Have the first two and half years at Dover Street Market gone according to plan or have you updated and adapted things as you’ve gone along?
Our plan in fact was to continually change and update the store. From the very beginning we wanted something alive that could lend itself well to changes and evolution.
Tell us a little about the changes you’ve undertaken to the store?
There have been countless changes: the basement has already gone through three incarnations, new concessions have been added, furniture has been completely changed, wall constructed and taken away, new backdrops painted. It’s hard to talk ‘a little’ about the changes we’ve done here!
How have the labels you stock alongside Comme de Garcons changed, or developed?
They’ve been added to extensively. We keep trying to make more space for more people.
Are the portakabins still there?
Most certainly.
A lot of people have commented on the film-set feel to Howell’s interior- was this intentional?
Absolutely. We decided not to work with architects, but with film and stage set designers, of which Michael Howells is our favourite. We wanted to see the backside of the backdrop as well.
What we love particularly about DSM is the very effortless, non-aggressive anti-corporate feel to the space- so at odds with every other retail space within a square mile- is this something you’ve consciously cultivated?
This is indeed what we wanted, an ever-changing interaction of creative ideas and diverse visions coming together in the context of a market place, without taking any notice of rules, regulations and market forces. However, we also always wanted to remain, at heart, just a shop that sells nice things in a cool atmosphere – not an exhibition place, not a gallery, not a museum and certainly not a place where fashion met art.
How do the clientele of DSM differ to those of your other flagships? It seems to have become a fashion tourist attraction in its own right.
The clientele is certainly much wider than in our Paris and New York stores, perhaps given there’s just so much choice. And yes it does appear we’ve become something of a tourist attraction too, which is fine.
Could DSM have worked in Paris or New York, do you think?
No, I don’t think so. DSM for us remains very much anchored in the spirit and energy of London, from which it drew its inspiration. In another city it would inevitably have to be something different. And in any case, we never do the same shop twice since it’s important for us that each of our shops has a connection with its location, no matter how abstract.
Your guerrilla concept stores have been immensely popular all over the world. Where did your inspiration come from and how do they work alongside your permanent flagships in London, Paris and New York?
The guerrilla concept was born out of the starting-up energy from East Berlin, where kids would take a tiny space for a hundred dollars a month, and just do their own thing. We’ve now opened and closed 29 guerrilla stores, all completely different, all with very different people, who don’t work in the fashion business as such. We’ve not yet considered a guerrilla store in London, Paris or New York as the main idea is to break new grounds in markets not yet developed. But as a concept, guerrilla stores sit nicely with DSM and everything else we do, as everything essentially adheres to our core sense of values.
And what of your future plans?
We’re just opening a new guerrilla store in Beirut, and looking forward to some Comme de Garcons flagship stores in China coming up soon.
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Dover Street Market
- Website
- http://www.doverstreetmarket.com
- Address
- Dover Street Market 17-18 Dover Street London W1S 4LT
