Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro often take all the headlines, but let it be known that Howl’s Moving Castle is just as iconic as the two big hitters. This colourful pop-up at Selfridges should show you just that.
It’s here in collaboration with LOEWE, the luxury designer over at the famous London designer store; On top of the limited edition LOEWE X Howl’s Moving Castle designs, you’ll also be able to dive into Dolly’s Café Calcifer’s Kitchen for some tasty treats inspired by the movie.
A statue of the film’s true hero, Turnip-Head, is on hand to meet-and-greet you, representing a fantastic photo opp for the ‘gram – but hurry, you know how he likes to hop-hop away. Elsewhere, you’ll be able to don your purchases and take a snap in front of the moving castle itself, which is looking fine in it’s model form.
Tell us about the food at the Howl’s Moving Castle Pop-Up!
Yes, yes – Calcifer the chief feeding flame spirit has plans for you. Calcifer’s Kitchen takes over Dolly’s Café until February 25. It’s hosted by culinary creative studio Ballbosté, and brings characters and objects from the film to life in the most playful of methods.
Sit down at Calcifer’s to whisk yourself away on the moving castle for a spot of Afternoon Tea. There’s meadow-inspired sandwiches with smatterings of vermicelli broomsticks, macarons, cakes, and cloud terrines. Plus, you can compliment these with cocktails by Le Syndicat and cuppas by Conservatoire des Hémisphère; and you’ll get to leave with a swanky Calcifer coffee cup.
Demand is high – this is an iconic Studio Ghibli-inspired café we’re talking about, after all – so you’ll need to book your spaces in advance via the Selfridges website.
What items can I pick up?
Merchandise by LOEWE sweeps across all the film’s characters – from the troubled Howl himself; to the young and old (but equally loveable) Sophie; to Calcifer, the spirit that puts food in mouths; to the infamous Witch Of The Waste.
A Turnip-Head card-holder? I mean, I can’t sit here and say I’m ready to part with the £275 to spend on one, but they look cool all the same, and there’s pages and pages of these items to flick through on the site.
There’s also some stone cold Howl’s Moving Castle-themed LOEWE scarves rocking Calcifer’s eyes and a knitted design of the castle is here to serve some looks this winter. If your bedroom needs a little sprucing up, there’s also plenty of Howl’s Moving Castle posters ready to light up those walls.
Elsewhere in the experience, you can check out their beautifully spruced up window displays, cinema screenings of the film, a selection of Studio Ghibli art, and a behind-the-scenes look at the campaign.
Basically, it’s a no-brainer for fans of the film and franchise, and you’ll come away satisfied by the food offerings at Dolly’s, and a phone full of cool shots.
Read more about the pop-up, which runs throughout this month, here.