Earlier this week, Selfridges marked the launch of their new global initiative Project Earth in collaboration with Prada as they inaugurated the new Prada Re-Nylon collection. Presented in the Selfridges Corner Shop in London, the collection is Prada’s line of sustainable products originally launched in 2019, which were all made from unique regenerated nylon obtained through a recycling and purification process of plastic waste from oceans, fishing nets & textile fibre waste. In their commitment to protect the environment, the Prada Group has created a line up of projects with objectives of saving energy and promoting practices of sustainability within the luxury sector.
This latest collaboration with Selfridges is solid proof of such, as they offer up a stylish selection of pieces including boots, backpacks, jumpers, skirts, buckets hats and others. The Corner Shop is an immersive experience of this sustainable Prada world with screening of short films produced in collaboration with National Geographic displayed on scenographic multiscreen large scale arches and the surfaces covered in video wallpaper showcasing the macro animations of natural elements as well as the PRADA Re-Nylon industrial process.
“The Prada Re-Nylon project brings circularity to life by teaming creativity with sustainable product innovation in the Selfridges Corner Shop. Prada brings vision to all elements of its business – sustainability is no exception – I am delighted that through this unique concept developed for our sustainability initiative Project Earth, we are able to share that vision with our customers,” explained Selfridges Executive Buying & Merchandising Director Sebstian Manes. The Prada Re-Nylon experience is currently at Selfridges Corner Shop in London.
Those looking for a December boost should head over to Selfridges to check out the latest Louis Vuitton Menswear Pop-up at the iconic London department store, Selfridges.
The new pop-up has been illustrated by The Chapman Brothers, who were commissioned by Men’s Style Director Kim Jones to create a space inspired by his time in Africa. Expect to see giraffes looming large over the collection, while rhinos and jaguars roam wild across the wallpaper.
Launching in two waves, the visually impressive space plays host to a denim bar as well as an exciting array of exclusive products across ready-to-wear, accessories, shoes and leather goods. The Pre- SS17 collection is available in store now, and will be followed by the SS17 show preview from the 15th December.
There’s a new generation of British designers making a splash on the scene with bright, bold and idiosyncratic designs. Amongst these rising stars is knitwear sensation Katie Jones. Graduating fro Central St Martins in 2013, her instantly recognisable aesthetic combines playfulness with artisan craft; breathing fresh life into a British style which has for years been dominated by homogenous items from high street chains. Each piece is hand-made in the UK too, meaning Jones is also carving a path for mainstream, ethical fashion.
Currently a part of Selfridges’ Bright New Things series, we caught up with designer Katie Jones to discuss knitting Elvis, crocheting for Craig Green and spinning yarns.
Did you always know that you wanted to be a designer?
Not really, I always liked to customise things as a kid and the obsession just grew from there.
Can you recall your first serious design? What were you doing and being influenced by at the time?
The first time I actively designed anything was a hand knitted jumper with Elvis on the back. It was supposed to be sexy young Elvis and I messed up the pattern and it became fat old Elvis, it was for a sixth form Project based on ’50s rock & roll.
Your aesthetic is very distinctive, where did it come from? And what was it about knitwear that you were drawn to?
My Gran used to embellish everything and only wore pink or bright prints I think this really influenced me as a child. All my family knitted but I think I then became really drawn to it as you can control the whole make process. As you make the whole fabric from scratch you choose colour, texture everything – that’s amazing as a designer.
You’ve worked for John Galliano, Mark Fast and Diane Von Furstenburg, what made you want to start your own label?
I never set out to run my own label. It was a small portfolio project in between seasonal crochet showpiece work I was doing for Mark Fast at the time; it just snowballed after that.
How would you describe the industry at the moment, is it a good time to be an emerging designer?
It’s exciting, there’s lots of change at the moment and it’s hard to guess how it will affect young designers with this move to instant selling after shows. But on the plus side with the growth of social media and Instagram you can really reach such a big audience as an emerging designer and control so much of your PR- it’s really cool to be able to make your brand more of an experience.
Katie’s window at Selfridges in London
How long does it take to make each piece, what’s the process?
All our pieces are handmade so they are pretty laborious taking between 10-100 hours to make. For me its all about the craftsmanship and detail. We dye our yarns and also source colours from designer surplus. I like it as it makes designing more of a puzzle and pushes our designs forward. I like to work with what is most available at the time while having control of picking and hand dying our colours.
Do you ever get halfway through a collection and wish you’d opted for something simpler, like cotton dresses?
Making a cotton dress sounds more stressful to me! I’m a knitter and crafting the collections as we do feels second nature to my design process.
What has been your most ambitious design to date?
Designing and making our Selfridges window for me was the most ambitious and fun project we have done. It was really amazing to be able to make a world to invite people into. We built it all in my tiny kitchen so it was quite a task. The donkey lived on my dining table for a month.
