Marchesi 1824, one of Italy’s oldest and most esteemed pastry houses, has opened its first-ever concession in Harrods’ famed Chocolate Hall – perfectly timed for all of your Valentine’s gifting needs.

On 9 February 2026, the Milanese institution launched its new space within one of Harrods’ most celebrated departments, offering Londoners a curated selection of its Italian chocolate. Visitors can expect a showcase of Marchesi 1824’s signature creations, including pralines, cremini, dragées, biscuits and – the showstopper – the Grand Cru Venezuela cocoa mass, available exclusively in Harrods. Sourced from the region south of Lake Maracaibo, the cocoa mass has been calibrated for both intensity and balance, with a flavour profile which is deep, elegant and aromatic.

Founded in Milan in 1824, Marchesi 1824 quickly became a landmark of Milanese confectionery and café culture, synonymous with refined Italian taste. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, the house remained a defining presence in the city's social and culinary life. After its acquisition by the Prada Group in 2014, Marchesi 1824 began expanding globally, with flagship locations in Milan and an outpost on London’s Mount Street. The Harrods concession marks a new chapter for the house, allowing it to focus exclusively on its chocolate offering.

‘The opening in the Chocolate Hall at Harrods represents a further step in Marchesi 1824’s development,’ says CEO Andrea Menicatti. ‘It is an important opportunity to introduce our brand and our vision of chocolate to a global audience, continuing to share our story and values worldwide.’

Diego Crosara, pastry art director, adds: ‘We are thrilled to enter the world of Harrods. It is a great honour for us to bring our craftsmanship and the Italian artistry of our products into such an iconic location.’

Marchesi 1824’s arrival in the Chocolate Hall invites Londoners to savour a taste of Italian heritage – and there’s still plenty of time to visit before Saturday.

There are few things more synonymous with the arrival of the festive season than the unveiling of Harrods’ Christmas windows: since 1931, they have become magical – and oftentimes transportative – portals that attract shoppers from around the globe. In this almost-century of the tradition, designs have spanned conventional Yuletide tableaus – sugary snow-covered Christmas trees; spinning ballerinas; foliage dotted with fairy lights – and more surreal scenes, whether featuring bobbing astronauts, piles of hot pink packages, or even a pair of enormous legs in ruby red slippers, as if Harrods had been blown into Oz and dropped onto the Wicked Witch of the East.

Recent years, though, have seen Harrods hand over the reins to a series of international fashion houses who have ‘taken over’ the store for the festive season – including the iconic Brompton Road windows. Most notably, Dior, who constructed an intricate gingerbread wonderland – and opened numerous pop-ups inside, including a restaurant – in 2022, while last year, Italian brand Loro Piana created a ‘Workshop of Wonders’, populated with a cast of miniature workers and animals painstakingly hand-carved in wood.

Explore Brunello Cucinelli’s Harrods takeover

This year, as revealed in a special ceremony this morning, it is the turn of Umbrian fashion house Brunello Cucinelli, a brand known for its work in cashmere which is made possible by a lifelong dedication to craft by the house’s namesake, who runs the company alongside his children in the hamlet of Solomeo. Not only turning the store’s windows into a tactile and inviting cashmere wonderland – complete with fluffy clouds, idyllic scenes of Solomeo and a protagonist in the form of a flying griffin – Brunello Cucinelli has also inaugurated a series of ephemeral stores across Harrods’ various floors, as well as designing limited-edition pieces for the house’s existing boutiques within the department store.

The theme, says Mr Cucinelli, who presented the windows this morning, is ‘Feelosophy’, a playful nod to the designer’s dual fixations: the creation of superlative fabrics and the philosophy of craft and community behind them (he is a longtime student of philosophy, which informs the way he runs the company – he deems his approach ‘humanistic capitalism’ in its focus on worker’s rights and a respect for the land). The windows are ‘narrated’ by Philo, the griffin which appears in the Brunello Cucinelli emblem and a longtime symbol of Umbria. Taking its name from the ancient Greek term phílos, meaning ‘one who loves’, the half-lion, half-eagle is rendered here in soft white, evoking ‘the noble cashmere fibre’.

In a speech this morning – in which Mr Cucinelli evoked a number of thinkers, from Sir Thomas More to Arthur Schopenhauer – the designer said that the arrival of the festive season had put him in a contemplative mood. ‘I’d like to spend a few moments, not on cashmere, but rather to dwell on life,’ he said through a translator. ‘We have learnt to run and rule mankind through science. But you need science combined with soul. This is the time when we need to treat our soul and tidy it up, the same that we do with our kitchen. How do we do that? We talk more, with our fathers, children, husbands, wives. We should try and heal as much as possible.’

The unveiling marked the beginning of a busy week ahead for the designer: this evening, he will take home this year’s Outstanding Achievement Award at The Fashion Awards, held at the Royal Albert Hall, while on Thursday, in Rome, he will premiere a new film on his life and philosophy, directed by Giuseppe Tornatore. Titled ‘Brunello: The Gracious Visionary’, the premiere at Rome’s famed Cinecittà Studios – known as ‘Hollywood on the Tiber’ – will be followed by an Italian release on December 9, 2025.

brunellocucinelli.com

This year, Bottega Veneta celebrates the 50th anniversary of ‘intrecciato’, a leather weaving technique which was first introduced in 1975 and has since become a central part of the Italian fashion house’s design vernacular (favouring understatement, the distinctive intrecciato has taken the place of more overt branded logos or monograms).

It has also become symbolic of Bottega Veneta’s longstanding veneration of craft: an intrecciato handbag, for example, can take days to construct, relying on a process of weaving whereby individual strands of leather (the ‘fettuce’) are braided together around a frame of wood. ‘Interconnectedness, exchange and [a] collaborative ethos,’ say Bottega Veneta of intrecciato’s symbolic significance to the house.

Inside Bottega Veneta’s Harrods pop-up

Festivities begin today in London, whereby an ephemeral space in historic Knightsbridge department store Harrods is dedicated to the technique (the ground-floor, street-level space has been the site of numerous recent pop-ups, from a Miu Miu ‘gymnasium’ to a summer store from Celine). Previewed this morning, the space – unsurprisingly – is one of luxury and refinement, with nods to intrecciato in the custom furnishings (a set of armchairs in jumbo intrecciato is particularly appealing).

At the centre, though, is an impressive console table constructed from contrasting walnut wood and concrete – titled La Tavola, it references the workshop tables at the Bottega Veneta atelier – which houses a series of intrecciato products, including handbags, wallets and even dog-shaped leather bag charms (as part of the display, some are left ‘in process’ in order to see the complex weaving it takes to create each one). Elsewhere, alongside the house’s recent introduced fragrance line, is a small selection of ready-to-wear – including an intrecciato shirt and trousers, the spoils of hours of artisanal handcraft.

The opening comes at a pivotal moment for the Italian house: later this month, British designer Louise Trotter will present her debut collection as creative director at Milan Fashion Week. The much-anticipated show – Trotter is a rare woman designer in a male-dominated field – will take place on the evening of 27 September, with so far only a handful of hints as to what to expect from the former Lacoste and Carven designer’s tenure.

These include a series of custom looks for actor – and recently confirmed brand ambassador – Vicky Krieps, including an asymmetric handkerchief-cut dress in black grain de poudre worn with intrecciato earrings at the premiere of Father Mother Sister Brother at the 82nd Venice Film Festival last month (the film festival also provided the first glimpses of Jonathan Anderson’s Dior haute couture and Dario Vitale’s Versace).

Meanwhile, an initial campaign – titled ‘Craft is Our Language’ and marking the intrecciato’s 50th anniversary – saw a number of notable figures photographed by Jack Davison with a particular focus on the hands, many of which were interlinked as a nod to the intrecciato weave (participants included Krieps, Tyler the Creator and Julianne Moore, among others). ‘[These] hand gestures that connect people across generations, cultures, backgrounds, and contexts,’ said the house of the poetic campaign, which now adorns Harrods’ iconic Brompton Road windows.

Bottega Veneta Harrods pop-up, entrance Door 9, Hans Road, SW1X 7XL.

bottegaveneta.com

The origami-like Puzzle bag, first introduced by Jonathan Anderson as part of his S/S 2015 menswear collection for Loewe, remains perhaps his most perennial design for the Spanish house, where he held the role of creative director for just over a decade (he left the house in March of this year; today, it was announced he will head up both Dior’s men’s and womenswear collections in an unprecendented appointment).

Reimagined in a catalogue of iterations – featuring everything from embellishment to artworks, and even Studio Ghibli illustrations – as well as numerous sizes, from the XL to the micro, it is perhaps Loewe’s most successful export. Even after Anderson’s departure – he will be succeeded by Proenza Schouler’s Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, whose debut show will be held this September – expect the Puzzle bag to remain as part of the Loewe roster.

10 years of the Loewe Puzzle bag at Harrods

Indeed, this month, the house reveals a colourful new Harrods pop-up, which displays an array of Puzzle bags – focussing on the more arresting and outlandish iterations – in an exhibition-like pop-up which celebrates Anderson’s expansive creative legacy (far more than a fashion brand, under the Northern Irish designer Loewe became a cultural behemoth, inaugurating an annual Loewe Craft Prize, holding presentations at Salone Del Mobile, and collaborating with a roster of contemporary artists on show sets and objects).

