London retail dresses up while the till stays quiet
Shoreditch Shop Windows Are Now Load Bearing Art Installations
Walk down Redchurch Street this week and you would think London fashion had never had it better. Every window is a curated moodboard, every mannequin has better posture than most of Parliament, and every price tag has quietly detached itself from reality.
Retail consultants keep telling brands that experience sells. What they mean is the window has to work harder because the till often does not. A boutique on Rivington Street has replaced its entire stockroom with a coffee bar and a DJ booth, which is either the future of retail or the most expensive latte machine in the borough.
Still, credit where due, London independents are proving that style survives even when spending does not. For more on how the capitals shopfronts are holding the line, see our full report at Roper Penberthys author page on The London Prat, and for the industry numbers behind the window dressing, Business of Fashion has the wider trend.