Flannels opens first London flagship, designed like a prismatic puzzle
It’s unusual for an early 20th century artwork to inspire the concept behind a multimillion pound, multi-floor, multi-brand retail space. When Italian architects pconp and artist Riccardo Previdi began devising Flannels’ latest 18,000 sq ft flagship boutique on Central London’s Oxford Street, intriguingly, Odilon Redon's 1903 pastel drawing Ophelia was their first reference point. ‘It offers a dreamlike view,’ explains Filippo Della Lucia, project leader at pconp. ‘It subverts classic ideals, aligning with Romanticism and Symbolism. It’s about a new means of experience.’ Adds Previdi, ‘The artwork has been the source from which to draw everything we needed.'
New experience is integral to Flannels’ latest landmark opening. The retail behemoth – first opened in the North of England in 1976 – is in the midst of an astonishing expansion. It currently boasts 44 locations in the UK, and has opened 17 new stores in the last two years, including a May-opened 20,000 sq ft Newcastle store, designed by London and Miami-based Argent. Ambitiously, Flannels plans to open another 60 outposts by 2022.
A host of the Flannels' luxury competitor’s have recently opened flagships and multibrand spaces further West on Bond Street – the world’s third most expensive retail street – including Celine, Loewe, Givenchy, and Alexander McQueen, while Matchesfashion’s 2018-opened experiential townhouse is a stone’s throw away in Carlos Place. But Flannels has found its first London home on the East End of Central London's most famous buzzy high street, neighboured not by high end boutiques, but by Marks & Spencer and Muji. ‘We wanted to make a statement with the new location,’ says Michael Murray, head of elevation at Flannels. ‘Oxford Street is one of the best shopping destinations in the world, so it's the perfect spot for us. We want our shoppers to feel part of a community – everyone is welcome.’
The majestic four floor space is a playful melting pot of references, bringing together everything from the prismatic tones of Odilon’s Ophelia and its ethereal, gothic elements to Arts and Crafts emblems, Brutalism to Baroque, Batman to Bladerunner. Inside, it houses men's and women's ready-to-wear and accessories, from a roster of established and emerging labels, including Burberry, Off-White, Versace and Ganni.
‘We call it Incompiuto’ says Lucia of the flagship's interior, which is conceived around the idea of a gutted home, comprised of different and mismatched layers of wallpaper and flooring, all peeled back to reveal slivers of different decorative strata. Modular fixtures include wall panels emblazoned with bold chevron stripes, inspired by Italian medieval architecture, or printed with William Morris thistle and acanthus patterns, blown up to hyperbolic size and imagined in bold pop colour. Zipping between decades, movements and genres, pconp has focused on the ‘everyday’, using materials like galvanised metals for fixtures – ‘a treatment used for trays in hotels’ – and splodgey colourful Silipol columns, ‘used in the Milan Metro system’. Geometric black and white marble flooring, antique Persian rugs and ecclesiastical bespoke chandeliers, inspired by 1970s furniture designer Paul Evans, complete the postmodern puzzle.
Employing everyday materials and drawing from a breath of influences, pconp – which has also designed spaces for Gucci, Tom Ford and Saint Laurent – aims to create a more inclusive and widely interpretable concept of luxury. On the second floor, a concept space will also host roving services and experiences and guest collaborators and concessions, including takeovers by The Shoe Surgeon, Watch Anish and Bang & Olufsen. Flannels will also debut a Style & Collect service, allowing shoppers to purchase styles online and pick them up in store.
‘We think luxury today culminates as a story to be told,’ Lucia explains. There are numerous narrative strands to be sought across Flannels’ four floors in London's Soho; another chapter in the retailer’s unfolding bricks-and-mortar tale.
INFORMATION
ADDRESS
Poland St, Soho
London
W1D 2JL
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
-
The moments fashion met art at the 60th Venice Biennale
The best fashion moments at the 2024 Venice Biennale, with happenings from Dior, Golden Goose, Balenciaga, Burberry and more
By Jack Moss Published
-
Crispin at Studio Voltaire, in Clapham, is a feast for all the senses
New restaurant Crispin at Studio Voltaire is the latest opening from the brains behind Bistro Freddie and Bar Crispin, with interiors by Jermaine Gallagher
By Billie Brand Published
-
Vivienne Westwood’s personal wardrobe goes up for sale in landmark Christie’s auction
The proceeds of ’Vivienne Westwood: The Personal Collection’, running this June, will go to the charitable causes she championed during her lifetime
By Jack Moss Published
-
New Byredo store opens in London’s Covent Garden
Byredo has unveiled a new Covent Garden store, its second bricks-and-mortar destination in London
By Hannah Tindle Published
-
How Biba’s make-up and cosmetics line started a beauty revolution
Ahead of a new Biba retrospective opening at London’s Fashion & Textile Museum, Hannah Tindle speaks to Barbara Hulanicki about its pioneering make-up and cosmetics line
By Hannah Tindle Published
-
Alaïa unites fashion and art in its redesigned London flagship
Conceived by creative director Pieter Mulier, Alaïa’s reopened New Bond Street flagship is an intimate space which doubles as an art gallery showcasing works from Sarah Lucas, Sterling Ruby, Marc Newson and more
By Tianna Williams Published
-
AV Vattev is the London-based menswear brand creating slow fashion with a subcultural twist
Part of Sarabande: The Lee Alexander McQueen Foundation, Antonio Vattev of AV Vattev is staunch in his commitment to slow fashion, even as he stacks up stockists and famous fans
By Joe Bobowicz Published
-
Cult men’s grooming brand Horace opens its first London flagship store
Men’s grooming brand Horace has unveiled its first standalone international store outside of its home in France
By Hannah Tindle Published
-
Dolce & Gabbana continues its new chapter with a London space devoted to beauty
Dolce & Gabbana opens a new beauty corner inside its lavish Old Bond Street store
By Hannah Tindle Published
-
Hermès blasts off to ’the silky way’ for breathtaking London event
Behind-the-scenes of Hermès’ ‘Brides de Galaxy’ in London yesterday evening, a jaw-dropping event celebrating the carré silk scarf and its instantly recognisable prints
By Jack Moss Published
-
Omorovicza’s new London store evokes a soothing Hungarian spa
The new Omorovicza flagship destination brings the Rác Thermal Bath to Mayfair, with signature facial massage and mineral-rich products
By Hannah Tindle Published