When you’re working, are you designing as Katie Jones or for a particular element of your personality?
I like to think when I design that it’s for myself. I think this is really great as you understand your target market. I usually create a character and a story each season and the collection embodies what they would wear but I think they are a form of alter ego of myself.
What’re the challenges of having ethical and sustainable fashion at the core of your brand?
For the brand I feel our challenges have just been the same as any new emerging designer: production and growth. The only difference is we are finding ways to grow the brand in London rather than abroad and picking our resources consciously.
What was the inspiration behind your AW16 Highland Fling collection?
It all sparked from an image of John Lennon donning an Afghan and sporran and I loved the combo. Highland Fling then became a celebration of traditional Scottish textiles like Aran and Argyle knits, Tweeds and the 60s. We wanted the pieces to empower the craft and pay homage to the babe power of the icons of the era!
You collaborated with Kit Neale how did that come about, and how was it working with a menswear designer?
Kit got in contact telling me he was a fan of my jewellery and it would work for his upcoming season and it went from there. He’s super fun to work with! I just got to play with his fabric scraps and he let me go off and come back with my creations. It was a really great project – how can dressing boys up in big dangly earrings not be fun. I love working with menswear designers, it’s such an exciting time in menswear. That season was really fun and a bit of a menswear focus for me as I was also working for Craig Green crocheting pieces.
What’s in store for the rest of 2016?
This year we are launching our online range, which I’m really excited about working with our Golden Girls Nana Knit Squad on!
In their latest collaboration, Byredo has partnered with Oliver Peoples to create a new fragrance and limited edition sunglass, exploring the cross between both sight and smell. To celebrate, you’ll find a dedicated window and week-long pop-up in Selfridges, London.
Inspired by synesthesia, the joint perception of the senses, Byredo’s founder Ben Gorham found himself in Los Angeles. It was there that he looked upon California’s sights through different coloured lenses and called upon the Stockholm based brand’s master perfumer to translate them into various smells that would then come together to produce one multi-faceted fragrance. “Oliver Peoples has never done anything but glasses,” David Schulte, Oliver Peoples CEO stated. “So for us to venture out and do a scent is a very big deal. I can’t think of anyone better than Byredo to do it with.” Each of the three coloured bottles of the new Byredo scent – which features top notes of Juniper Berries and Californian Lemon – gives a new depth to the smell and correlates to the three different photochromatic lens colours of the sunglasses: indigo, champagne and green.
“I have always admired Oliver Peoples for as long as I can remember and felt their approach to product was similar to ours at Byredo. It was important for me that this partnership had a true reason for being and synesthesia and the idea of joint perception became that. I have met artists, musicians and perfumers that display traits of this so-called disorder, and I have always been fascinated by the clarity of their descriptions,” states Gorham.
The Oliver Peoples and Byredo fragrance, sunglasses and box set is available now at their Selfridges Pop-Up until Thursday 28th May.
Stockholm based fragrance brand BYREDO has launched a new collection of hair perfume exclusively at London’s Selfridges.
Utilising a unique silicone and polymer formula, the new products create a light, invisible veil that leave the hair nourished and luminous whilst scented with one of BYREDO’s signature scents Gypsy Water, Bal d’Afrique and Blanche. “People are more experimental today, applying fragrances in various forms.” states Ben Gorham, BYREDO’s Founder. “At BYREDO, our focus has been very much on the smells, we now want to focus on innovative ways to apply perfume.”
These long lasting scents will be showcased at the Selfridges Pop-Up until April 22nd. Although the collection will still be available at the department store after this date, we recommend taking a trip today or tomorrow to see the stunning display and test these new creations for yourself.
Two major fashion retailers hailed the start of something new last week, with Selfridges unveiling its new ‘Agenda’ store concept and thecorner.com announcing plans to create a no gender area on the website in June.
Selfridges launched a three-storey Agender space designed by Faye Toogood, starting in the Beauty Hall. The space will be home to items specially selected by their buyers as suitable for both men and women, as well as exclusive offerings from 5 unisex labels: Bodymap, Underground, Nicopanda, Rad Hourani Haute Couture and Toogood. Other featured designers include Twin favourites Comme des Garçons, Ann Demeulemeester and cutting edge Hood By Air.
The launch was accompanied by the release of an Agender film, featuring original music by Devonte Heynes.
Creative director Linda Hewson, said that the campaign ‘challenges the future of shopping at Selfridges,” which sounds similar to thecorner.com’s support of a new approach to shopping that goes beyond the gender divide.
The luxury online boutique prides itself on being forward-thinking and will open a brand new section dedicated to gender-neutral clothing. From Rad Hourani to Yohji Yamamoto, their expertly curated selection will allow you to choose according to personal taste rather than being influenced by a male-female dichotomy.
