15 November, 2013

Guest post: J Crew ups the ante in London with trio of flagship stores

J-Crew-London-window

It’s finally here and DRG contributor Alison Bishop has given it a thorough going over. Here’s the verdict on J Crew, London-style…

It’s hard to find a brand that does classic preppy style with an insouciant mix of androgyny better than J Crew. And now it’s finally arrived in London with a trio of ‘flagship’ or ‘jewel box’ stores.

We first heard the news that J Crew had settled on Regent Street for its all-singing-all-dancing London debut about a year ago (what’s good enough for Burberry is good enough for J Crew, as the latter snapped up the former’s old home on London’s hottest tourist retail hotspot). (more…)

Disneyrollergirl 1 Comment Brands, Business of fashion, Retail concepts, Trends J Crew, retail, retail concepts

10 November, 2013

Beauty futures: What’s new and next in beauty?

And-Other-Stories-Beauty-Polly-Braden

As you might have gathered, I love knowing what’s new and next when it comes to brands and retail and one of my favourite information resources is LS:N Global. The trends and insight network from The Future Laboratory covers global innovation from design, retail and lifestyle sectors and has a free blog called Seed *. Even better than the online content are the regular insight forums held at The Future Laboratory HQ in Shoreditch. Recently, I was invited to cover Beauty Futures, a jam-packed forum that focused on the beauty industry. Over six hours the LS:N Global team unpacked the emerging trends that will affect the way we shop for beauty over the coming years. Here’s my breakdown: (more…)

Disneyrollergirl 4 Comments Beauty, Brands, Business of fashion, Retail concepts, Trends Aesop, And Other Stories, beauty, Bite, Concoction, Fisix, long read, LSN Global, mens grooming, millennials, retail, Sepai, The Future Laboratory, trends

29 July, 2013

What I learnt at the Selfridges Disneyrollergirl denim workshop

Selfridges is the undisputed leader of innovation when it comes to London’s department stores. While Liberty may be the go-to for a great edit and unexpected finds, Harrods for ultimate luxury and Harvey Nichols for the newest labels, Selfridges is the retail risk-taker and rule-breaker.

This summer’s big takeover has been all about denim, from the newly-opened £6 million Denim Studios on the third floor, to the fantastic windows depicting the nuances of every denim tribe you can think of. Here’s what I learnt from the personal shoppers and alterations team at my recent Disneyrollergirl Denim Workshop. (more…)

Disneyrollergirl 3 Comments Brands, Business of fashion, Events, Retail concepts, Technology, Trends denim, experiential retail, J Brand, jeans, Maison Martin Margiela, retail, Selfridges, shopping, technology, trends, unisex

28 October, 2012

A weekend in Stockholm

When in Sweden, one should buy Acne, or that’s the mantra I like to live by. So that’s exactly what I did on my mini-break to Stockholm last month. As guests of Visit Sweden, D (Mr DRG) and I stayed at the one-year-old Hotel Scandic Grand Central availing ourselves of its rather unique Blogger’s Inn room. (more…)