It is hard to describe the talents of Angus Buchanan, he is one of those creative people who is so versatile and personable he is asked to design homes, restaurants and sets for fashion or private events. Certainly, his experience qualifies him as an arbiter of good taste, he grew up in a family where design mattered, after art school he worked as assistant to Mario Testino, the legendary Peruvian fashion and celebrity photographer. A chance encounter on a plane found Angus sitting next to Michael Howells, the British magician of set decoration, Angus found himself so impressed with the alternative reality that Howells created in airplane hangars he could not resist joining the team. He recalls creating Versace catwalks for Madonna to parade on, sets forBallet Rambert, elaborate sets for Dior and John Galliano costing £1million+. Howells was as impressed by Angus’s problem-solving abilities as with his ideas and appointed him Artistic Director, Angus was put in charge of Naomi Campbell’s extravaganza for Vladimir Doronin’s 50th party at the Umaid Bhawan Palace and Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur. This was a two-month test for Angus, the venue design, entertainment, catering,logistics and security all had to manifest into a seamless perfect reality. Parties on two nights with guest appearances by Diana Ross and Chaka Khan,guests had seamstresses standing by for all the 200 guests to have tailor made costumes in 24 hours, the Jodhpur airport became international for two days to accommodate the chartered airplanes from New York and London. This was a baptism by fire in making things happen and it is a tribute to Angus’s vision and management skills that the celebrations passed without a glitch.
Angus has now set up BuchananStudio offering project design and branding, interior design and design consultancy; he doesn’t like labels, he says his studio is multi-disciplinary but he also does not like the formality of those words. He likes colour but not so much print, he uses modern looking antiques mixed with contemporary design, creating a comfortable mix of past and present designed for individuals.BuchananStudio offer a comprehensive service, designing or specifying everything from cutlery to sunbeds and everything in between, and that includes the menu and the swimming pool. What makes Angus different is that he delivers, with his project management team he can make things happen, bringing dream lifestyle to life. BuchananStudio have completed town houses and shops; presently Angus is working on a restaurant in Bucharest and another in Belgravia. Bucharest is eastern Europe’s tech central for start-ups, Angus is working with Le Bab, a modern gourmet kebab house with whom he has already collaborated for their London restaurants, this time a pilot restaurant that if successful might be rolled out across European capitals, at the moment they are training the chefs. There is also an elite island holiday resort on the drawing board, the client noticed Angus’s wedding pictures on Instagram, where after their marriage Angus and his bride Charlottewere floating away in a swan pedal boat over a misty fairy take lake.
This is a design team going places and not just in a pedal boat.