To coincide with Frieze London, one of the world’s leading contemporary art fairs, the ICA has announced a week-long free programme of live events to take place at The Old Selfridges Hotel this October. With Isabel Lewis, Korakrit Arunanondchai, NTS Radio, Siobhan Davies Dance and Rhizome all involved in the project, expect a host of performance, music, art, dance and discussion each day.
Launching the programme on Tuesday and Wednesday, Brooklyn-based dance artist and curator Isabel Lewis, will host a series of ‘occasions’ in partnership with Frieze Projects and Liverpool Biennial, which conjure the ancient Greek symposium where philosophizing, drinking and the erotic were inseparable. On Thursday evening, New York-based artist Korakrit Arunanondchai, who will also be participating in the ICA exhibition ‘Beware Wet Paint’ (24 September – 16 November 2014) will present an evening performance. On Friday night, the focus will be music with a live event presented in collaboration with ICA’s Associate Artists, NTS Radio. Saturday will see Siobhan Davies Dance present the live movement installation Table of Contents.
ICA Off-Site: The Old Selfridges Hotel, Tuesday 14 – Saturday 18 October 2014 at 1 Orchard Street, London, W1H 6JS
Today sees the opening of the Gareth Pugh Monolith installation at Selfridges. Created with the department store to mark Pugh’s first appearance on the London Collection: Men’s schedule, Monolith takes you on a virtual reality journey, visually immersing you into the world of Pugh’s menswear collections. The two-metre tall chamber is located in Menswear on the store’s first floor, and is ‘part art installation, part futuristic fashion film and part fairground ride’. The project was brought to life by East London creatives Inition, with a soundtrack by Matthew Stone. The installation serves as a preview to the mid-January launch of Selfridges’ first store-wide creative concept of 2014, The Festival of Imagination, which celebrates the world’s most inspiring innovators, creatives and architects.
On Friday November 8, Louis Vuitton will open its doors to the Townhouse, a new urban retail destination set within Selfridges. Louis Vuitton invites clients to journey through a new retail concept and signature interior, into a dialogue between modernity and tradition, surprise and discovery.
Built over three inter-connecting floors, the Townhouse is the largest of its kind in Europe, offering two floors for womenswear and, for the first time in Selfridges, Kim Jones’ menswear line.
In the middle of it all one will find the real showstopper; a state-of-the-art glass lift that links all three spaces. The short travel in the elevator then reveals a head turning surprise, as it begins to gently revolve, in tandem with the movement of the spiral.
The architectural concept is designed by French-born, Japanese based designer, Gwenaël Nicolas.
Every journey in Louis Vuitton’s Townhouse, regardless of how short, is definitely inspirational.
The Townhouse opens on November 8 in Selfridges, Oxford Street, London, W1.
This weekend J Brand are inviting denim lovers down to Selfridges new denim space on the 3rd floor to celebrate the Little Black Jean, a pair now exclusive to the infamous department store. Having turned to stylist Angela Scanlon to style the Little Black Jean, she will be making an in-store appearance tomorrow to share her denim tips as well as take photos with shoppers.
Customers are invited to photograph themselves in the new style which will then be uploaded to their personal social media channels, with the hashtag #littleblackjean of course. J Brand will also be launching a worldwide competition on the 1st July asking followers to submit images of themselves in their own black jeans for the chance to win a pair of J Brand 620 in Hewson. One pair will be won each day to the image with the most votes. At the end of July there will be a grand prizewinner, chosen by both Selfridges and Angela, who will win a pair of the exclusive Little Black Jean.
In honour of International Women”s Day, Kathryn Ferguson has created an inspiring film on four fearless women.
FourTell features a personal conversation between Zaha Hadid, Caryn Franklin, Sharmadean Reid and Bella Freud focusing on the need for female role models. The result is an intimate and honest portrayal of their own life experiences and struggles as women.
The film launches today at Selfridges coinciding with an in conversation discussion with Ferguson. SHOWstudio will also debut the clip and has expanded the project with behind the scenes footage and essays.
You don’t need technicolour to have Christmas dazzle. Bruce Weber, the master of the tonal portrait has brought his perrenially fresh touch to Selfridge’s Christmas campaign that answers the question, what would you do if you were locked in a department store overnight? Clearly we’d be riding around on our own pony drawn carriage with the odd hunk thrown in for good measure – anything’s possible with a little festive spirit!
On Tuesday Twin popped into meet the lovely Phillip Lim at the launch of his new Selfridges pop-up boutique. Designed by Studio Toogood, it’s the perfect showcase for Lim’s discreet brand of luxe. Housed in the Women’s Designer Galleries on Selfridges’ second floor, alongside beautiful silk separates and fine knits in popping orange and breezy blue were sneak peaks at his accessories collection of subtle chic handbags, which will launch in the store in July.
