Métier Celebrated 5 Years With A Garden Party in the English Countryside 

“Despite hardly knowing a soul, I knew London had to be Métier’s home. The city is the perfect intersection of heritage and modernity, a juxtaposition I want to be felt in everything we do,” said American Melissa Morris, who set up her elegant shop in April 2017 in Mayfair. 

Métier is a byword for elevated discretion in the world of accessories, so it’s of little surprise that founder Morris would host her 5th-anniversary celebrations somewhere stealth. She gathered her community of global connoisseurs at the beautiful private estate of her friends, peripatetic photographer Hugo and art advisor Silka-Rittson Thomas, in Charlbury. The house itself is a vision in Jacobean stone, with a bucolic garden, appropriately ablaze with British summer flowers.

With minimalism in mind, Morris dazzled in a white metallic silk minidress by The Row, for her anniversary fete. Out in force were her stylish friends. Host, Silka Rittson-Thomas (dressed in a chic Star Wars-esque robe and dramatic fishtail plait), forged a friendship with Morris when collaborating for Métier, and now runs The TukTuk Flower Studio, in Mayfair, which is supplied by the glorious cutting garden in Chalbury, and naturally, the flowers for the evening’s event. 

After descending through a walk carpeted with red poppies and thyme, guests gathered under the gargantuan oak tree. “I have always said we have the best community in the world,” said Morris; notably dancer Eric Underwood, artist Tej Adenuga, Luke Edward Hall and Duncan Campbell, Charlie Casely-Hayford, and Sophie Ashby, were amongst the party. “I wanted the guests to arrive via the long way, so they descend into the meadow, passing the small river (to hear the water running) before entering the oak tree. Then across the middle path past the maypole and into the tent,” said Morris of her orienteering. A delicious dinner was served under the medieval-feel canopy. “I know this may sound cliché, but it is without a doubt that Métier would not be here without so many of you. And for this reason, tonight is about celebrating you and the beloved community that we have created together,” said Morris before the feast, adding, “So where to next? While none of us can predict the future, I can promise you one thing. We will always stay true to what got us here and what brought you to us; Uncompromising quality, an independent spirit, and unwavering care for our community and the world around us.”

The Cotswolds on a blistering summer evening easily denotes an air of Provence, and Morris specifically had Colombe d’Or on her mind as she planned her party. “I wanted every detail to be considered, but in a way, you wouldn’t even notice—all of the hidden details that don’t scream but make something truly special,” she said, sharing the Colombe d’Or renown for exquisite art, food, and a soupçon of secrecy. The meadow setting and the guests rolled free, but those brilliantly Métier meticulous cues were there, like the inlaid leather notebooks used as place settings. “The inlay is a drawing I did when I was in Italy- it is a palm tree with five leaves for each of our five years, and then we used our leftover leather to create the inlay, which is all heat-sealed,” said Morris. The bountiful baskets of organic crudite mimicked the same colors, as did the beribboned maypole. 

DJ trio Hale Zero provided the post-dinner party music, set around fire pits and hay bales. A small birthday surprise was in store for Eric Underwood- cakes, cameras, action! “It was all meant to create a magical experience,” said Morris, or perhaps more of a practical magic, as guests danced around the Métier-hued maypole with their new cross-body micro “Minimalist” bags, arms aloft.