“To me the spirit of London is about this mix of people,” Lakwena says in a Beefeater video which sees her unveil the new bottle. Her work has been exhibited across the world, a testament to its ability to speak to everyone but as a Londoner, the city is a key part of her practice, her art rooted in the capital’s perfect mix of art, music, culture and fashion.

Seeing myths, cultural values and commercial messages through the prism of an ecstatic rainbow palette, Lakwena’s art often celebrates Black joy and is as mood-boosting as it is thought-provoking. Now, it’s gone for a spot of redecoration, teaming up with painter and installation artist Lakwena for a limited edition redesign of its Beefeater London Dry label. Still made in its Kennington distillery, Beefeater’s been decorated with numerous awards over the decades, earning the flex of being the World’s Most Awarded Gin. After all, many of us are at our happiest sipping on a G&T and Beefeater’s gin is especially steeped in the history of the city. If there’s a champion of the capital’s unique verve, it’s Beefeater Gin. But there’s a reason so many of us stay put, right? The unrivalled energy, the underground scenes, the madcap art galleries, the proper boozers, the something-on-every-night schedule. When you’re crammed onto the tube with the kind of space that would make even sardines feel claustrophobic, hurtling from crumbling flat to office hustle, it’s sometimes difficult to remember you love London.

The madcap