The various bags on show are part of the ‘Puzzle 10 Collection’, which comprises 19 re-editions, as well as one new version of the bag. The latter is suitably celebrational: titled the ‘Confetti’, it features a colourful explosion of leather and metal sequins, a demonstration of the superlative handcraft of the Loewe leatherwork atelier. Like the 19 re-editions – which span an original S/S 2015 bag in vivid hues of pink, versions adorned with clouds, parrots and playing cards, and collaborations with the estates of William Morris, Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Joe Brainard – it comes with a commemorative plaque and two balloon-shaped charms.

Other re-editions are notable for their intriguing textural finishes: a ‘Kiwi’ bag from a 2021 Paula’s Ibiza collection features undulating leather panels to recreate the tropical fruit in surreal style, a tartan wool jacquard version from A/W 2020 is left purposefully frayed at its edges, while a 2019 Puzzle featuring motifs by Arts & Crafts artist William De Morgan is embroidered to give the appearance of tapestry.

The Puzzle bag’s unique cuboid shape and foldable structure were designed by Anderson to recall the traditional art of Japanese origami. ‘It was about deconstructing a conventional bag to create a flat object with a tridimensional function,’ he said of the Puzzle on its release. ‘I set out to find a new way of building a bag, fundamentally questioning its structure.’

Running until June 22 and inspired by Loewe’s textural, art-filled ‘Casa Loewe’ stores, the Harrods space sees the various bags displayed in velvet-lined cavities within metallic walls, designed to give the appearance of a jewel box. Elsewhere in the space, artisans will demonstrate the craft behind some of the bags, while six exterior windows of the department stores will be inspired by three of the artists who appear on the bags – Ken Price, Joe Brainard and William Morris. Finally, refreshments come courtesy of a special spotted Loewe truck parked outside the store, serving hot and iced coffees, alongside special Loewe ’Puzzle’ chocolates.

The Harrods Loewe ‘Puzzle 10’ pop up runs until June 22, 2025.

loewe.com

In a 2022 interview with Wallpaper*, Serge Lutens described himself as feeling ‘always on the margins, a misfit’, an experience that would cause the polymath to retreat into a fantasy universe of his own making from a very young age.

In adulthood, Lutens has poured images and stories from this distinctly ‘strange’ interior world into the cosmetics and fragrances he creates for his namesake line. Such is the case with his Bell Jar perfume collection, which debuted c.1990 with Shiseido, taking its name from the distinct glass bottles housing each composition.

At one time, Serge Lutens’ Bell Jar perfumes were only available for purchase in Paris, at Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido. In the UK, however, Harrods was bestowed with the honour of being the first brick-and-mortar location to offer them.

Now, this also includes Jeux de Peau, a singular, gourmand fragrance with notes of milk and wheat, capturing a formative childhood memory for M. Lutens of baking bread – a memory penned into the ode published here.

Serge Lutens: an ode to Jeux de Peau

If it’s a memory... A memory is so... A part of my life... A life that is part of me... A throwback to childhood... Childhood coming back at you... At present, a ball bounces... A present, a ball that bounces...

It is seized with both hands... Both hands seizing it... Every time, the hands let it go... The hands let it go, every time... Quickly misses us... Quickly missed by us... If it goes away, it’s the better to find you, my child... If it’s my child, it’s better to find you if it goes away.

I was assigned a job to do after school. It took me down a gently sloping street. On the right-hand side, above a low wall, there was an embankment covered with soot-blackened tufts of grass that became green when it rained. Sometimes, if you looked up, you might see a freight train passing against a background of empty space. I used the path on the other side of the street, which gave onto a row of houses that became familiar to the point of being invisible.

There’s no magic involved. A child superimposes blue skies over grey or, when it’s time to mourn, has to pinch himself to stop laughing. At the end of this nonchalance, taking a left immediately after my comma, at the end of a dead-end street, there is a full stop. A golden place that was necessary to me. It was just as much a part of my personal territory as my neighbourhood, my house or my comb.

I was often distracted: ‘Don’t forget to get the bread!’

If I described the bakery as a ‘golden place’, it’s because that’s how I saw it. Part of its bright aura was due to the amber loaves of French bread – bâtards, ficelles and baguettes – waiting in fragrant rows.

When I got to the bakery, I woke up from my daydreaming to enjoy the sight of the bread. ‘Bread opens your eyes’ just as surely as it whets your appetite. The crowning touch was the whiff of freshly baked bread, still warm, coming through the basement window.

At first glance, there was nothing but good humour on the face of the lady at the bakery. Her make-up gave her face a jolly look, yet one suspected that it was a mask concealing bitterness. What could she have been suffering from that would, at busy times of day, make her purse her lips sharply and suddenly?

The fact that it was barely perceptible made it even more obvious. Obeying a suspicious mind, her mouth, like the seal affixed to a judicial document, passed judgment on all comers. The smile that she gave when returning change had infinite variations: it could be suspicious, jaded, resigned, disdainful, stiff or disillusioned. Although she is dead and gone now, I’m sure that her skeleton still wears her glossy white dentures in a smile.

He said: ‘Eat, this is My body.’ Balthus had this in mind when he stuck a knife in a loaf of bread and made it bleed. It would be a fine thing to be consubstantial with bread, which wards off hunger and soaks up all sorts of good things!

I set out to use this fragrance like a lovely invisible ink to write a message on the air.

Jeux de Peau by Serge Lutens is now available in the UK, exclusively at Harrods.

sergelutens.co.uk

Harrods, the world’s most famous department store, welcomes back its beloved icon, The Georgian. The 113-year-old restaurant and afternoon tea salon returns with British cooking overseen by chef Calum Franklin and interiors designed by David Collins Studio.

The Mood: art deco heaven

The Georgian first launched on the fourth floor of Harrods in 1911, though it was the following decade that David Collins Studio took for inspiration, with mirrors inlaid with mother of pearl and lots of metallic art deco details. Twenty-five twinkling chandeliers illuminate a grand space that spans 10,333 sq ft and has room for 164 diners; one imagines that eating aboard the Titanic felt something like this. The atmosphere is very different by day and by night: afternoon tea is accompanied by the tinkling of a live pianist, while evenings play host to a live band paying homage to the Jazz Age.

‘The Georgian’s character is steeped in art deco glamour with a touch of theatrical flair, inspired by Harrods’ heritage and history as a luxury tea merchant. While honouring the historic essence of the original restaurant, we sought to design a unique space where opulence meets immersive dining, with jewel-toned amethyst drapery, a canopy of oversized chandeliers and the delicate interplay of light on crystal and mirrored finishes. Our vision from the outset was to create a venue like no other – one which revolved around the performance of tea service, music and theatrical wonder,’ says Simon Rawlings, chief creative officer at David Collins Studio.

The Food: the pie’s the limit

The Georgian has always been known for serving British food but Franklin has refined the flag-waving even further by offering a selection of the sort of pies that made his name at Holborn Dining Room and Public House in Paris. The showstopper here is lamb shoulder slow-cooked under an elaborate pastry crust for two to share, but there will also be retro recipes drawn from the Harrods archives such as sole bercy in a white wine sauce for those whose appetites are more Jack Sprat than Billy Bunter. Afternoon tea, meanwhile, will see tea sommeliers creating custom blends if English breakfast isn’t your cup of cha.

The Georgian is located at Fourth Floor, Harrods, 87-135 Brompton Rd, London SW1X 7XL, harrods.com

The glimmering façade of Harrods has always been synonymous with the festive season, the British department store long embracing the holidays in dramatic – and oftentimes fantastical – fashion. As such, it has become the gathering point for beleaguered shoppers who have found solace in its cavernous, lavishly decorated interiors where it’s near-impossible to leave without a purchase.

As of today (7 November 2024), the Italian fashion house Loro Piana will mine this sense of wonder with an expansive festive takeover, comprising not just displays in all 36 of the store’s Brompton Road, London windows, but two pop-ups and a ‘pop-in’ (more on that later). Titled the ‘Workshop of Wonders’, the takeover promises to marry the brand's own century-long history of craft – Loro Piana began in 1924 from a rich legacy of wool trading that began in the 1800s – with the mood of a buzzing Santa’s workshop, complete with Nutcracker-esque marionettes, fluffy soft-toy animals and wooden toys.

Workshop of Wonders: Loro Piana takes over Harrods

These various tableaus tell the story of Loro Piana’s near-unparalleled production – the house still largely remains known for its world-leading Mongolian cashmere and other so-called ‘noble’ fibres – as cloud-like ‘bales’ of cashmere make their way through fantastical mechanical structures before becoming the precious final product. ‘Each window [tells] the tales of the fibres, communities, and beautiful landscapes that make up the maison’s masterful chain of hands,’ says Loro Piana.

As such, expect hand-knitted clouds, miniature Mongolian yurts, landscapes populated with sheep and goats, alongside traditional cashmere scales, twisting cogs and wheels, and wooden vans balanced with Loro Piana products (each element was crafted with the same savoir-faire as Loro Piana’s products). The windows culminate in a 17m-high tree decorated with swathes of Loro Piana fabric and dotted with the house’s product – ‘the most precious gifts one could ever dream of’. Destinations depicted include Mongolia, Australia and the Andes – where Loro Piana sources its cashmere, merino and vicuña respectively – as well as Quarona, the town in northern Italy where the house’s factory is based.

