Concept is key for survival in Y2K retail, and the more experiential and theatrical, the better. #UJLoves exploring Browns East, The Websters (MIA/NYC) and Dover Street Markets the world over – curated collections and multi-disciplinary approaches are the way forward. This week we’re looking at the new spaces on our radar.
We told you we’d have news to share from Nuno Mendes, and boy, is there a lot going down at the former Hostem site on Redchurch Street. Meet Blue Mountain School, the brand new, six-floor space from Hostem founders James Brown and Christie Fels that’s about to turn London’s retail scene on its head (again). Opening next month, the multidisciplinary galleria will feature a Perfumer H atelier on the lower ground floor, a Hostem Archive with clothes, ceramics, furniture and tapestry, as well as Tyler Hays furniture and garments from his BDDW and M Crow labels, that aforementioned Mãos from Nuno Mendes (reservations open now!), plus gallery spaces, two floors for Maastricht designer Valentin Loellmann – and don’t miss Grace’s, a wisteria-d rooftop listening room.
Cult Swedish fragrance Byredo is also going multi-storey, opening a three-floor townhouse flagship in June this year. Sitting next to Alex Eagle, Aesop and APC on Soho’s Lexington Street, Byredo will sell its much-loved fragrances, leather goods, skincare and candles, as well as provide a home for collaborative projects in a dedicated gallery space. Word on the street is Byredo will be venturing further into the beauty category, so this will be the place to head for the latest.
The end of 2017 also brought an end to a 20-year love affair we had with Colette, but there is finally someone else to swoon over at the other end of the Eurostar. Nous, Paris is the new concept store from former Colette employees Marvin Dein and Sébastien Chapelle. It’s not setting out to be Colette 2.0, but with a mix of streetwear, street culture and high tech, all presented in concrete-luxe style less than five-minute walk from the hallowed 213 Rue Saint-Honoré address, it’s a possible distraction and a sneakerhead’s haven. And if you’re headed Stateside, we have to mention The Hundreds new LA flagship store with a giant mastodon skeleton as a focal point. A nod to the fossils at the La Brea Tar Pits nearby, it’s retail theatre at its finest.
All in, real-time retail has never looked so good.
