Retail concepts

Britsh Designers Collective: Fifteen minutes with Goat



“Wearability”, “quality”, “consistency”, “quiet luxury”…These words are tripping off Jane Lewis’s tongue with barely a pause for breath. Of course I’m hanging on to every word. As the founder and designer of Goat, Lewis has been translating those words through her collections for the last ten years. Famous for her immaculate trousers, tailored knits and precise tunic dresses, she has created a successful business where her customers keep coming back. (more…)



Britsh Designers Collective: Fifteen minutes with Bella Freud



Bella Freud knitwear

I’m sitting in Bella Freud’s living room, surrounded by her family photos, her dad’s artworks and her wonderful playful knitwear. Bella is seated in front of me, wearing faded-to-perfection flared jeans and one of her own Star Man jumpers talking about knitting. (more…)



COS Regent Street gets a bookshop




The Wapping Project Bookshop ‘greenhouse’ is a lovely concept but Wapping is a bloody long way to go for a bit of book perving. So they have upped sticks for two weeks and plonked themselves in the Regent Street branch of COS which frankly is a rather clever idea. You may remember that last year Clifton Nurseries also popped up in a corner of COS; clearly these Scandi types love a bit of crossover retail (as do I).

The shop will sell its usual varied mix, including new and rare photography and art books, magazines and some illustration for children. It’s open from 11.30am to 8pm every day until 14th March.



London Fashion Week AW12: more highlights



More snippets from LFW…
London Fashion Week is famous for its surprises and its mix of commercial shows by Paul Smith, Nicole Farhi and Jasper Conran are nicely balanced by the interactive, multi-sensory theatre of other designers. Richard Nicoll chose to present a hybrid of showroom, shoot and show while McQ by McQueen’s theatrical show had an element of audience participation at the end. (more…)