Inside, there are two special Loro Piana pop-ups, the ‘Door 6 Pop-Up’ and the ‘Door 9 Pop-Up’. The former comprises a display evoking a festive workshop, whereby shoppers can discover pieces which centre on Loro Piana’s craft expertise, from intricately constructed leather goods to baby cashmere beanies, some decorated with bear and thistle motifs, and scarves which can be customised with personalised monograms. ‘Door 6’, meanwhile, is dedicated to gifting: there are stuffed animals and snow globes, wooden puppets and animal-shaped pencil toppers, while guests can even make their own festive decorations (the luxurious take on a craft table will allow people to wrap Loro Piana fabrics around a wreath, tassel, pompon or fairy).

Elsewhere, the so-called ‘Pop In’ boutique is a temporary ‘dreamland’ populated with the house’s offerings for newborns, a soft, enveloping selection of romper suits, hats, warm suits and puffer jackets in cotton and cashmere. A collaboration with the 1963-founded children’s pram producer Inglesina sees perhaps the most luxurious stroller currently on the market – a co-designed stroller-bassinet made from Loro Piana water-repellant linen and cotton canvas and complete with a ‘winter kit’ of a baby mat and matching hand warmers created from a luxurious blend of silk and cashmere. The festive takeover will also herald the opening of a new in-store boutique dedicated to Loro Piana interiors, as well as a new kid’s concession.

Across these various sites is a wealth of other exclusive Loro Piana products for visitors to purchase for themselves or a loved one, making it an essential stop for those who prefer the limited-edition and the one-of-a-kind (well-known territory, no doubt, for the typical Loro Piana customer). The hyper-luxurious line-up – in the house’s words – celebrates both the takeover and Loro Piana’s 100-year anniversary, spanning menswear (tasselled ‘Dot Sole’ loafers), womenswear (hand-embroidered silk gowns; velvet ballet flats) and accessories (the house’s signature handbags in exclusive iterations and colourways), subtly nods towards Britishness in countryside hues of camel and green, as well as equestrian-inspired details and heritage checks.

Other one-of-kind pieces – and a true flex when it comes to gifting – include wooden watch boxes, hand-woven leather-trimmed baskets, and a walnut backgammon set, all available until 2 January, when the workshop is packed up for another year.

Loro Piana’s Workshop of Wonders runs from 7 November 2024 to 2 January 2025.

loropiana.com

London fashion has always been defined by a mood of eclecticism, where the establishment – the meticulous precision of Savile Row, Knightsbridge’s gleaming department stores – meets the convention-breaking, from the punkish glamour of Vivienne Westwood to Alexander McQueen’s savage beauty, or the playful, idiosyncratic approach of Jonathan Anderson.

When it comes to shopping in the city, you will find a similarly diverse offering – from big-name boutiques and classic department stores to the best in vintage, alongside the sleek and experimental – which continues to draw international shoppers off their phones and onto the streets. Here, Wallpaper* selects the very best fashion stores London has to offer.

A guide to the best fashion stores London has to offer

Dover Street Market

Moving from its eponymous Dover Street address to Haymarket in 2016 – a short walk from the busy Piccadilly Circus – Rei Kawakubo and Adrian Joffe’s conceptual fashion market remains London’s most thought-provoking boutique. Across the vast 31,000 sq ft space, Dover Street Market London shoppers will find not only pieces from the various Comme des Garçons lines (Kawakubo is also the founder and creative director of the Japanese label), but an array of brands spanning streetwear, luxury houses, and the international avant-garde, as well as plenty of rising talent. ‘People’s expectations rise and you have to rise with them. The question is how do we make DSM even more surprising and create something that you don’t expect?' Joffe told Wallpaper* when the store opened. Indeed, traversing the labyrinthine space, which unfolds over five floors, reveals hidden displays and spaces – head all the way to the top and you’ll be rewarded by a London outpost of the Parisian Rose Bakery, where cakes and pastries line the steel countertop. Read more.

18–22 Haymarket, London, SW1Y 4DG.

london.doverstreetmarket.com

Alaïa

Fashion and art unite in Alaïa’s sleek London flagship, seeing a changing roster of artists – including Sarah Lucas, Thomas Ruff, Steven Shearer and Sterling Ruby – line the space’s gallery-like white walls (the selection is curated by creative director Pieter Mulier). Meanwhile, in an echo of house founder Azzedine Alaïa’s meticulous eye for interiors, Marc Newson’s ‘Pelota’ lamps, chairs by Gerrit Rietveld, Gio Ponti and Franco Albini, and tables by Shiro Kuramata populate the two-storey space, providing a satisfying backdrop for Mulier’s latest clothing and accessories collections. Another nod to the late Azzedine Alaïa comes in an industrially designed kitchen on the second floor – a reference to the late couturier’s Paris home, where he would memorably host home-cooked dinners for his creative milieu of friends and muses. Read more.

139 New Bond St, London, W1S 2TL.

maison-alaia.com

Climax

Though not a fashion store per se, Climax bookstore has become a favourite with fashion industry insiders – so much so, it has collaborated with Heaven by Marc Jacobs and, most recently, Chopova Lowena on a capsule collection. Founded by former Dazed editor-in-chief and current Acne Studios chief marketing officer Isabella Burley, it promises an array of rare and out-of-print tomes, focussing on photography, erotica and counterculture, as well as objects and ephemera. ‘It's about us not just being seen as a second-hand bookstore but having a world, a kind of universe around us that encompasses many different things, not just books,’ Burley told Wallpaper* after opening a New York Climax earlier this month (September 2024). ‘I think books are the foundation of Climax and what we've been trying to do, but it's really fun to think: what is Climax beyond that?’ As such, as well as collaborations, Climax is also a burgeoning publishing house, with Martine Syms and Del LaGrace Volcano monographs in the works.

Climax Books HQ, 5 Wardour Mews, London, W1F 8AL.

climaxbooks.com

Sunspel

While Sunspel has always been a spot for those seeking the best in basics (such is the brand’s appeal, it was the undergarment of choice for Daniel Craig’s James Bond), a relatively new store on Jermyn Street takes the process of honing the world’s best T-shirt one step further. Alongside the usual product range, those visiting the store – which is situated on a street synonymous with made-to-measure style – can have a bespoke T-shirt made, cut to their body shape and requirements (whether a slightly shorter sleeve, higher neckline, or particular colour of cotton). After being measured in-store, the T-shirt will be made in the brand’s historic Long Eaton factory. Also in the store is an ongoing exhibition space, showcasing both the brand’s history and hosting intimate events for the Sunspel community.

23 Jermyn Street, London, SW1Y 6ST.

sunspel.com

Harrods

Steadily approaching two centuries in business, the 1849-founded department store Harrods is a stalwart of London shopping, long attracting hordes of tourists to the Knightsbridge address – whether seeking teddy bears, tea or tote bags, and particularly so when the 19th-century exterior is illuminated for Christmas with its signature rows of string lights. Though recent years have seen Harrods shake off its somewhat stodgy reputation, as it has drafted in a slew of big-name brands for blockbuster takeovers – among them Dior (a gingerbread world for Christmas), Louis Vuitton (complete with an enormous Yayoi Kusama), and Burberry (a blue-lit facade and Burberry-clad porters). This is alongside a promised £200 million renovation of the store’s fashion areas – including an already-completed lingerie and sleepwear area designed by David Collins Studio with all the marble and gleaming glass you would expect, and a near-encyclopedic menswear department on the lower ground floor.

87-135 Brompton Road, London, SW1X 7XL.

harrods.com

Celine

A ‘carnival of materials, furniture and art’ is how Wallpaper’s Dal Chodha described the Hedi Slimane-designed Celine outpost on London’s Bond Street. Indeed, the gleaming space features opulent panels of marble, white walls and neoclassical mouldings, alongside a selection of contemporary art and furniture that reflects Slimane’s singular vision as creative director of the house, which combines classical French luxury and savoir-faire with a countercultural flair. For a truly intimate encounter with the store’s catalogue of artworks, seek out the men’s fitting room which features the 1670 oil painting Portrait of Maximilien de Bethune Duc de Sully of the Flemish school – surely a changing room first. Read more.

40 New Bond Street, London, W1S 2RX.

celine.com

Rellik

Located on west London’s Golborne Road in the shadow of the Ernő Goldfinger-designed Brutalist Trellick Tower, vintage store Rellik is the domain of Fiona Stuart, Steven Philips and Claire Stansfield, who have long sourced some of the city’s most unique vintage finds – from punk-era Vivienne Westwood to rare Maison Martin Margiela, Azzedine Alaïa, and John Galliano, as well as 1930s underwear, costume jewellery and millinery. A spirit of anarchy still defines the small, busy store, though it has become beloved by establishment names from Kate Moss to Kim Jones, and was recently taken over by Valentino for the house’s vintage exchange project.

