23 March, 2010

Anya Hindmarch presents the Bag & Bottle

Oh wasn’t the Anya Hindmarch press day a hoot! An unassuming Belgravia pub, The Star Tavern was highjacked by the Hindmarch clan for the entire week to showcase the aw10 collection. Not content with changing its name to The Bag & Bottle (ho ho!) the team plastered the premises from top to bottom with the Anya Hindmarch name. Most genius touch? That’ll be a toss-up between the AH branded peanut packets and the Beware of Handbag Thieves sign. They even had a special appearance from darts champion Colin ‘Jaws’ Lloyd – now you don’t get one of those at your average press day…

After tucking into a portion of scampi that was several notches above your average pub grub followed by rhubarb crumble that was worth the trip alone, I finally checked out the merch.

Remember the Anya Hindmarch for Barbour news? Well the results have been revealed. As expected, it’s Barbour with a luxe twist. There are some very lovely quilted coats and jackets with the Hindmarch curved collar – super feminine while retaining their practicality. There are also coats based on the trad waxed variety with detachable fur collars and cuffs. (Please don’t let’s have a fur debate here. Thank you.) Anya loves to think on a practical level – I swear she must be a Virgo – so inside these waxed coats you will find pockets embroidered with ‘lipstick’, ‘dog and bone’ (AKA ‘phone’) and ‘coins’, and get this, the coins pocket is actually a wee detachable velvet purse. Brilliant!

Amongst all the dozens of boxy, ladylike bags in all sorts of leather, ponyskin and animal-print, I zoned in on the nylon pouches of which there is one for every type of function. Heaven for a storage freak like me…

Back to the Bag & Bottle. The pub is actually available for bookings for lunch and dinner all the way through til Friday. I can’t guarantee you’ll see Anya herself throwing darts with Mr Lloyd, but you can enjoy a game of AH dominos with your pint and pork scratchings.

Disneyrollergirl 6 Comments

19 March, 2010

OMG I need this!

I rarely do ‘OMG I Need This In My Life!’ posts but there have to be exceptions. So without further ado, OMGINTIML…

This dress (is it a dress and jacket? Or a dress-jacket combo? Who knows) is by Markus Lupfer, is just about to drop at Feathers and is perfect on so many counts. It has Breton stripes but it’s not a Breton top. Not that there’s anything wrong with Breton tops, I just bought two more Petit Bateaus yesterday. What? It’s spring, it’s the law… It’s also a short dress without being mini-mini. Would look good with a grey marl tight and a black stack-heeled knee-length boot, no? The shoulders are structured without being trophy-structured and the sleeves, oh the sleeves! I have a thing about a too-short sleeve, I just love it when you see that bit of wrist bone (is that weird?). What do we call this – watch-length? Anyway, you get the point, I’m mad about the sleeves. And finally the pockets. A dress without pockets is a waste of fabric, time, money and effort. I’m not a dress person but I love a pocket dress. I love this pocket dress. OMGINTIML. That is all.

Disneyrollergirl 17 Comments

18 March, 2010

Anthropologie King’s Road (SPOILER ALERT)- first look

Ahhhh, I’m in retail heaven this week. Today saw the launch of the Harvey Nichols Hub and tomorrow sees the opening of Anthropologie in the King’s Road (why is it called thee King’s Road?). Being Miss ‘I was there first’, I have had a preview and I can tell you it is just as awe-inspiring as any other Anthropologie store. Pictures speak louder than words so here goes:

Before it was Anthropologie, the building was home to Antiquarius, a well-loved but ultimately past-its best warren of fusty antique dealers (and there has been quite the furore over the Anthro takeover). But before that, the building was a gentlemen’s club. This area is a tribute to the ‘library’ area of the former premises…

???Love the pattern clash and these funny little typewritten postcards dotted around ???

I have to admit the homesy merchandise appeals to me more than the fashion buy…

Monogrammed faux pockets stitched to the wall

Natty nautical sailor-esque top. Mmmmm

Ooh, an Elizabeth Lau dress!

Yay for African print skorts!

The book buy at Athro is exceptional…

Oil paintings and pampering products

Canape-watch: Goats cheese, honey and pine-nut tarts!

Canape-watch: Quails eggs!

The store opens to the public tomorrow. Next door is a space that Anthropologie will rent out to various cafes on a pop-up basic, starting with a tea specialist (apparently – it wasn’t ready when I was there). Inside there is also a gallery space that will host 6-week selling exhibitions curated by Anthroplogie’s Keith Johnson. As I’ve said before, what I love most about Anthropologie is the lovingly attended merchandising of the product. The bazaar-like experience of discovering things in the store and the juxtaposition between ultra-expensive antiques, handmade one-offs and £2 soaps is a key part of the Anthro high-low experience. (I had been to a press day earlier at Few & Far and admire the similar high-low bazaar mix there too.) But if you can’t get to the store or you just want to get your hands on the product then guess what, Anthropologie’s UK etail site launches tomorrow too. Let’s shop!

Disneyrollergirl 12 Comments News, Retail concepts

18 March, 2010

Fun in the sun: Harvey Nichols pop -up ‘hub’

It’s officially official – spring has sprung! High five to Harvey Nichols for picking the warmest and sunniest day of the year so far to launch their clever new retail concept. It’s a pop-up… caravan! Kind of. The ‘Hub’ arrived at Hanover Square today, a touring trailer that has cherry-picked the funnest wares from Harvey Nichols’ new fourth floor.

The Hub goes on a mini London tour for the next few days so tomorrow it’s at the Southbank Centre (10-7), Saturday it’s at Westbourne Grove (10-5) and Sunday it’s at Spitalfields Market (10-5).

I arrived at Hanover Square in time to witness a wee gig by Daisy Dares You – never heard of them but readers, J’adore!

Inside the hub it’s a veritable fun-fest (how many times am I going to say ‘fun’ in this post? Lots) – vending machines, a photobooth, temporary Will Broome tattoos and all the knick knacky (read: affordable) bits of the Harvey Nicks fourth floor offer. I saw Assouline fashion books, Comme des Garcons wallets, Kidrobot figures, Audio Chi headphones (I have a pair of these… ???), oh and many, many trendy trainers from the Harvey Nichols Trainer Wall.