It was Lim’s first trip over the Atlantic to London for over six years and we found the talented designer in a self deprecating mood. “Front of house have a much harder job than I do, bringing all this together takes a lot of time. I just do my thing,” he said. We say, it’s a good thing too. We wanted pretty much everything on display, and I’m sure you will as well.
3.1 Phillip Lim pop-up boutique will be at Selfridges until August 2012. 31philliplim.com
Conjuring up images of everything from Maharajas to Marilyn Monroe, diamonds hold highest rank when it comes to wonder gems. So it’s fitting that for this month only diamond specialists, Cartier, have taken over Selfridges’ Wonder Room for an exhibition entitled Cartier Loves Diamonds.
Enriched with over 150 years of history and heritage, Cartier are sure to captivate visitors with their savoir-faire on the subject of sparkling stones. Part of the space houses a special “bridal lounge” as well as an exhibition composed of archive imagery and stories on legendary Cartier stones which have ultimately become just as famous as their eminent wearers.
Diamonds have long been associated with idealistic views of romance and love – something that is much of a focal point in Cartier’s series of short films entitled True Love has a Colour and a Name, all of which are available to view in the room’s “interactive space”.
Pride of show is the renowned “Oriental” Tiara; a platinum headpiece dating back to the beginning of the Twentieth century featuring over 1,200 diamonds – We’ll be adding this to our Spring wish list then!
Cartier Loves Diamonds is on now until 29 April located at The Wonder Room, Ground Floor at Selfridges, London. selfridges.com
If London is known for anything as a fashion capital, it’s nurturing and supporting a hotbed of creative talents all across the design spectrum.
For a second year running, Selfridges has selected its Bright Young Things. The project allows 15 newcomers from the worlds of fashion, art, design and food talents to create a window display for its Oxford and Duke Street stores.
With participants this year including womenswear designer/illustrator and CSM graduate Sorcha O’ Raghallaigh, who specialises in intricate metallic coloured and lace designs (Lady Gaga is a fan) and designer Maarten van der Horst, who gave a new and fashionable life to the otherwise dreaded Hawaiian prints, it’s a testament to the design talents that the Big Smoke has to offer.
For those more interested in non-fashion creativity, interior designer duo Tinker & Tailor have created a Twitter-friendly interactive space, while coffee connoisseur Jack Coleman made his own personal ode to the art of the brewing and roasting.
There’s never been a better reason to stop and take a closer look. Rush hour crowds notwithstanding.
Bright Young Things is on until February 29. selfridges.com
This month our favourite one-stop shop for virtual rummaging, Supermarket Sarah, goes uptown to Selfridges, London. From humble beginnings in the East End bedroom of founder Sarah Bagner, who curates and shoots physical ‘walls’ of objects for customers to click and buy, Supermarket Sarah has won support from Tom Dixon and showcased the work of designers Georgina Bacchus, Patternity and Bethan Wood.
Now, Supermarket Sarah’s design emporium will open the doors to its very own bricks and mortar shop in Selfridges, London. While the online wall lives on, the new Selfridges store promises the same blend of quirky collectibles, but in real time. Space is also being made for a gallery featuring all Sarah’s best loved designers. First up is Eley Kishimoto. Trolleys at the ready.
Supermarket Sarah wall will open from 10 Jan 2011 at Selfridges London, 400 Oxford Street, London, W1A. supermarketsarah.com
Tucked down a side road in Dalston, in a 6000sqft basement is Late Night Chameleon Café. Known by the acronym LN-CC the self-proclaimed ‘retail concept’ opened its doors this month.
The store is the brainchild of former Selfridges and Harrods buyers John Skelton and Daniel Mitchell who enlisted Twin favourite, set designer Gary Card to create the rabbit-warren interior.
A cylindrical corridor leads to the three fashion rooms showcasing the best of cult fashion design. In one room Damir Doma, Rick Owens and Ann Demeulemeester are ready-styled on mannequins or hanging from suspended rails. Emerging brands like Nonnative and SASQUATCHfabrix are in another while in the third room Raf Simons sits alongside Lara Bohinc and Mawi.
There is a fourth ‘Celestial’ space full of rare art, fashion books and records. All the favourites are here and then some: Jean-Michel Basquiat, Phyllis Galembo, Maison Martin Margiela and Harmony Korine.
But it’s the details that set this boutique apart from other retailers. The brands are carefully handpicked, cleverly edited and curated so that the space feels more like a gallery than a boutique. Built-in benches encourage thorough perusal of the records and art books. Oh and did we mention the changing rooms are on wheels?
LN-CC is a shopping landmark in the making; book your appointment now.
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