8 Golborne Road, London, W10 5NW.

relliklondon.co.uk

Balenciaga

Step in Balenciaga’s Bond Street store and you might be mistaken for thinking you have stepped into a site that is still in construction. Indeed the raw concrete walls – each one painstakingly ‘distressed’ by hand – were made to recall ‘the warehouse, the carpark, the emptied gallery – places that have hosted a palimpsest of activities,’ said Niklas Bildstein Zaar and Andrea Faraguna of the Berlin-based studio Sub, who collaborated with Balenciaga creative director Demna on the space. It makes shopping akin to walking onto a film set, leaving you to wonder what is real and what is fake, all the way down to the patina of rust on enormous concrete girders. Demna calls it ‘raw architecture’, and it makes for a shopping experience like no other. Read more.

24-25 New Bond Street, London, W1S 2RR.

balenciaga.com

The Row

The Row’s London outpost is an exercise in refinement: which other store in London greets you with one of James Turrell’s glowing orbs in the entranceway? Elsewhere, a tasteful array of objects and furniture adore the airy space, a reflection of the design-focussed universe Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen have curated at their 2006-founded label. Located just off Mount Street – an afternoon of shopping in itself – it makes for a serene haven in which to peruse the brand’s men’s and womenswear collections, which marry ascetic design with enveloping fabrications and flourishes of craft and play. And it's only getting better. But so is demand – with searches up 93 per cent on Lyst, we advise befriending store staff to get a heads up on new arrivals.

5 Carlos Place, London, W1K 2EY

therow.com

Aries

Aries founder Sofia Prantera envisages the skatewear brand’s Soho outpost as a kind of ‘library’ for its community, hosting not only its collections but an outpost of Paris café Paperboy, a bookstore, and a vast basement which can be transformed for events and screenings. Meanwhile, the store design echoes what she calls the ‘temple and the rat’ ethos of Aries (a reference to Fergus Purcell’s playful graphics for the brand), seeing the brand traverse the worlds of luxury design and streetwear. Here, a marble staircase references Carlo Scarpa’s Venetian architecture, while sparse concrete floors, strip lighting and scaffold poles meet luxurious Italian furniture. ‘[Since the beginning], our identity is all about this duality – the elevated temple and the decay of the rat,’ Prantera told Wallpaper* when the store opened. Read more.

31 Great Pulteney Street, London, W1F 9NN.

ariesarise.com

Baraboux

Sarah Faisel, owner of the east London-based vintage store Baraboux, has fashion in her blood. Named after a fashion business run by her mother – which then sold leather goods and handbags – Faisel has since turned Baraboux into a fashion archive which collates a sleek edit of pieces which lean towards 1990s minimalism (in stock currently, S/S 1990 Prada capri shorts, a Maison Martin Margiela ‘sock boot’ from A/W 1999, and plenty of Helmut Lang). Housed in Hackney’s Netil House (by appointment only), Faisel says that ‘in a world of excess, Baraboux aims to provide just what you need: nothing more and nothing less’.

Netil House, 1 Westgate St, London E8 3RL.

baraboux.com

JW Anderson

Soho is not the typical address for a fashion store, though Jonathan Anderson – lover of the strange and the idiosyncratic – is no ordinary designer. Housed next door to the ‘Las Vegas’ amusement arcade in a former corner shop, the JW Anderson store features gleaming neon lights (a nod to its neighbour) alongside sleek shelving housing the brand’s famed accessories, like the Bumper bag. A more enveloping basement level features curtains of fabric and rough plaster walls, which 6a architect Tom Emerson (who designed the space) says is ‘how you might finish a London basement that you would never expect anyone to see'. ‘As much as everyone is consumed with the online experience, it's still important to have a physical space,’ Anderson told Wallpaper when it opened in early 2020. ‘It's kind of like porn somehow. Everyone can get porn online but they still come into Soho. Everyone can get fashion online but they will still come into Soho.' Read more.

2 Brewer Street, London, W1F 0SA.

jwanderson.com

This month (August 2024), an exclusive Dior ‘Amphora’ perfume bottle arrived in Harrods. This new edition has been made to celebrate 175 years of the house’s special friendship with the storied London department store. ‘The Harrods Amphora’ (of which only 47 have been made, costing £4,300 each) holds ‘Miss Dior Originale’, an eau de toilette by the house’s perfume director Francis Kurkdjian, to be as close as possible to the original 1947 ‘Miss Dior’ fragrance.

‘Miss Dior’ – and the Dior ‘Amphora’ bottle – was the first ever perfume and piece of design for the maison’s beauty range. Its launch came alongside Christian Dior’s inaugural collection for spring and summer, heralding the ‘New Look’ (a term coined by then editor-in-chief of Harpers Baazar Carmel Snow). For the couturier, perfume was integral to the world of the free-spirited Dior woman, who was set to revolutionise the dress codes of post-war Europe. ‘A woman’s perfume tells more about her than her handwriting,’ he once said.

The story behind Dior’s ‘Amphora’ perfume bottle, an icon of mid-century design

M. Dior had a deep reverence for the women in his life, who were not just muses but friends and confidants with complex lives. ‘Miss Dior’ was a tribute to his sister Catherine, a resistance fighter with Franco-Polish intelligence. She was captured by the Gestapo and imprisoned in Ravensbrück, until her 1945 liberation by the US Army. ‘Miss Dior’ was the nickname bestowed on the youngest Dior sibling by Mitzah Bricard, one of M.Dior’s close advisors.

Naming beauty products and perfumes after the women close to the house is a tradition that continues to this day: there’s the ‘Mitzah’ eyeshadow palette, for example, and fragrances such as 2018’s ‘Lucky’ which pays homage to Lucie ‘Lucky’ Daouphars. (Daouphars was Christian Dior’s favourite ‘mannequin’, who fought for working rights in the modelling industry via a union she started called L'Association Mutuelle des Mannequins de France).

To bring ‘Miss Dior’ to life, the designer worked with the noses Paul Vacher and Jean Carles, succinctly briefing them to ‘make me a perfume that smells like love’. The resulting fragrance was a chypre floral accord with notes of jasmine, Grasse rose absolute, and white patchouli essence. ‘It was born of those Provençal evenings filled with fireflies when green jasmine serves as a counterpoint to the melody of the night and the earth,’ M. Dior said.

For the ‘Amphora’ bottle, Christian Dior looked to artist Fernand Guéry-Colas, who had previously designed surrealist perfume flasks for Elsa Schiaparelli. (This 1937 ‘Shocking’ bottle, made in collaboration with Leonor Fini, and the 1940 packaging for ‘Snuff Pipe’, which referenced René Magritte’s oil painting Ceci n’est pas une pipe, are two examples). Guéry-Colas took the curves of the ‘New Look’ silhouette as the starting point for the Amphora. He also drew upon the lines of ancient Greek vases, rendering the final design in clear, Baccarat crystal.

Dior’s next perfume – the gourmand ‘Diorama’ by nose Edmond Roudnitska – went on sale in 1949, and with it, a second crystal ‘Amphora’ in the shape of an obelisk. The oblong bottle for ‘Miss Dior’, which is embossed with a houndstooth pattern and topped with a bow, came along two years later, reflecting M. Dior’s latest and more angular silhouette, the ‘Vertical Line’. By then, the symbiotic relationship between the house’s clothing and fragrance was solidified, thanks to the meticulous vision of its namesake. ‘The public has little idea of the care and concern that go into researching a new perfume, the design of the bottle, even the packaging,’ he remarked. ‘These occupations are so absorbing that today I feel as much a parfumier as a couturier.’

It was a miniature obelisk-shaped ‘Amphora’, however, that became the cap of Dior’s first lipstick, ‘Rouge Dior’, which went on sale alongside existing fragrances in 1953, exclusively at the 30 Avenue Montaigne boutique. This date coincides with the brand’s retail expansion when Harrods would become the first location to sell Dior outside of France. This new London home was chosen due to M. Dior’s Anglophilia. His lifelong love affair with all things British began before his career as a couturier; he first travelled to the city as a young man in the mid-1920s, spending months getting acquainted with English culture. ‘That year in London was more beautiful than ever,’ he wrote in his diaries whilst reflecting on his trip. ‘I adore the English, dressed not only in the tweeds which suit them so well but also in those flowing dresses in subtle colours.’

It’s a sentiment captured in ‘The Harrods Amphora’. Hand blown using a complex crystal ‘overlay’ technique, two layers of transparent and coloured crystal come together before they are finely polished to ‘re-reveal’ the bottle’s ‘crystalline element’: a rich emerald sheen in keeping with Harrods’ signature shade. Finally, the base of the bottle has been engraved with an eight-pointed star, one of Christian Dior’s lucky symbols.

A similar method was also used to make the recent reissues of mid-century Dior perfume bottles: the patriotic blue, white and red ‘Les Amphores Tricolores’ (1949), and a reproduction of the ‘Diorissmo Amphora’ (1956). The latter – Baccarat crystal adorned with gilt flowers nodding to the floral notes of ‘Diorissmo’ – went on sale for £13,000. Currently, it has a waiting list.

dior.com

harrods.com

Back in March this year (2024) Hedi Slimane announced the imminent arrival of Celine’s first-ever beauty line, Celine Beauté. In September, the collection pre-launched alongside Celine’s A/W 2024 collection in a pop-up space with its debut product: a quintessential red lipstick named ‘Rouge Triomphe’.

As of yesterday (16 October), ‘Rouge Triomphe’ is now available globally, both in Celine stores and online. It is described by the Maison as ‘effortless’ – a term that not only applies to how it should be worn but also its formulation.

