Wicker’s world

If you have ever received a hamper, you will be familiar with that delicious quiver of anticipation as you unbuckle the creaking wicker lid to see what lies within. How often have you then suppressed a twinge of disappointment to find that, apart from a pretty tin of lapsang souchong and a bottle of decent Sancerre, there is nothing you really want? More than likely those jars of stilton, piccalilli and mincemeat no one knows how to cook with any more are still languishing at the back of your kitchen cupboard.

It might seem obvious to fill a hamper with things we really, really want but, like all great, simple ideas, they sometimes need a touch of inspiration and genius to realise. In this case, it has taken the combination of Selfridges, with its passion for innovation and for fusing food and fashion, and the handbag designer Anya Hindmarch to come up with a collection of 11 all-singing, all-dancing hampers to cover every gift crisis imaginable.