The City adventurers headed to Piccadilly Circus to see Veuve Clicquot’s Solaire Culture.
Solaire Culture is Veuve Clicquot’s first global travelling exhibition. Crafted by French curator, Camille Morineau, and designer, Constance Guisset, the exhibition covers 250 years of the Maison’s heritage and tells the story of it’s inspiring namesake, Madame Clicquot.
Where does the title come from? The “solaire” mindset or Good Day Sunshine is the latest campaign and reflects the optimistic, joyful nature of the house
The History
I’ll admit I knew next to nothing about how Veuve Clicquot changed the culture and production of Champagne from 1772 to the present day. So this exhibition was truly enlightening.
The company was founded by Phillippe Clicquot in 1772, primarily as a textile industry, with a small wine industry. His son, François Clicquot, decided to expand its wine business with the help of his wife. Francois Clicquot had married Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin, daughter of another affluent textile industrialist in 1798. Although both families were known for textiles, one of Barbe-Nicole’s grandmothers had been part of a wine making operation generations earlier. So the couple set out to learn the industry from the ground-up together.
In 1805, Francois suddenly fell ill with a fever and died 12 days later, making Madame Clicquot a widow at 27. Within a few weeks of his passing, Madame Clicquot made the unprecedented decision to helm the company. A surprising accomplishment given that, at the time, women weren’t allowed to open their own bank accounts.
The Exhibition – visiting
We arrived at Piccadilly Circus, and found the entrance at the corner of Piccadilly and Regent Street. I was surprised my medium cross-body Kipling counted as a backpack and had to be checked into storage. I’ve always considered it a handbag and filled it with all my personal possessions. (Especially as women’s clothes lack pockets). I was only able to quickly retrieve my camera, before my handbag was taken away, so I didn’t have my phone to scan QR codes throughout the exhibition and couldn’t partake of the champagne bar/restaurant near the end of the show, nor the shop.
Also we had to leave the building and walk back to the entrance to collect my bag at the end. We had a similar experience at the Banksy exhibition a few years ago. But at least we could return to the shop after collecting my bag then. This time there was no re-entry to the bar/shop.
The Exhibition – content
Using the pioneering Madame Clicquot as inspiration, 9 women artists interpreted her entrepreneurial spirit and the history of Veuve Clicquot Champagne.
There were also boards showing the history of Champagne and various items inspired by Veuve Clicquot.
Cheers!
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