Celine Beauté by Hedi Slimane’s ‘Rouge Triomphe’ lipstick arrives in-store and online

‘Rouge Triomphe’ has a deeply hydrating yet long-lasting satin finish. Designed to feel almost weightless, draws upon Slimane’s ‘obsession with couture fabrics’. Contained in a faceted refillable case, nodding to Louis XVI’s gold jewellery and Art Deco design, the lipstick’s delicate scent of rose and rice powder is a nostalgic nod to beauty products from the 1970s.

Hedi Slimane tapped American model and actor Ever Anderson to star in the debut Celine Beauté campaign, which rolled out in August.

The 16-year-old Anderson, who is the daughter of Milla Jovovich, has also recently featured in Celine’s ‘Portrait of an Actress’ photography series. (Other notable subjects shot by Slimane for the project include Margaret Qualley, whose recent roles include Yorgos Lanthimos’s Poor Things and Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance, and Lily McInerny, who will star alongside Chloë Sevigny in the upcoming film adaptation of Françoise Sagan’s 1954 novel Bonjour Tristesse).

In the campaign film, Slimane captured the up-and-coming star in close-up, a wind machine blowing her tousled dirty blonde hair, styled by Esther Langham. Her make-up look, created by Aaron De May, allowed Anderson’s freckles to show through subtly mattified skin; barely perceptible eyeshadow and mascara ensured the ‘Rouge Triomphe’ lipstick appeared in sharp focus.

Earlier this month (2 October 2024) Slimane announced that he would be stepping down from Celine after a seven-year tenure as its artistic, creative and image director. Michael Rider was soon named as his successor, noting in a press statement that ‘Celine is a maison with values very close to my heart and a beautiful heritage to build on.’

But for now, there is still a lot to come in terms of the house’s beauty offering, which remains everything you would expect from Hedi Slimane’s uncompromisingly chic world. Expect 14 more ‘Rouge Celine’ lipstick shades including ‘La Peau Nue’ (a colour first used by in the house’s 2024 show); eyeliner, which was demonstrated to powerful effect in Slimane’s 1960s-inspired collection for S/S 2025; plus nail polish, blush, loose powder, tools, accessories, and more.

Celine Beauté ‘Rouge Triomphe’ lipstick (£62; refill £40) is available now.

celine.com

Burberry is known for its quintessentially British heritage and trademark check, and this week it will mark the latest string to its bow – a distinctive takeover of Harrods, bedecking the historic department store in ‘Knight Blue’, the house’s signature hue which was introduced by creative director Daniel Lee at the start of his tenure in 2023. 

Lasting through the month of February, the takeover also coincides with Harrods’ 175th anniversary, the department store having been founded in 1849 by Charles Henry Harrod. This is the first such activation of the anniversary year, with previous takeovers including Louis Vuitton and Dior.

Burberry turns Harrods ‘Knight Blue’

Venturing into the special pop-up, the takeover begins with Harrods’ globally famed green-clad doormen trading in their uniforms for a ‘Knight Blue’ check – a new pattern taken from Burberry’s Spring 2024 collection.

The space itself will pay homage to Burberry’s ‘heritage of exploration’ with an adventurous capsule collection that nods to the great outdoors, and spans 40 pieces across womenswear, menswear and accessories, with new iterations of house staples: the Chess and Rocking Horse bags, the Box sneaker in a new colourway and exclusive eyewear. 

Meanwhile, Burberry has also pitched a ‘Camping Corner’, offering a collection of outdoor accessories to accompany a picnic in the park or a hike through the English countryside. Populating the tent-like space are various pieces primed for outdoor life, whether a bottle opener, hot water bottle, or special version of Romney’s Kendal Mint Cake, a popular confection among explorers and mountaineers. There is even a limited-edition orienteering map of Knightsbridge (for those resigned to city life, and made in association with Open City charity). 

In the ‘Picnic’ area, expect a special Burberry food truck (promising British pastries and hot drinks), alongside a special version of Harrods’ hamper. Companions come courtesy of a Burberry-fied take on the signature Harrods teddy bear, while a selection of Burberry trench coats is also on display – because what would a walk in the British countryside be without a little drizzle?

‘Burberry’s takeover of the world’s most recognisable department store, Harrods, brings together two icons of British luxury in a celebration of exploration and the outdoors,’ says Jonathan Akeroyd, chief executive officer of Burberry. ‘Daniel [Lee] has created a uniquely Burberry experience exclusively at Harrods that embraces our very British spirit of fun and adventure. We are excited to invite customers to immerse themselves in this world of modern British luxury.’

’We are excited to be collaborating with one of the world’s most celebrated luxury department stores,’ adds Lee. ‘Bringing together two iconic British brands by designing a capsule collection with product exclusive to Harrods and creating an experience in-store. The partnership is inspired by our heritage of exploration.’

The Burberry Harrods takeover will run from 1 to 29 February 2024.

burberry.comharrods.com

 In partnership Louis XIII 

Encouraging the ritual pleasure of luxury spirits in a responsible and sustainable manner, savouring the tastes, terroirs and aesthetics of the experience, taking time to appreciate the art and craftsmanship evident in handmade crystal – this is the mission of the legendary French Cognac Grande Champagne Maison Louis XIII.

Now the house’s Infinity Experience – allowing cognac connoisseurs to return their mouth-blown decanters to one of three Louis XIII boutiques globally for refilling, an infinite number of times – encourages a perpetual journey.

Since 1874, Louis XIII Cognac has been made from the precious eaux-de-vie of Cognac Grande Champagne, handed down through generations and expertly blended. Today, under the guidance of cellar master Baptiste Loiseau, Louis XIII is the symbol of an enduring bond with both terroir and people.

For the Infinity Experience, the house has developed the Infinity Wheel, specially designed for the refilling of the classic Louis XIII decanter and installed exclusively in the UK at the Louis XIII Boutique, Harrods, London.

Continuing Louis XIII's path towards a sustainable future, the two-stage client experience begins with a meticulous inspection and cleaning of each decanter. Once the decanter is resealed and returned to the Harrods Boutique, the second stage sees the Infinity Wheel set in motion, as part of a unique ritual.

In a spectacle only the decanter owner is privileged to witness; the rare, mahogany-coloured Louis XIII cognac flows from the refill capsule into the pristine decanter that is set within the Infinity Wheel, light dancing across its surfaces. The precious liquid grows deeper in complexity with each drop and, by the closing cycle of the Infinity Experience, the decanter is refilled and ready for future tasting experiences. The process finishes with a specially engraved medal being transferred onto the decanter,  which can be registered like any decanter, via Louis XIII Society.

By witnessing and participating in this special moment, the owner is immersed in the heritage and savoir-faire of Louis XIII, whilst pledging their own personal commitment to sustainability in luxury.

‘The world’s first refill experience in the luxury spirit industry makes it possible for Louis XIII to be refilled away from its birthplace in Cognac for the first time in history,’ says Anne-Laure Pressat, executive director of Louis XIII. ‘The innovation demonstrates our commitment to our vision of thinking a century ahead, and forms part of a series of commitments in Louis XIII’s quest for Sustainable Exception, safeguarding the brand and driving forward sustainability across the luxury spirits industry.’

The house also recently completed a redesign of the classic decanter coffret that preserves key elements of colour, design, and heritage, but is now made entirely from 100 per cent recyclable cellulosic materials. The artful reworking reduces CO2 emissions relating to the packaging by 57 per cent, each coffret being 24 per cent lighter and 14 per cent smaller than the previous design and therefore facilitating shipping and transport.

This design approach that strives for a better future is certainly something we can all drink to – refillable decanters at the ready.

The Infinity Experience will be available at the Louis XIII boutique in London’s Harrods this winter, and is also available at boutiques in Cognac and Beijing, exclusively. The experience will be available for the classic 70cl decanter in the UK. Some very old decanters may potentially be too fragile for this new experience.

Please drink responsibly.

uk.louisxiii-cognac.com/ 

Max Mara has long been synonymous with excellent outerwear. It was in 1981 that Anne Marie Beretta designed the now-signature ‘101801’ for the Italian house, an elegant, masculine-cut wool overcoat which straddles luxury and pragmatism – a dichotomy which continues to run through Max Mara’s collections today. Treated with due reverence, not a single stitch has been changed since its advent, and it continues to be the house’s bestselling piece today. 

It is not without competition, though. Since Max Mara’s founding in 1951, the house’s various designers have added to Max Mara’s famed outerwear canon; most recently, British creative director of the house Ian Griffiths, who began working at Max Mara after graduating from London‘s Royal College of Art in 1987. His collections have included a multiplicity of outerwear, though it is the Teddy Coat – first shown on the runway in 2013 – which has been elevated to the house’s ‘Icon’ status. This year, Max Mara celebrates its ten-year anniversary with a series of events and pop-ups taking place around the world.

Max Mara: Ten years of the Teddy Coat

Originally inspired by a 1980s design which Griffiths discovered in the Max Mara archive, the cocooning Teddy Coat is generously oversized – the house describes it as ’abundant’ in volume, recalling the extravagance of the era – and is crafted from supersoft ’teddy bear’ fabric which is at once warm, protective and surprisingly lightweight (the trick is a blend of soft wool and alpaca or camel fibres on a silk base). It has been aptly likened to a wearable blanket, though it nonetheless remains instilled with the house’s distinct Italian brand of elegance. As such, it has been a hit with celebrities looking for off-duty attire, among them Katie Holmes, Julia Roberts, Blake Lively, Kim Kardashian and recently Hailey Bieber, who has adopted the style for a new generation.

