Wish You Were Here, London-NYC shop swap

In the spirit of August, when everyone decamps elsewhere, London's chic micro-retail hub the Newburgh Quarter has just jumped across the pond and set up shop in the Lower East Side, New York.

More than just an excuse for a group jolly, the conglomerate of independent boutiques are engaging in an extended swap shop with counterparts of the Lower East Side shopping district feeling a symbiotic, albeit transatlantic approach to their brands, both individually and of the two areas as a whole.

See more of London's Newburgh Quarter setting up in Lower East Side, New York

The project, called Wish You Were Here, involves 30 boutiques from London - all cult homegrown labels, like Twenty8Twelve, Cowshed and Beyond the Valley residing from 20th August to 13th September at 186 Orchard Street, NYC.

Part two will take place from 1st October until 1st November, when ten of the Lower East Side's equivalent brands Earnest Sewn, Adrienne's and Zarin Fabric Warehouse to name a few will teleport to 8 Newburgh Street and 3 Lowndes Court in London.

As the pop-up wagon gets increasingly overloaded (with many throwing themselves under it rather than jumping aboard) it's refreshing to find an initiative involving smaller brands collaborating for the common good of a group. And for anyone short of pocket it's a good opportunity to get a nice dose of retail therapy from both cities without stumping up for an air ticket too.

25 August 2009 | Fashion