30 November, 2013

Liberty Of London: the TV show

Liberty-Of-London-TV-show

Only two more sleeps til the first episode of Liberty Of London, the three-part documentary about the London store. These sorts of programmes and films around fashionable institutions are proving quite the marketing success story. See Vogue and The September Issue for one example, Inside Claridges for another and Scatter My Ashes At Bergdorf’s for yet another.

Liberty is a British national treasure and we know the Americans love all that stuff. So what better than a behind-the-scenes look at the (slightly eccentric) Brit department store run by a charismatic American (hello Ed Burstell) and featuring a host of highly watchable characters to sell the magic worldwide?

The one hour episodes follow the Liberty team in the run-up to Christmas, taking in fashion week, celebrity visits, plus all the usual hubbub that goes on in fashion retail. Watch out for adorable events and team coordinator Louis Matthewman who I think is going to steal hearts with his dapper suits and bow ties, and publisher Felix Dennis who treats Liberty as ‘his corner shop’.

Liberty Of London airs on Monday night on Channel 4 at 9pm

Disneyrollergirl 1 Comment Brands, News documentary, Liberty, retail

24 November, 2013

Quote of the day: Stephen Godfroy, Rough Trade

Rough-Trade-NYC

“Visiting us is like visiting a cultural hub; it’s not simply a place for purchasing.”
Rough trade co-president Stephen Godfroy in The Guardian’s story on the opening of Rough Trade Records in New York

[Image: New York Times]

Disneyrollergirl 0 Comments Music, Quote of the day music, quote of the day, retail, Rough Trade

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…)