The new Chanel London flagship opens in New Bond Street tomorrow and at 12,600 square feet it’s a vast improvement on its Old Bond Street predecessor. In terms of trends, retail and otherwise, it weaves in quite a few. There’s the trend for ‘at home’ styling; featuring grand mantlepieces, ample couches and coffee tables (for the wealthy BRIC customers to consider their purchases I suspect, not for bored husbands and kids). (more…)
Charlotte Olympia just out-kitsched herself with this immaculately realised Perspex bag for Resort 2014. Available for shipping from November, you can pre-order it now from Moda Operandi. Too quirky (surely not)? Then consider the matching heels instead. In red and black suede with fetching leaf green heels, there’s more than a hint of Guy Bourdin about them. The only catch is that this ‘trunk show’ ends on Thursday so if you want them, get in fast… (more…)
Now here’s a most excellent Facebook campaign for people of a certain age. To commemorate its 60th anniversary, Laura Ashley has created the Laura Ashley Memories Facebook Campaign, inviting fans to share pictures and memories of their favourite Laura Ashley smock/curtains/wedding dress/tea cosy/whatever. This is such a simple, sweet idea from a heritage brand with a truly connected fan base – people really do have a fondness for their Laura Ashley.
Those who share their photos and memories can potentially win a £1000 gift card and a tour of the London archive (now that’s a fabulous prize, no?). Here’s a couple of submissions already – the 80s is the most popular decade by far…
That photo above is from the Disneyrollergirl archives, AKA a pile of scrapbooks and box files containing years worth of photos, cuttings, and ephemera that I’ve held onto ‘just in case’. Yasmin Cho was a late ’90s shop on a first floor in Poland Street, an out-of-sight destination that you had to want to find in order to visit it. Run by Yasmin Sewell, it stocked a curated mix of under-radar labels like Susan Cianccolo, Carol Christian Poell, and Rick Owens. You had to press a buzzer to get in and the sign on the door was made up of coloured sticky dots. Fast forward 15 years and Yasmin Sewell’s early concept has come full circle with a Shoreditch pop-up space called Beach In the East. (more…)
