Brands

Harrods’ Disney Christmas




Further to yesterday’s Chanel post on the subject of the ‘Disneyfication’ of luxury retail;  I hear that Harrods will be Disney-themed this Christmas. Swarovski was the brand partner last year and this year promises another fantasy-filled extravaganza beyond our wildest dreams. Think windows displaying one-off gowns for Disney princesses by the likes of Valentino and Versace, a fourth-floor Disney pop-up boutique, plus a special focus on Disney’s Cinderella to tie in with the global high-def launch of the animated Cinderella on Blueray.

In our modern cross-pollinating world, this is the perfect way for film, fashion and retail to collide to benefit all parties. (And somewhere in the mix there must be a magazine media partner ready and waiting with an Aurasma app to tie it all together. Harper’s Bazaar perhaps?) Disney has upped its fashion collabs considerably recently. I loved the Mawi jewellery, and the Cinderella Louboutins sound promising. Of course, I’m still holding out for a Louis Vuitton Disney collab. It’s got to happen soon, hasn’t it?

[Image: Valentino for Disney]



Introducing: Studio Nicholson




As I mentioned the other day, I’m all over the current crop of female designers who make functional-but-beautiful clothes for women. 24/7 clothes you can whizz around in for meetings and appointments, but that also scrub up well for evening with a switcheroo of shoes and jewellery. (more…)



On Chanel’s Covent Garden beauty pop-up and the Disneyfication of luxury retail




Latest in the rebranding of Covent Garden is Chanel’s new standalone beauty pop-up, a make-up mecca that will be in situ between now and the end of the year. It’s the first of its kind for Chanel in Europe and suggests they’re trialling the concept for a more permanent set-up. Why Covent Garden? “It’s a light-hearted, fun destination,” I was told, although being positioned slap bang at the entrance of the Piazza and also along the same drag as Apple, Burberry Brit, Rugby Ralph Lauren and Opening Ceremony on King Street (AKA, London’s new shopping destination) sounds much more strategic than that. (more…)