The return of retail: two new reasons to go shopping with a difference
The brick-and-mortar shop is alive and kicking! Forget VR and AI gimmicks, the newest additions to London’s retail scene are stocked full of beautiful clothes, alongside sculptural objects and artwork that one might find in a gallery.
There are no virtual changing room mirrors that show how you might look in computer-generated pieces, no universal wallet that allows you to pay using a handset, and no digital tricks or surprises. Instead, the retail experience has reverted back to one of full immersion in the founders’ perspectives on clothes, culture and atmosphere.
A series of fantastically curated independent boutiques are gaining their share of buzz among a sea of giants - shops like Alex Eagle, The Blue Mountain School, and Mouki Mou in Marylebone. They offer an experience that you can’t find online: the art of discovery and reveal, and at the heart of it, beautiful clothes you want to wear, keep and collect.
This month has seen the opening of two new retail experiences, both from male creative directors who reference, but move beyond, their cultural histories (one Afghan, one Tunisian) to present timeless collections with iconic silhouettes.
The first comes from Osman Yousefzada, who grew up in Birmingham and has travelled through a design journey steeped in decadent jacquards, opulent feathers and disco sequins, towards a current phase of clean, but masterfully cut, bold silhouettes.
His new Fitzrovia “House” presents his clothes next to artwork he’s collected and curated, reflecting the taste and point of view he puts out in his periodical magazine, The Collective, and the tribe of women with substance he always dresses. This is Osman's creative brain represented in a 3D space.
Another important new addition to London’s shopping scene is the new Azzedine Alaïa store. It is the first flagship after the brand's Paris HQ and it comes after the designer's early passing last November. The fashion world lost a true fashion master who knew exactly how to cut a dress and drape fabric to best show off a woman’s body, making her feel like a Grecian goddess.
Not only are all the clothes pure masterpieces - timeless classics and lessons in chic - the design of the space inside make the store all the more special to visit.
Glass benches by Naoto Fukasawa, a Gió Ponti carpet, consoles by Piero Lissoni, Pierre Paulin furniture and bookshelves by Shiro Kuramata are just a few of the pieces of decor in the carefully curated and beautifully put-together store-as-design-experience that not only delivers your wardrobe but also satiates a craving for beautiful things.
As the new Azzedine Alaïa exhibition - started originally when the designer was alive and brought forward after his passing with his team - opens at the Design Museum, his legacy is secure as a master, maverick and true original in the world of fashion.
And now we have the New Bond Street shop as temple to that vision: one that we can visit and take a moment at the altar, aiming to collect as many of his beautiful pieces we can.
Azzedine Alaïa: The Couturier is on 10 May - 7 October; designmuseum.org. Maison Alaïa London, 139 New Bond Street, W1S 2TL; alaia.fr.
Osman Fitzrovia, 32 Percy Street, W1T 2DE; osmanlondon.com.
