I'm not sure if you’ve noticed, but there’s a bit of a fir
tree shortage here in Cambodia. And as for those palm trees, well, it’d be
tough to reach the top with a star.
So as the Yuletide season creeps upon us and many are left
contemplating The Christmas Tree Situation, two of Temple Town’s premier hotels
have decided to solve the dilemma by designing their own versions of the
traditional tree.
There’s not a piece of tinsel in sight at Raffles d’Angkor
Hotel as its Eric Raisina-designed haute couture Christmas tree takes pride of
place in the lobby. Inspired by the lotus flower, the striking structure
consists of over 800 fabric flowers. It took two weeks to create, and is
Raisina’s second festive creation for the hotel.
“For me the lotus flower is Cambodia, it’s everywhere, it’s
so symbolic,” explained Siem Reap’s foremost designer at the launch of the
tree.
Eric described the laborious process involved in making the
tree. The organza silk blooms were hand stitched and embroidered by him and his
team, using the iconic pink and white shades of the lotus, building from bud to
flower. As for the portholes, Raisina says these were created for several
reasons. “The lotus comes in many forms, and primarily this shows the holes in
the flower, but I was also conscious of the space. I wanted people to be able
to see through it, and make use of the lighting.”
Launching the tree were children from the Sunrise Village,
who serenaded guests after designing the hotel’s Christmas card this year; the
sales of which will go back to their village. Raffles also boasts a
five-foot-tall edible ginger bread house, though cracks are starting to appear
where wily guests have taken a nibble.
Meanwhile Hotel de la Paix also had a talented
designer-in-residence creating a unique take on the tannenbaum. Organisers
looked in-house for creative talent and found it in their artistic director of
sales and marketing, Christian De Boer.
His stunning creation consists of 3,000 white goose feathers
individually hung from the ceiling. Christian says he’s had the vision to
create the tree since he was five years old. “This tree has been my dream.
Cambodia is a Buddhist country, so it’s not really correct to have the
traditional tree, so why not play with ideas and let your imagination run
wild?”
Wild is a good word for it. Christian worked with the
hotel’s art curator Sasha Constable to time the launch of the tree around an
endangered-species art exhibit happening later in December.
The tree took a full week to assemble with de la Paix’s
housekeeping team and engineers painstakingly measuring and hanging the
feathers. Christian said the image of the tree has gone viral online, receiving
praise from around the world.
“That’s exactly why we made this tree,” explained the
hotelier turned artiste. “We want to show people Cambodia is more than just
temples.”
If you’re a fan of holly, baubles, mince pies and mulled
wine, you may have to look further afield, but if a modern day Cambo Crimbo is
what you’re after, two pioneering venues in Siem Reap are giving the “most
wonderful time of the year” an inventive new twist.
Source - phnompenhpost
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