28 July, 2022

Streetwear retail grows up

Aime Leon Dore London cafe

Something interesting is happening in the world of streetwear. It’s fixing up, shedding its scrappy roots and going all out for growth. Latest development? In the space of a few weeks, two of its most culty brands have opened retail stores that cement their influence and ambition for mass expansion.

On June 17th, Hypebeast unveiled an impressive new seven-storey HQ-slash-store-slash-event-space in NYC’s Chinatown. Two weeks earlier, Aimé Leon Dore (above and below) opened its London store in the heart of Soho, a two-storey retail destination incorporating a marble-floored café and a VIP private lounge. A sneaker’s throw from Supreme and Stussy, Aimé Leon Dore is a far more refined proposition than these rough and ready rivals. Its branding is more preppie-adjacent than skater kid, yet it speaks to the same youthful demographic. (more…)

Disneyrollergirl 0 Comments Brands, Business of fashion, Designers, News, Online shopping, Retail concepts, Trends Aime Leon Dore, Colette, Dover Street Market, experiential retail, Hpebeast, Hypebeans, retail, retail concepts, Selfridges, Stussy, Teddy Santis

6 November, 2020

TRP Travel Retail Style Index: November 2020

Welcome to our travel retail column for DRG by Alison Farrington aka The Retail Planner (TRP)

As global travel slowly picks up, we look at the business and shopping trends of the travel retail world. In recent weeks we’ve seen a spike in beauty sales in Hainan, China; K-beauty going global and a luxury brand experience with phygital appeal. (more…)

Disneyrollergirl 0 Comments Beauty, Brands, Business of fashion, News, Retail concepts, Shopping, Trends Alison Farrington, beauty, Blackpink, Cartier, exhibitions, experiential retail, Harrods, MAC, Rituals, travel retail, YSL

9 January, 2020

Retail safari: inside the Glossier London pop-up (updated)

Glossier retail store design

I finally made it to the Glossier London pop-up in Covent Garden. It’s been open for seven weeks and it closes on ~~9th Feb~~* at the end of the year, but I wanted to get the Christmas crowds out of the way. And the wait was worth it. Glossier is as famous for its pop-ups as its cult-like community and influential cool-luxe aesthetic. Having started out as an e-commerce brand, it has slowly built a strategy of opening pop-ups in key markets to test our products, meet its customers and build hype around the brand.

With still only 36 products in the line, the five-year-old old brand is still small, but the appeal is huge. (more…)

Disneyrollergirl 0 Comments Beauty, Brands, Business of fashion, Retail concepts, Trends beauty, Emily Weiss, experiential retail, gen z, Glossier, London loves, make-up, retail concepts, retail news

16 June, 2019

What happened when Lisa Eldridge won Audrey Hepburn’s lipstick at auction

Audrey Hepburn Cartier lipstick

“Audrey Hepburn’s lipstick holder should be owned by one person on this earth, and that is me.”

Auctions are the epitome of experiential retail. A thrilling experience, they combine drama, desire, competition, social interaction and a bit of a gambler mentality. I’ve only been to an auction once, years ago, a Christie’s sale of pop art posters and design. It was relatively tame and we ended up with a much-loved Robert Indiana LOVE poster that I *think* Tommy Roberts (of Mr Freedom and Tom Tom fame) also bid for.

If you want a sense of what it’s like to bid for something really coveted, watch Lisa Eldridge’s account of bidding for Audrey Hepburn’s Cartier lipstick holder. (more…)