Love is in the Air: Chubby Heart Balloons Fly Over London on Valentine's Day

Heart-broken Londoners whose sweethearts have just dumped them might want to avoid looking up on Wednesday, February 14.

British designer Anya Hindmarch has hoisted giant "chubby heart" balloons above some of the capital's biggest landmarks, like Battersea power station.

She said she felt Londoners needed cheering up as they were struggling with the uncertainty of Brexit and with the constant threat of terrorism.

"This is a love-in. We're using our platform to say our city is unbelievable, let's be positive and we'll find our way through all the tricky bits," said Ms. Hindmarch.

Social Media Buzz

The chubby hearts were greeted enthusiastically on social media with dozens of individuals and companies tweeting about it, including the Ritz and Dorchester Hotels.

Hindmarch, who spends most of her time designing luxury handbags, has teamed up with the Mayor, Sadiq Khan, and 13 city boroughs as part of London Fashion Week.

"It's a passion project. By not doing a show this season, we had some capacity to do something that was not about fashion," said Ms. Hindmarch, who grew up in Essex but launched her label in London in 1987, aged just 18.

Her business has annual sales of US$57 million (£41.3 million) last year.

'London is Center of Creativity'

"The first words that come up when people talk about British fashion are creativity and bravery, so we don't tend to follow, we lead with ideas. If you speak to any international buyer who comes to London, the thing they find unmissable about our fashion week is that raw ideas start here," she said.

Ms. Hindmarch is a vociferous opponent of Brexit and joined designers Erdem Moralioglu and Christopher Bailey in signing an open letter before the referendum in favor of staying in the European Union.