Artist-designed Christmas trees to line Sloane Street in charity auction for Firefly Project

More than 30 Christmas tree sculptures designed by artists, designers and fashion brands will be lining Sloane Street (with two displayed at Sotheby’s) from 12^th November to 1^st December for a free outdoor art trail organised by the Quintessentially Foundation. The Firefly Festive Forest will stretch from Sloane Square to Knightsbridge, and the trees will be auctioned to raise money for the Firefly Project, which funds frontline charities working with disadvantaged children and young people across the capital.

Creative contributors include artist and filmmaker Charlotte Colbert, fashion designer Roksanda Ilinčić, photographer Alison Jackson, artist Richard Hudson, furniture designer Tom Faulkner, beauty brand Charlotte Tilbury and jeweller Patrick Mavros, each of whom was invited to interpret the Christmas tree in their own way.

Colbert’s tree is made of polished stainless-steel and hung with dangling lights. Meanwhile, Jackson’s features celebrity scenes, and Roksanda’s draws on Brutalist architecture. Mavros has worked with craftsmen to produce a giraffe made from reclaimed metal, holding a sprig of mistletoe in its mouth. Other works include a tree of moving illuminated butterflies, another covered entirely in white feathers that look like fresh snow, and a structure of hundreds of interlocking aluminium stars. Textile company Pelican House has made their entry from a single continuous thread of hand-knotted Himalayan wool and Indian silk, referencing communal trees in folklore.

Some contributions are more playful. One five-foot example imagines Christmas from the perspective of Bill the Basset Hound, who belongs to the trail’s creator, Ruth Ganesh. Another, by Upsilon Gallery and Osvaldo Mariscotti, is built entirely from colourful presents, while Vicky Light’s version features wool penguins skiing down snowy slopes.

The online auction opens at 10am on 12^th November and closes at midday on 1^st December. Hudson’s chrome tree will be sold separately in a live auction following the Foundation’s 15^th annual Fayre of St James’s on 24^th November.

The Firefly Project provides funding, guidance, training and access to its network for small charities. It currently works with seven: 20/20 Levels, Create Arts, Drive Forward Foundation, The Kids Network, Let Me Know, Settle and The Violence Intervention Project. These organisations offer young people mentoring, tutoring, educational workshops, therapeutic support and routes into employment, education and entrepreneurship.

The Foundation says money raised by the tree auction will support its plans for 2027, including adding charities that help young people into housing and employment, and setting up a fund for expert-led research into the support disadvantaged young people need most.

Ganesh said: “Quintessentially Foundation’s Festive Forest showcases London’s most extraordinary creative minds whilst raising vital funds for young people across our city. This collection of trees will be the most special in all of London this year because each one embodies the true spirit of Christmas.”

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The Firefly Festive Forest is free to visit on Sloane Street, from Sloane Square to Knightsbridge, from 12^th November until 1^st December 2026, with public tours on 14^th and 29^th November. For further information about the Quintessentially Foundation, visit the charity’s website here.