The opening dinner, like the venue, was next level. At one table, James Corden compared celebrity war stories with Stanley Tucci; at another, Douglas Booth blew kisses to Sheherazade Goldsmith.
Edward Enninful gossiped conspiratorially with Christopher Kane, and Olivia Colman and Jodie Whittaker danced the night away. An hour earlier, as guests arrived at Soho House’s latest Mayfair iteration, Soho Mews House, Nick Cave serenaded us all.
“I was asked to play some of my more upbeat songs,” he said, setting up his own punchline. “I’ve written something like 300 and I realised I don’t have any.”
The man in the middle of all this A-lister madness was Andrew Carnie, CEO of Soho House, who replaced founder Nick Jones two years ago (after Jones revealed a prostate cancer diagnosis). He stood quietly in the background surveying the room, watching his waiters and his bartenders, soaking up the vibe, and — I hope — perhaps taking some pride in opening what is already, after just three weeks, the chicest Soho House in London.
Sitting in a quiet cobbled mews off Bond Street, Soho Mews House is deliberately different and an emphatic retort to those who had started to say the company was a victim of its own success. Not only has Carnie improved the membership experience in all Houses globally, but with Soho Mews House he has created a private members’ club that rivals 5 Hertford Street and George.
It is seriously beautiful, with immense attention to detail. It is designed for “loyal or longstanding” Soho House members; there seems to be an intentional opaqueness about what this means.
“In the past five years we’ve doubled in size, with 43 Houses in 18 countries,” says Carnie. “One of the things I thought about when I took over as CEO was to slow growth; whereas we previously aimed to open eight to 10 houses a year, we’re now aiming for two or three.
“I also want to put a much greater focus on our existing members and improve our existing Houses. I’m passionate about delivering the highest standards consistently — it’s what our members expect and deserve. We are 30 years old next year and have a huge number of members in London who effectively created Soho House. With Soho Mews House, we want to thank our loyal and longstanding members.
“This is our first one but we intend to do the same in New York and LA. We’ve redesigned everything in the House to give our members something new and something nostalgic at the same time; from the glassware and cutlery, to introducing linen tablecloths instead of cotton. The House has been designed to be a platform for live music; we’ve got Jools Holland and Macy Gray coming in the next few weeks.”
It feels personal, too: if you order a negroni it will be served in one of 200 vintage glasses sourced from London markets. The luxuriousness should not be especially surprising, given that Carnie was previously Global President of Anthropologie. “We have a lot of data about our members so we can design new Houses and experiences based on what they enjoy,”Carnie says. “For example, there are no laptops at Soho Mews House as we know members want a space that’s work-free.”
One of the things I thought about when I took over as CEO was to slow growth; whereas we previously aimed to open eight to 10 houses a year, we’re now aiming for two or three.
For some, the thought of Nick Jones leaving Soho House was tantamount to Jony Ive leaving Apple, or Tom Ford leaving Gucci. But Jones had achieved so much in the 28 years since creating the brand that it felt perfectly natural for him to take more of a background role. Carnie has huge respect for Jones; with little in the way of ego, he’s very open about seeking advice from the man who conceived Soho House all those years ago.
But this new baby is Carnie’s own, 100 per cent, and it’s a stunner. As I approached the front door, having nipped down a side street, I immediately felt at home. Not only can you see where every pound has been spent, but it instantly appealed to my innate fondness for exclusivity. After all, we join private members’ clubs for a reason — and London has more of them than any other city in the world.
Whether you’re the kind of person who favours White’s (toffs and Tories), the Groucho (media), or the Chelsea Arts Club (er, the arts), or indeed Annabel’s (social), the Garrick (gits both old and new) or AllBright (business), you’ve made a proscriptive choice, and you like it that way. I’m a member of half a dozen, and I love them all dearly. I remember the first time I visited the first Soho House in Greek Street, I felt as though Nick Jones had created something genuinely special; I got that feeling again walking into Soho Mews House.
In the past two years, Carnie has put greater distance between Soho House and other private members’ clubs. Soho Mews House is an example of that, introducing a “club within a club”. He has also built a stronger, more profitable company, by transforming how it is run and making it more efficient and agile.
Carnie isn’t resting on his laurels, and neither are his team. They hosted a hugely successful pop-up at Glastonbury and they’re due to repeat it next year. A Soho House is due to open in Milan, followed by Tokyo, and a Farmhouse in upstate New York. Soho House is fizzing again, and Andrew Carnie is the man with the bottle.
