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After experiencing the worst 18 months in retail history, luxury brands are creating new hyper-local stores for creative people. Hannah Marriott went to Shoreditch’s largest opening location to see how they fulfilled their Oriental promises

It is 11:30 am on an autumnal Saturday in London. A man in his 20s cut the price of a Gucci jacket and belt by £2,000. Elsewhere in the store, an American in his 40s stroked a bucket hat worth 415 pounds, and then asked about a burnt orange jacquard jacket worth 2,550 pounds. At the same time, in the upstairs boarded lounge, fans of the brand can sip the pure white coffee in the Gucci brand coffee cup, as well as the pre-order products of the "hacking project" launched by Gucci & Balenciaga on Monday.

This may sound like Bond Street’s behavior, but I’m seeing this scene in East London. This big brand recently popped up near Red Church Street, covering the design of Sir David Adjaye in yellow and yellow. The former residence of the artist Sue Webster. -Turquoise monogram. Although it may be the most noticeable, Gucci is far from the only luxury brand making waves in the region.

In the tea house less than 100 meters away, is a temporary Bottega Veneta space, where the Greem Jeong sculpture is placed with a Cassette bag worth £3,000. Bottega's brand is subtle: unless you are looking for it, you won't know where it is. Since Skepta's visit, many people have been looking for it, doing a lot of shopping and posting the whole thing on Instagram. At the same time, since 2017, Browns East in nearby Club Row has also launched an exclusive British men's capsule series, launched by Kim Jones of Dior and Chitose Abe of Japanese brand Sacai-this is a catnip collaboration for fashion fans- Special events and installations on two floors with its concept store.

These initiatives are just the latest luxury facilities on Redchurch Street and its surrounding roads. Since the opening of Shoreditch House in 2007, the area has gradually become the sanctuary of East London dreams. There are many fashion brands that cater to design-conscious people, such as Sunspel, APC, MHL by Margaret Howell, Folk, Toast and the upcoming Reformation, as well as the concept store Gentlewench where Comme des Garçons is located in addition to ingenious and noble ceramics. Fashion brands sit between shops offering almost every product and experience imaginable, from glasses to modified Pilates, from tinctures to wine.

Things on the shore: Gucci's Shoreditch pop-up store

As this part of East London became more and more popular, real estate prices soared. According to Zoopla's data, the average house price of E2 in 1997 was £82,400. It is now £478,000, an increase of 580%. Nonetheless, the most jaw-dropping number is at the top of the market, with a penthouse apartment worth 4.1 million pounds currently on sale. Wealthy tourists and business travelers flocked to Redchurch Townhouse or Mondrian, head to Columbia Road Flower Market on Sunday, and dine at Padella or Cecconi's.

That being said, at least compared to Mayfair's neatly manicured plaza, although the surrounding area is full of money, the area is not dazzling or ostentatious. Redchurch Street’s warehouse buildings, street art, overflowing trash cans, and the scenes of people wandering around the bar with owls and cats dressed in "Game of Squid" still retain the atmosphere of East London.

Traditional designer brands are carrying out major post-blockade retail operations here rather than in West London, which marks a major shift in the London retail industry and the wishes of some wealthy customers. Browns East’s client, Browns’ purchasing director, Ida Petersson, said that they are usually “people who may have a Berlin atmosphere and prefer industrial design. They may settle in Brooklyn or the Lower East Side of New York.” The wealthy but looking for a different energy people. She said that such fashion fans are everywhere in East London. "You go to the London stadium and everyone else is wearing [Bottega Veneta] Puddle boots!" Although Browns has the most business in East London, with big names such as Dior, Celine, Prada and Gucci, "customers also like newgen." For example, the launch of London designer Maximilian was a huge success. Dior x Sacai is strategically wise, combining traditional brands with cult brands.

"Customers may have a Berlin atmosphere and prefer industrial design. Affluent but looking for people with different abilities"

A Redchurch Street store manager who requested anonymity agreed that the East London customer was very different from the customers he had served in West London. He said that there, they might drive their Lamborghini and park outside, wearing a full-brand look and a huge watch. In East London, clients are a mixture of creative types, including Chinese expatriates and students, and many people who live here work in nearby technology companies or cities. 'It's colder. They are locals-they may be wealthy students or editors of fashion magazines. Whether they—or, let’s face it, their parents—make a living for a living, they cherish the progressive dreams sold in this area of ​​London; there are plenty of fixtures for creativity, community, and sustainable procurement. And the discussion of accessories.

Ola Alabi of the rising neutral brand Cold Laundry has opened a store there for a year, and she agrees that there is a sense of community on the street. He said that before its launch a year ago, the brand first opened a pop-up store on the street, "We built a community. Now they come to us. His clients" are all kinds, from older working professionals or The core fashion community in the field to those who are trying and trying to find fashion". He said that compared to West London, this often makes people feel more laid-back: "You can talk to customers-it feels more real, they are down to earth, There are no obstacles. "

Bottega Veneta is located in the Shoreditch space of the Tea Building;

The dramatic changes in the region are not without friction: the new wealth center is located in the heart of Tahamlet, one of the capital’s poorest administrative districts, and its location is clearly tight. You can't help but wonder what the anti-gentrification protesters against the infamous Cereal Killer Café nearby would do in 2015, even though the horse had apparently run wild. Some newly wealthy people in the original artist community established in the area in the 1980s and 1990s also attracted attention and prestige.

But what happens here—albeit complicated—will be closely watched by other retailers. The kind of immersive brand experience and pop-up shops being tried may provide inspiration for the streets everywhere, as they are going through one of the most painful 18-month deals imaginable.

Peterson said: "I don't think anyone can answer the future questions of the retail industry, but what is accelerating the epidemic is that people want to experience. They don't just want rows of railroad tracks, and we try to define what it might be interesting. Big Most people like to interact. I firmly believe that the retail industry will continue to exist, but the metrics will change. It’s not just about how much we make per square foot, but about staying at the forefront of people’s minds and providing them with a constantly evolving body Experience. Browns' other innovations, such as "infinite shelves"-designed to quickly deliver extra sizes or merchandise to customers' homes or stores through arrangements, bringing the convenience of digital shopping to physical stores-is another idea that seems to be about to take off Wider.

The Gucci pop-up store and its well-planned bookstore, luxurious velvet listening lounge and coffee shop are designed to attract new fans who pass by accidentally and attract existing Gucci fans away from their screens. This is obviously a kind of impossible to replicate online Experience. An interior designer I interviewed at the coffee shop told me that since the pandemic, she hasn’t shopped anywhere except online, but the opportunity to shop locally helped her convince her to come in and get out of the limited edition Book a jacket and two bags. The "hacking project" of Gucci and Balenciaga. "This is East London, so it doesn't look too formal," she said, pointing to her lively young son, "so I can take him with him." So I placed another order, although-here is full of pre-orders and delivery. In the new world of door-to-door and unlimited shelves-I haven't seen anyone leave with something clumsy like a shopping bag.