retail concepts

On my radar: Plain Goods



Plain Goods

Uh oh.

New e-commerce discovery of heritage-y staples with a mix of classic brands (Margaret Howell cable knits!) and expertly selected vintage finds.

The Plain Goods site and accompanying Connecticut store are run by interior designer Michael DePerno and fashion brand manager, Andrew Fry, and they shoot all the campaigns locally themselves.

Current faves: their own line of men’s Shetland knitwearwear and these Martiniano loafers – such a cool take on the old school penny.

Browse at your peril….
Martiniano loafers Plain Goods

WORDS: Disneyrollergirl / Navaz Batliwalla
IMAGES: Plain Goods
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TRP Travel Retail Style Index: December 2020



Clé de Peau Beauté Luminizing Face Enhancer

Welcome to the latest 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. Recent highlights include the launch of beauty retail ‘café’ destinations in Hamad Airport, Doha and a focus on exclusive duty-free products in Hainan, where Chinese consumers continue to ‘revenge spend’ their way out of the pandemic, while domestic travel is their only option.


1/ BEAUTY RETAIL-TECH ‘CAFÉ’ CONCEPTS. L’Oréal
has launched two ‘phygital’ retail concepts at Hamad Airport, Doha. The new retail-tech destinations – from Lancôme and YSL Beauté – sit next door to each other as one beauty department within the Qatar Duty Free retail space.

The Lancôme concept features a French apartment-inspired décor and the addition of bar stool seating gives a luxury café atmosphere. The counters offer interactive touchpoints where customers can personalise their purchases. It’s the first store in the brand’s EMEAI (Europe, Middle East, Africa, India) division to launch Lancôme’s new Shade Finder tool – the skin tone measurement technology that can identify up to 22,500 shades for foundation matching. (more…)



Positive fashion: Now you can buy your secondhand Levi’s from its own dedicated recommerce site



Secondhand Levi's
Secondhand Levi’s have been a thing for as long as I can remember. I can still recall the smell from the endless folded piles of denim at the Emperor of Wyoming, where after ten try-ons you *might* leave with your perfect fit and preferred shade of blue.

In 2015, vintage Levi’s hit the headlines when RE/DONE jeans arrived on the scene with its innovative model of tweaking old 501s to a modern fit. It was so successful that Levi’s decided to work with the founders than compete.

And this month Levi’s has launched its very own secondhand Levi’s microsite (more…)



TRP Travel Retail Style Index: October 2020



Cartier Maillon de Cartier watch 2020

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

As global travel picks up again, we look at the business and shopping trends of the travel retail world. In particular, the beauty, fashion, accessories, and watches & jewellery categories, dipping into the product exclusives and digital strategies that often launch in Asia and give the rest of the world an idea of innovations coming soon.

WHAT’S THE FUTURE FOR DUTY FREE SHOPPING? A major story this month, the entire travel retail industry is reeling from the latest government news that duty free is set to be abolished in the UK for everything bar alcohol and cigarettes from 1 Jan 2020. (more…)