless romantic feeling about them.
ID: You’re known for high-production photoshoots (often featuring dashing sighthounds!), how important is it for you to create these fantastical worlds in which to show your objects?
AB: Before working in set design, I assisted the fashion photographer Mario Testino for many years and found this time hugely inspiring, particularly the way he captured people and places. I also made some incredible friends that are still working in the industry as photographers and videographers. We have now created three campaigns for Buchanan Studio with our great friends, photographer Alex Bramall and videographer Pietro Brindelli. Each campaign has started off with a new collection to celebrate but with no exact deliverables or parameters on creative. It’s a chance for real experimentation.
Buchanan Studio fabrics. Photography by Alex Bramall.
Buchanan Studio fabrics. Photography by Alex Bramall.
ID: A house you designed for artists Philip and Charlotte Colbert has been described as a “theatrical funhouse” and features such quirks as 108 silicone breasts adorning a clawfoot bathtub. What was the brief for that home?
AB: Maison Colbert was a wonderful collaborative process with our artist clients. The intention was to create a unique world and it was particularly interesting for us, as a design studio, to collaborate with them on interpreting the motifs in their art into furniture and other objects.
ID: Dream future project?
AB: Dream projects—we have a few! We have often discussed that we would adore the chance to design a boat interior, ideally a classic sailing yacht if we were being really picky. We also long for the opportunity to design a ski chalet.