Brands

Three’s a trend – Burberry opens experiential ‘Beauty Box’ store in Covent Garden



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The fashionisation of beauty is rolling along at a jolly pace isn’t it? Following both Chanel and Dior with their standalone luxury beauty stores comes Burberry and its all-singing-all-dancing Beauty Box. The store opened yesterday in Covent Garden’s King Street selling make-up, perfume and accessories.

From the entry-level nail polishes and perfumes plus associated sunnies, scarves and bags, it’s but a short jump to the coveted trench or coat. And thus (the mega-brands hope) a loyal customer for life.

Naturally, a Burberry store isn’t a Burberry store without some digital wizardry at play. So if you haven’t time for a mini mani, try the Digital Runway Nail Bar instead. This ‘playful virtual experience’ lets you try the latest Burberry runway shades by placing the polish onto a radio-frequency identification-enabled platform to match your skin tone to the required colour.

OK, I’m not actually sure what a radio-frequency identification-enabled platform is but it sounds sufficiently snazzy enough for me to seek it out next time I’m in WC2…



Nike Fuelband for the luxury millenial



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Vanessa Friedman wrote about wearables in the FT yesterday, suggesting that tech companies need to get fashion people on board if they want their wearables to look halfway decent. I’d say Nike is ahead of the curve in this sense, it’s just released its Nike FuelBand SE in a very luxe-looking black version accented with rose gold. (more…)



How to beat the cold snap, one luxe layer at a time



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In London we haven’t had a truly cold snap yet this year but I’m bracing myself. If the threats are true that we’re in for the harshest winter since 1949, then I plan to be thoroughly insulated. (more…)



London Underground produces some top fashion merch



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Andrew Bunney has done the seemingly impossible. That is, take a corporate, uncool brand, (albeit with a killer heritage) and turn out a highly desirable line of product. The result is Roundel, a collaboration with the London Underground, that presents T-shirts, jackets, shirts and even trainers as graphic product that will be as at home on the backs of tourists and cityproud Londoners as design-conscious youth. Bravo Mr Bunney! (more…)