Clothes are loud, but never square

Browns & Browns Focus

Created by Joan Burstein in 1970
Started as a small boutique at 27 Molton Street
Individually handpicked items from the worlds top designers.
Includes a personal Shopper service
Older, Sophisticated market
Simple, plain window displays for an older market
Browns Focus
Aimed more at a fashion forward crowd "For a woman that likes to dress with attitude"
Aimed more at a younger market
same price points as Browns
Visual and display in the store is much more edgy and opposite of Browns, across the road. (Tiffany)

(nadine)

Matches - Ledbury road

First Matches store opened in wimbledon in 1990
Thirteen stores across Notting Hill, Richmond, Wimbledon, Mayfair and Marylebone
Designers such as Burberry Prorsum, YSL, Diane Von Furstenberg, Azzedine Alaia, Sophia Kokosalaki and Alexander Mcqueen
Cutting edge Fashion
Sophisticated artistic interior and decor.
Aimed at a higher market
Very High end customers
High fashion Designers (Tiffany)

Bluebird - Kings Road, Chelsea.

Situated on the Kings road
opened in 1997 on the site of an original garage on the Kings road.
combination of a cafe, forecourt and barbecue, restaurant and bar, private rooms available to book, a food store, bakery and wine cellar
Modern traditional Drinks and food menu
Interior and visual layout is very modern
Celebrities often visiting
Aimed at an older market
Tend to find people of middle class as their usual customers
price points are quite high in comparison to a usual food store/restaurant etc. (Tiffany)

(nadine)

The convenience Store - Hazelwood tower

Convenience store in Hazelwood tower
Picks out key and exclusive styles and items
most sought after garments with challenging yet cutting edge design
limited stock
"non conformist" take to the environment of the store
Customers can make offers on valuable items
Mysterious/secretive feel to the website and viewers advised to visit store in person
Rick Owens, Clare Tough, Hannah Marshall, Veronique Branquinho among the designers showcased at The convenience store. (Tiffany)

Start - Shoreditch

Located in Shoreditch
Owned by Philip start
Originally a stand alone boutique
Seperate mens/Womens wear collection
Online Boutique available
In store Mens tailoring emporium
Made to measure service
eclectic market
Many positive customer reviews
edgy, young fashion pieces but also smart and older pieces.
Designers Include Acne, Anglomania by Vivienne Westwood, Commes des Garcons, Calabrese, McQ, Markus Lupfer and more (Tiffany)

(nadine)

B-store is one of hidden gems, it is quite a small store but it packs a lot in. They keep an up to date blog as well as a magazine and also have their own brand ‘B Store’. As a store and a brand their aim is to be unique and innovative and to escape the world of branding. The original concept of the store was to create a viewing platform for new and up coming artists and designers, which is still true today. They regularly have instillations from young artists in their window displays and are known for stocking exciting and fresh collections. The current window installation is a film by Ivana Bobic.

The B Store brand is very modern, it offers stylish basics with a twist. The clothes are simple but have a certain quality to them that makes them stand out. Originally it was just a shoe line but has now expanded in to a unisex clothing range with a line of womenswear to be launched soon.

As a shop it had a simple layout with wooden floors and white walls. There was a combination of short and tall display units with lower ones running through the centre of the shop displaying hats, books, jewellery etc. Music plays an important to the B Store so obviously there is always music playing in the shop. It is not normally mainstream music, it’s bands/artists that inspire the co founders (Matthew Murphy and Kirk Beattie) and staff that work there.

B store is quite small and therefore had an intimate feel to it. The staff came across as being friendly and sounded passionate about working there. For them it was not just about the clothes but also trying to bring new and interesting labels to people who may have never come across them before. It is about educating people that there is more out there than just the usual brands that have saturated the market. As it was partly independent it would feel nice to be able to spend money there because you are supporting something that is different from everything else. (Giovanna)

B Store Boutique located in Savile Row
Launched in 2001 as a Shoe Line
Co-owners Jose Neves and Matthew Murphy
Showcasing collections of new young designers
art/design and fashion concepts within the store
London Fashion Week
Art installations throughout the store
B store received "shop of the year" award
G-Shock Collaboration
"Away from branded luxury"
Inspiration from music icons David Bowie and from joy division and human league
Designers include 1 in a 100, Bernhard Wilhelm, Cosmic wonder, Peter Jensen, Our Legacy...and many more (Tiffany)

(nadine)

(Sheneka)

Liberty - Regent Street

Liberty has been an important part of London fashion’s history since 1875. It is set in the most amazing building in the centre of London, it is a building that is unlike any other in that area, with the beautiful tudor beams running throughout the exterior. When Arthur Liberty took over the running of the store his vision was to change the look of home wares and fashion and Liberty as a store has held on to this vision. Since the 1950s all departments in the shop had a combination of new fashions mixed with traditional.

As a department store I feel it functions quite efficiently, everything is separated in to complimentary groups and shown together on each floor. It is very easy to navigate your way round and find what interests you. There is a lot of space on each floor ensuring that as a shopper you can easily absorb the many luxuries that surround you. Some of my favourite parts inside Liberty include the store in store created for Manolo Blahnik, which is a wonderland of shoes that is decorated almost as if you were in a forest, and TEA which is located on the ground floor. This is a lovely place to go and have afternoon tea and escape the reality of London for an hour or two.

There are a huge range of designers at Liberty from Alexander McQueen to the New York Hat Company, all of which have different price ranges but on the whole I would say there is something for everyone. My top tip would be to go see the variety of fabrics on offer. There are some inspiring prints and every season new and re worked classics are added.

They are a store which reaches out to a huge variety of demographics and invites them all in together. It has a very warm and inviting atmosphere with staff who are more than willing to help. Even though this store stocks very expensive items it does not create an uncomfortable shopping experience. I think that Liberty as a company aims to share well designed and manufactured goods to the world and enable everyone the chance to be surrounded by these luxurious items. (Giovanna)