Festivities began with a celebration of the first ’Teddy Ten’ pop-up in New York’s SoHo district, coinciding with the arrival of fashion week in the city. Clad with the Teddy Coat’s signature fabric, it sets the blueprint for other pop-ups taking place around the world which include a recent opening in Chengdu, China and in London’s Harrods department store, with further events scheduled in cities around the world. Max Mara calls it the ‘great big global fashion adventure’.

Alongside, Max Mara has created an exclusive offering of special-edition pieces inspired by the Teddy Coat – notably, the new ’sparkling’ iteration in camel or white which is crafted with shimmering fibres that feel apt for the arrival of winter and its ensuing festivities. Max Mara is also introducing the ’Mini Teddy Coat’, designed for children aged five to 12, with matching mittens, ear muffs and fluffy hats with teddy ears also available. An array of other products in the teddy fabric – from handbags to bucket hats – are also part of the offering.

Finally, an accompanying tenth-anniversary campaign is lensed by American image-maker Tyler Mitchell and stars Italian supermodel Mariacarla Boscono, running with what Max Mara calls ‘the mantra of every self-respecting icon: “I was, I am, I will be”.’ Another campaign, photographed by Italian photographer Giampaolo Sgura, stars model Arizona Muse and her daughter, who models the ’Mini Teddy’ in the uplifting series of images.

The ’Teddy Ten’ collection is available online and in select retailers and pop-ups world wide. The Harrods pop-up is open until 15 November 2023 and the Teddy Coat is available at harrods.com

maxmara.com

Christian Dior was a fervent Anglophile throughout his life, seduced by British aristocracy and its unique protagonists – Princess Margaret would become an ardent admirer of the couturier’s designs – and establishing his first store in the country in 1952. Two years later, he would strike a lasting relationship with Harrods that saw the historic London department store stock his clothing as well as host seasonal Dior shows at the newly created ‘Fashion Theatre’ throughout the 1950s. ’There is no other country in the world, besides my own, whose way of life I like so much,’ he once said. 

Dior’s Paris-inspired takeover of Harrods

Open until 27 August, a dramatic new takeover sees Dior celebrate its ‘powerful, enduring’ relationship with Harrods through a series of pop-ups located throughout the store as well as an installation that stretches across its famed façade and windows on Knightsbridge’s Brompton Road. The project also marks the arrival of Maria Grazia Chiuri’s A/W 2023 womenswear collection for the house, first shown in February in Paris, and follows Dior’s Christmas-time takeover of Harrods, which included a Dior café and a vast gingerbread display.

This time, the three pop-up spaces – each an attempt to capture ‘the strength, fragility and beauty of a femininity in perpetual motion’ – create a series of immersive scenes rooted in the house’s heritage. There is a book-filled ‘library’ decorated with a ‘Plan de Paris’ motif, which Christian Dior first designed for a silk scarf in the 1950s (the same map-like design, featuring emblematic Dior locations, from Faubourg-Saint-Honoré to 30 Avenue Montaigne, is also blown up on the store’s exterior); an ephemeral gift shop, inviting ‘shoppers to find the perfect present for their loved ones’; and finally a Wunderkammer displaying the house’s leather goods, including colourful new variations of the Lady Dior and Lady D-Joy handbags.

Other products include the ‘Dior Chez Moi’ capsule of pyjamas, robes and loungewear, flower-print ‘Florilegio’ accessories, and jacquard handbags featuring the ‘Plan de Paris’ motif, alongside the A/W 2023 collection. Combining ‘the bold innovation and classic heritage of the two houses’ – as Dior describes – the pop-up will be open throughout August for summertime shopping.

Dior’s A/W 2023 pop-up stores at Harrods run until August 27, 2023. 

dior.comharrods.com

Legendary Spanish shoe designer Manolo Blahnik’s connection to Britain is deep-rooted and long-standing – hailing from the Canary Islands, he moved to London in 1969 and opened his first boutique on Old Church Street in Chelsea not long afterwards. An effusive Anglophile, he continues to use London as the base of his now-extensive business and has even become a fan of local cuisine (his favourite, Blahnik previously told Wallpaper*, is the bread and butter pudding from historic London restaurant Wiltons).

As of this month, Blahnik has chosen London department store Harrods – perhaps Britain’s most well-known luxury retailer – to open a new ephemeral boutique dedicated to his ever-growing menswear collection (open until 31 July 2023). It marks the first dedicated pop-up to the men’s arm of the business, and will comprise over 60 different styles with six pairs exclusive to the Harrods space. ‘I simply adore Harrods, it is an iconic institution and one of London’s most recognisable landmarks,’ said Blahnik of the choice. ’I could get lost in the store for hours.’

Manolo Blahnik menswear pop-up in Harrods

Housed in the footwear department on the second floor, the space itself is a reflection of what Blahnik calls the pillars of the brand: ‘colour, craftsmanship, creativity, and comfort’. In particular, it celebrates the Italian artisans who create his shoes, with a glass vitrine containing the various tools needed to construct each style providing the central point of the pop-up. Other objects include pattern pieces and Blahnik’s original hand-drawn sketches, which is where every Manolo Blahnik shoe begins.

Elsewhere, a digital screen will show footage of his shoes being produced – detailing every step in the process – while the shoes themselves are displayed on specially constructed wooden stands. Blahnik hopes that the pop-up will invite people into the world of the brand, and sets the groundwork for other dedicated men’s spaces – an arm of the label which is expanding rapidly.

‘Our men’s offering is a huge focus for our business, and we are deeply passionate about the growth of this category and creating awareness around our expertly crafted and timeless collections,’ says CEO Kristina Blahnik. ‘To create a unique space within Harrods has been a dream of ours for some time. We wanted to use the space to showcase the craftsmanship behind our shoes handmade by our skilled artisans in Italy.’

‘I have been making men’s shoes for more than 50 years,’ adds Manolo (who marked the five decades with a virtual exhibition ‘The Manolo Blahnik Archives: A New Way of Walking‘), ‘and I am thrilled to have a dedicated space to present my latest men’s collection and classic designs. I can’t wait for everyone to experience the pop-up.’

Manolo Blahnik men’s pop-up runs at Harrods until 31 July 2023.

manoloblahnik.com

If anyone in London would like to smell like a summertime boat trip down the Seine, a drive around Beverly Hills in a Rolls Royce, or a hedonistic night at Parisian club, then we suggest you make your way down to Harrods, because Celine Parfumerie has just opened a dedicated space in the heart of the superstore’s beauty hall. The new installation is a small, olfactory wunderkammer containing all of the brand’s eleven fragrances, as well as candles and perfume accessories. 

Creative director Hedi Slimane launched the line of fragrances in 2019 as a kind of sensory diary. Each of the unisex scents chronicles, through scent, a memory from his past and attempts to reconstruct the ambiance of that moment. There’s the aforementioned Dans Paris, inspired by Simone's youthful trips down the Seine with his friends ‘while listening to the Velvet Underground on a scratchy amplifier’; his ode to the ten years he spent in California, Eau de Californie; as well as the cigarette and vanilla scented Nightclubbing. There’s also the ever popular, Parade; a bergamot, neroli and vetiver scent inspired by, in Slimane’s words, ‘the nonchalant and glittering ballet of my male and female models parading under the golden lights’; and Slimane’s own fragrance Bois Dormant, which captures his time searching Saville Row for the perfect suit. Underpinning all of the fragrances is a powdery blend of rose, tree moss and iris that draws from vintage Parisian parfums of the 60s and 70s and gives each scent a recognizable Celine signature. 

At the Harrod’s space, all of the fragrances are displayed, in their Art Deco style bottles, along a mirrored, staircase-like shelf that creates a seemingly endless ‘hall of mirrors’ illusion. It is an entracing effect, complemented by the space’s white-veined black marble and reflective gold surfaces (both interior hallmarks of the Celine stores). 

Whether you are a fragrance lover or not, it is hard not to be delighted by the ‘Maison Celine’ objects also on display. These range from a mini gold perfume bottle that is worn like a necklace, a tortoise-shell hair clip in the classic Celine double-C, a leather vanity case, and more. Perhaps best of all is a new collection of octagonal bar soaps, launched in conjunction with the Harrods opening, that come with their own gold or silver travel cases. 

celine.com; harrods.com

In 2018, French designer Hedi Slimane – creative director of Parisian house Celine – relocated from California to Ramatuelle, a picturesque hillside village on the Saint-Tropez peninsula in the south of France. The locale’s influence has seeped into his recent womenswear collections for the house, a so-called ‘French Riviera cycle’ of shows presented via short films shot in Monaco, Nice, and, most recently, Saint-Tropez.

‘For the past five years, the couturier has explored Saint-Tropez and a more general nostalgia for the French Riviera as a counterpoint to the Saint-Germain-des-Près codes of Celine,’ said the house on the presentation of the latter, which was captured on the town’s harbourside boulevard. Defined by its ‘sophisticated nonchalance’, the S/S 2023 collection’s insouciant spirit inspires Celine’s new Plein Soleil pop-up (May 17 – June 14, 2023) open this month in London’s Harrods. 

