In a bid for unity, representation and support of the arts, I am really happy to be included in this project from Heathrow Airport to support the new campaign with acclaimed
spoken word artist and Young People’s Laureate for London Caleb Femi.

Enjoy the content below including the moving piece of video content created for Caleb Femi’s poem A Tale Of Modern Britain.

A Tale of Modern Britain by Caleb Femi

You arrive at the end of the horizon
standing at the tarmac mouth of home
lighter if you left it all behind -heavier if you brought all with you.
Come, before you step out into the open air
sit down here, in-between the brief pause
of children’s laughter and a tannoy announcement.
In the small kingdom of faces -some moving with 
the grace of falling snow
others like laser beams bouncing off a disco ball.

Not too long ago you were at departures 
when leaving was a sweet song bitter in the throat to sing.
Do you remember the faces who were leaving for work,
 or for the spring holidays, 
to say goodbye at a family funeral 
or for the laughter of a hen do?
Those who were answering the call to adventure 
with an open ticket in hand and in the other a phone
full of friends who will follow them each step of the way.

Now you’ve arrived at the other side of that adventure
in the warmness of home
shed the hue of ‘tourist’ 
you’re back in your endz now 
one of the locals
you know the right trains to catch
know the best breakfast spot.

This country is not a place of good weather but of good people.
What do you want to know about the country? You might learn it here
in this marketplace of modern British culture.
Take a crash course in the local lingo
teach your ears the different accents 
we don’t all sound like Downton Abbey 
not all Northerns sound like Wayne Rooney
some of us man do get hot
we’re not all about tea and crumpets -well some of us are.

Imagine a terminal as a portal to a new version of yourself
a new light pouring over a new sunrise 
remember that as you 
depart at the start of the horizon
standing at the tarmac mouth of the world.

In the context of Caleb’s poem, and along with 78 million other passengers, I’ve been travelling to and from Heathrow – the world’s gateway to Britain – in a number of ways for the last few years – by train, limousine and Uber but on this occasion and for this story I wanted to hero the iconic black taxi.

The journey has always been one of excitement – especially at 6am when you’re rolling down an empty motorway set for your destination. It’s beautiful how Caleb describes the warm return to Britain – a feeling any one of us is super familiar with as well when you’re back on home turf whether it is after a two-day trip or a month.

One personal habit on the way to any flight for me is fragrance, the sense of smell being
transportive – you can take yourself to your destination even before you get on the plane – and Heathrow is such an awesome destination for fragrance shopping, I almost look forward to that part of the journey alone.

To find out what ‘home’ means to British people today, Heathrow also commissioned research asking 2,000 Brits about their views on Britain in the context of travelling and it turns out that Brits are thrill seekers at heart with more than one in five (21%) saying one of their top reasons for jetting off is to seek out an adventure, whilst 19% crave exploration of unusual places. Highlighting what a global community we truly are, a further 20% say their main purpose for travel is to visit their extended family, with one in twenty (5%) making journeys inspired by their family history.

This post is sponsored by Heathrow Airport.

Also filmed on the day, some light comedy inspired by Snatch – one of my favourite films…

https://www.instagram.com/p/BeXwBZIHFay/?taken-by=nikthakkar

The post A Tale of Modern Britain appeared first on KIMU.

This season I had the pleasure of teaming up with Louis Vuitton once again (we first partnered on a guide to The Art of Packing and the Selfridges launch) to celebrate the new store at Heathrow Terminal 5. The T5 store is the European Airside store for the brand, anticipating the needs of the modern traveller, which of course makes sense considering Vuitton’s timeless relationship with the evolution of Air Travel. The facade of the store also feature a digital art piece by the French Artist Ange Leccia, worth noting for the next time you are there!

As you can see, I also had the opportunity to customise one of my favourite ever Louis Vuitton items – the Damier Graphite Keepall Bandouliere 45 and shoot a digital editorial with Hanna Hillier and The Gentleman’s Journal. You can read the full piece here.

Styling and Subject: Nik Thakkar in Louis Vuitton AW14 available at Heathrow T5
Photography: Hanna Hillier
Grooming: Nina Fay Robinson
Hotel: The Wellesley
Special thanks: Simon Olsen and Uber Luxe

The post Mon Monogram appeared first on KIMU.