Celine Plein Soleil at London’s Harrods

The wood-beamed space on the ground floor of the Knightsbridge department store – which takes over a section of the windows on Brompton Road – features pieces from the ‘La Collection de Saint-Tropez’ alongside a series of summertime ephemera, from wicker and raffia handbags and hats to ‘Art de Vivre’ pétanque sets, beach bats, and a jacquard deckchair (several of the pieces are exclusive to Harrods). A vast Celine-branded hammock, which hangs in the window, provides the space’s central feature.

Of the clothing, the house says that the various pieces were designed by Slimane to capture both uncomplicated beachside style and the more dressed-up Parisian codes for which the house is known. ‘The convergence of seaside and city is explored as a holistic wardrobe of silhouettes, replete with hand-crafted details, that is designed to be worn in the off-season as well as on the beach,’ says the house.

An accompanying campaign is photographed by Hedi Slimane in and around Saint-Tropez, featuring American model Quinn Elin Mora, a recent house muse. The Plein Soleil pop-up will be followed by the opening of a permanent Celine Haute Parfumerie space on June 14th.

Celine Plein Soleil is open at London’s Harrods from 17 May – 14 June 2023.

celine.com

Harrods has always had a penchant for whimsical displays of luxury – it is, after all, a 1,000,000 sq ft city-within-a-city that once used a cobra to guard a pair of diamond-encrusted shoes, supplied Ronald Reagan with an elephant, and features a Vegas-style Egyptian-themed escalator. So what could be a better home for the new Prada Caffè, where everything –  from the waiters’ outfits to the sugar packets – has been designed by the Italian brand? 

The Prada Caffè is tucked away in an unassuming corner of the megalithic department store, its mint green entranceway mostly hidden by a range of beauty product displays, but there is no chance the pop-up (open from 31 March 2023 – 7 January 2024) will be overlooked. In fact, after visiting the café for a preview lunch, we can safely predict that it’s sure to become overwhelmingly popular, thanks to its candy-box decor and picture-perfect Italian menu. 

Prada Caffè at London’s Harrods

The entire space is designed like a hyper-stylised 1950s soda shop. Everything from the walls, ceilings, velvet-upholstered sofas and armchairs are in the brand’s signature mint-green and complemented by a black-and-white chequered floor that echoes the historic Prada boutique on Corso Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan. At the front, a large counter display houses dozens of gem-like pastries, while behind it is a floor-to-ceiling display of Prada-brand chocolates and candies housed in rows of glass containers.

The menu features light Italian mains like burrata with scapece zucchini topped with a mountain of herbs and spaghetti with datterino tomatoes, stracciatella and basil, alongside decadent pastries such as a creamy 72-per-cent chocolate cake and (our favourite) a vanilla and berry fruit tart overlaid with Prada’s signature triangle in white chocolate. All of it is served on robin’s egg-blue plates decorated with the Prada logo alongside Prada silverware – the handles also echo the house’s logo – and hand-blown crystal glasses for enjoying one of the negroni-based aperitifs or Italian wines.

The restaurant will soon be joined by an outdoor ice cream stall, offering Londoners a range of delicious gelatos and sorbets.

Prada Caffè is open on the ground floor of Harrods, London, from 31 March 2023 – 7 January 2024.

prada.com
harrods.com

Despite being illuminated year-round, the glowing rows of amber lights that line the exterior of British department store Harrods have always felt synonymous with the festive season in London – the 173-year-old store being a longtime pilgrimage for gift-seeking holiday shoppers who gather from around the world as Christmas nears. 

Since 10 November 2022, Parisian house Dior – which has been stocked in Harrods for over 70 years – has provided its own interpretation of the festive season in an unprecedented takeover of the prestigious shopping destination. Alongside its presentation in Harrods’ seminal holiday windows is a monumental illuminated installation across the façade, featuring various Dior emblems, including the compass rose (the centrepiece of the exterior, measuring 17-metres-squared), golden star, bar jacket and medallion chair. Inside, there are installations from the house on every floor, including an ephemeral café and two special pop-ups (limited-edition products are available in each). 

The Fabulous World of Dior at Harrods

Titled 'The Fabulous World of Dior’ – in part a celebration of house founder Christian Dior’s own love of Christmas – the takeover also features a special immersive exhibition comprising delicate creations in gingerbread evoking a festive village, providing a transporting tableau which the house says it hopes captures the feeling of fantasy that has long defined its creations. Memorable locations linked with Dior – from Granville, the Normandy villa where Christian Dior grew up, to 30 Avenue Montaigne, spiritual home of the house – are reimagined in miniature, featuring various characters from its history as gingerbread people.

‘This incredible feat in miniature, made possible by the virtuosity of craft and expert savoir-faire – from sculpture to animation – celebrates the excellence of the house in all its forms, from haute couture to perfumes,’ says the house of the exhibition, which in part replaces the traditional Santa’s grotto. ‘Immersive and playful, this experience, where time seems to be suspended, allows all to observe as if through a magnifying glass, the meticulous gestures that perpetuate the Dior magic.’

The 44 window displays which line Harrods’ exterior – always the heart of the department store’s festive season – promise a celebration of the ‘moments which brighten winter’ in gingerbread, sugar and caramel. Featuring pieces designed by womenswear artistic director Maria Grazia Chiuri for Dior Cruise 2023 and inspired by drawings created by Italian artist Pietro Ruffo for that same collection, the windows also draw on iconic Dior addresses – including 30 Avenue Montaigne (here animated) – alongside miniature clothing designs from the house’s archive reimagined in gingerbread, such as the ‘Tourbillon’, ‘Soirée d’Asie’ and ‘Junon’ dresses.

‘A magical invitation that combines the boldness and heritage of the two houses, united more than ever by a quest for excellence and the desire to keep the Dior dream alive,’ says the house of this unique partnership with Harrods, which runs until 3 January 2022.

The Fabulous World of Dior runs at Harrods until 3 January 2023. Tickets for The Fabulous World of Dior exhibition are available here. 

Two icons have come together with the opening of new Harrods restaurant Studio Frantzén, by world-renowned chef Björn Frantzén. The restaurant, rooftop terrace and bar will serve neo-Nordic cuisine infused with Asian influences across two floors with 112 seats. 

It marks the first UK restaurant from Björn Frantzén who has six Michelin stars across a growing empire of restaurants in Stockholm and Asia, including his eponymous Stockholm restaurant, Frantzén, which is widely considered one of the best in the world. 

The menu at the new Studio Frantzén restaurant will be a celebration of Swedish and Asian flavours with a special focus on smoking and preserving (popular techniques in Nordic cuisine) and grilled dishes using an open fire. Particular highlights include tartare of tuna and red deer to start; and vendace roe with white kombu, wasabi-infused cultured cream, fermented Mirabelle plum and warm ginger butter. 

From the mains, we recommend trying the veal minute ‘ma-la’ made with fermented kampot pepper jus, Sichuan pepper oil, crispy shiso salad with ceps aioli and sake-braised maitake; salmon from the Faroe Islands with finger lime, sea buckthorn, kosho and beurre blanc; and braised Swedish dairy cow beef brisket (salted, preserved, braised and cooked for eight hours) served alongside grilled Japanese wagyu with lemongrass jus and Japanese mustard.

For dessert, finish off with a lingonberry marshmallow ‘soft-serve’ sorbet with semi-dried lingonberries and blueberries, black currant syrup and liquorice meringue. 

Speaking about coming to London, Frantzén says: ‘The UK was my home for a long time, and the experience that I gained here early on in my career played an informative role in my education as a chef. I am overwhelmingly proud to be back in London, one of the most interesting cities in the world, to open my restaurant at Harrods.’ 

Ashley Saxton, director of restaurants and kitchens at Harrods, adds: ‘Bringing Björn Frantzén – arguably the most talked-about and decorated chef in the world now – to Harrods is an incredible coup for the business, but one that speaks for our current position as a dining destination.’ 

harrods.com

There is an exciting destination for the world’s cognac aficionados at Harrods. The renowned London department store is where Hennessy has established an extraordinary standalone boutique dedicated to its exquisite cognac and selling its rarest expressions and collector editions.

Hennessy cognac boutique

The space presents a contemporary new format where those who appreciate very fine cognac may taste, experience, and expand their appreciation of the craft for which Hennessy is globally acclaimed. The boutique showcases Hennessy’s Editions Rares cognacs, a collection of the most exquisite eaux-de-vie in the maison's extensive library, some of which date back to the early 19th century.

These eaux-de-vie have been selected with the utmost care and set aside to mature, season after season, across eight generations of master blenders. When the time is judged right, skill and experience are called upon to select from these precious reserves and compose some of the world's most remarkable blends.

Laurent Boillot, Hennessy CEO, has commented: ‘We are delighted to announce the opening of a permanent Hennessy Boutique in Harrods, London. We look forward to delivering extraordinary experiences and creating Paradis in London within the world’s most iconic department store, in opening this special destination.’

Hennessy Paradis

The entire rare Hennessy collection is displayed within the boutique with a particular highlight on Hennessy Paradis – the exceptional cognac named in reference to the Hennessy Founder’s Cellar (located on the banks of the Charente River in Cognac, western France) where only the finest, rarest and oldest eaux-de-vie are kept.

Originally created in 1979 by master blender Maurice Fillioux, Paradis is made from 100 eaux-de-vie that have been aged for up to 130 years and expertly selected and balanced. This cognac was inspired by Fillioux’s love of music and classical compositions – a voluptuous and aromatic spirit that is a celebration of harmony in liquid form. Hennessy Paradis is a cognac of remarkable depth and elegance; a pinnacle of the brand’s finesse, beautifully presented in a decanter by Italian designer Ferruccio Laviani.

The Hennessy boutique also sets the stage for the display of a new expression that has been created exclusively for Harrods.

A luxurious Dame Jeanne (a large balloon-shaped bottle) created in collaboration with artist Nelly Saunier is being sold as a one-of-a-kind piece, complete with ten decanters of a cognac that is the masterpiece of eighth-generation master blender, Renaud Fillioux De Gironde. The design of the vessel takes inspiration from Saunier’s passion for birds and is lavishly adorned with gilded feathers.

The luxury cognac market is growing. There is a deepening appreciation for this magnificent spirit, especially as it is seen as an esteemed gift, presented in decanters that are artworks in themselves. Recognising this, and adding a further rich layer to the Hennessy experience, the boutique presents ‘Hennessy Hands’ (also exclusive to Harrods), a personalisation service underpinned by the heritage skills central to the creation of Cognac, from calligraphy to cooperage.

A collection of handcrafted leather bottle tags designed to adorn the neck of each bottle is available in an array of options and colours, to which embossed gold or silver initialing is added to order. Centuries of Hennessy’s excellence, uniquely presented, makes a rare gift indeed.

Also see our look at the department store’s David Collins Studio-designed Harrods chocolate hall.

INFORMATION

hennessy.com; harrods.com

A new boutique within central London department store Harrods is the first space to host an exclusive selection of Prada homeware pieces. The boutique – boasting an inlaid walnut version of the Italian brand’s signature chequered floor, complemented by pale green walls in tactile fabric – showcases a range of homeware designs. Among them is graphic porcelain inspired by interior design accents in the brand’s first store, which opened in 1913 within Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II; wave-like borosilicate glassware; and a new edition of hammered silver cutlery, first designed by Josef Hoffmann in 1905.

In September 2020, Harrods played host to Prada’s ‘Hideaway’ – a labyrinthine pop-up installation with walls and oblique shelves in pale poplar, which was an aesthetic evolution of the brand’s 2015 global window display concept, ‘Corners’. Both were the work of Italian designer Martino Gamper, whose preoccupation with materiality – often combining different woods and colours – has long chimed with Prada. ‘[Prada CEO] Patrizio Bertelli is also really interested in materiality,’ Gamper told us last year.

Make yourself at home with Prada and Martino Gamper

Gamper has also designed a selection of homeware pieces, which echo both his and Prada’s aesthetic DNA, ranging from chopping boards to vases, trays to coasters. He describes them as ‘simple forms with great details'. A series of hollow geometric vases is handmade from a variety of different hardwoods, including cherry, oak and walnut, their corners inlaid with splices of colourful laminate. Chopping boards in solid untreated Austrian larch – which does not affect the flavour of the food it touches – also feature bright laminate accents, in orange, blue, yellow and green. The designs reflect Gamper's interest in the corner as a concept. ‘Slicing the corner off of something is an idea that's interested me for a long time,’ he says. ‘Whenever I see something square I want to cut something away.’

Gamper’s Prada homeware creations also include a range of angular coasters, designed to be used as single pieces or combined into larger assemblages to hold a number of glasses at once. In a nod to Prada's history as a leather goods house, they are constructed in its signature Saffiano leather.

INFORMATION

harrods.com

prada.com

Harrods, the 1,000,000 sq ft London department store that once used a cobra to guard a pair of diamond-encrusted shoes, supplied Ronald Reagan with an elephant, and features a Vegas-style Egyptian themed escalator – has always had a penchant for grandeur. It should come as no surprise then that the store’s newly opened Chocolate Hall is an exuberant confectionary wonderland, with live demonstrations by world-renowned chocolatiers and dozens of chocolates on offer from some of the world’s most exclusive sweets brands.

These include To’ak, which is made with one of the rarest varieties of Ecuadorian Nacional cacao beans and fermented through a unique handcrafted process, as well as heritage favourites like William Curley and Pierre Marcolini.

Chocolate-making has long been a part of Harrods' history. It opened its first chocolate counter in 1870, before beginning its own in-house chocolate production in the early 19th-century and producing over 100 tonnes of chocolate by the 1970s. 

While the chocolate factory might be steeped in history, the new Hall is designed with the modern shop-goer in mind. The interiors have been designed by the illustrious David Collins Studios, who undertook an exhausting restoration process of the original chocolate hall which included reworking the space's extensive tilework by hand and recreating the impressive granite and marble floor.

These Edwardian features are enlivened by contemporary touches, including climate-controlled counters that ensure each piece of confectionary is kept at optimal temperature. 

A concern for ethicality and sustainability is also on display at the Chocolate Hall, with only responsibly sourced cocoa on offer. In a new bid to make sure all of their products are ethically sourced, Harrods has acquired chocolates only from accredited suppliers who either buy cocoa from farms that participate in certification schemes or who buy directly from the farms themselves to ensure that farmers are paid a premium.

The end result is a Willy Wonka factory for the sophisticated set, a much-welcomed bit of indulgence after a long period of prudence.

INFORMATION

harrods.com; davidcollins.studio

‘Call Mr. wood!’ chuckles Martino Gamper on Facetime from his home country of Italy, when musing on his second collaborative project with Prada – a perspective-playing pop-up space titled ‘Hideaway’ at London’s Harrods. The Wallpaper* Design Award winner, who also created a limited edition cover for our April 2017 issue of Wallpaper* (W*217), first partnered with the Milanese label in 2015. The resultant ‘Corner’s’ was a global window display concept, rolled out to over 300 boutiques, celebrating the humble nook, using graphic installations formed from oak, maple and ebony. 

‘[Prada CEO] Patrizio Bertelli is also really interested in materiality,’ adds Gamper of the tactile focus on the immersive installation, which created from poplar, wraps around 90 sq m of Harrods’ ground floor. Evolving the concept of ‘Corners’ the installation forms a labyrinth of different walls and oblique shelves, where luxurious items from Prada’s A/W 2020 collection are displayed. These include soft cashmere sweaters and leather shoppers, quilted jackets and suiting. ‘We’ve continued the journey from a different angle,’ Gamper – whose often creates furniture with the corner in mind - adds. ‘This time, there’s more focus on perspectives.’

After receiving Prada’s commission, Gamper hopped on a train to San Zeno, where in it’s extensive Design Archive, 1:1 versions of all its retail projects and shop windows are housed, alongside architectural models, and a library of research materials, including wood, stone and glass. ‘It allowed me to get a real sense of the space, and visualise the Hideaway concept in 3D’, Gamper explains. ‘We wanted to treat the project as a full scale installation, rather than simply designing a white cube with pieces of furniture inside it.’

INFORMATION

harrods.com
prada.com
martinogamper.com

‘Menswear has experienced a quiet revolution over the past few years,' states Michael Ward, managing director of Harrods, reflecting on the London store's ongoing revamp of this long-overlooked department. ‘Menswear within Harrods has gone from strength to strength, and we want to match this growth with the investment in a truly unique destination.'

The launch of the Men’s Superbrands department, is the first step in a seven-phase redevelopment of Menswear and Sports at the iconic London store, which responds to recent innovations and increased customer demand within the sector. The longer term mens department project, which spans 155,000sq ft, is set to complete by 2020, and is the largest investment in Harrods’ menswear history. 

Superbrands opened at the end of 2018 with an opulent but timeless interior dreamt up by London-based practice David Collins Studio, which has, in the past five years, also revamped the store's shoe department and food hall.

Moving from the store's ground floor, where it has been present for more than 80 years, up to the second floor, the menswear department now has a more navigable floor plan made up of serene walkways and intimate squares, almost like a miniature town. 

‘I'd like to think that it doesn't feel "masculine" in a typical way,' reflects David Collins Studio creative director Simon Rawlings, who led the project. ‘We really focused on creating a space with beautifully engineered details that will stand the test of time and will be there for years to come.'

The studio looked to the building itself as well as the store's extensive archive for inspiration, resulting in an interior that nods to classic men’s tailoring as well as art deco architecture. 2,060 sq m of black and white marble is arranged in art deco-inspired patterns across the floors and walls, while polished walnut forms display cases, frames and cornicing. The Harrods logo can also be seen, subtly integrated into the detailing, appearing in stitched leather, marquetry and bronze inlay in stone. 

‘We always start the creative process by delving into the archives,' explains Rawlings. ‘It's so important that the design has a connection with the heritage of the building.' 

Painted in rich, distinctive colours that help to aid way finding within the department, the squares that connect the various brand concessions are furnished with chairs, standing lamps and bespoke artworks that give the space a domestic feel.

‘I wanted to create a more evocative mood in these spaces,' says Rawlings. ‘I wanted the lighting level to be lower and for the lighting fixtures to be product based rather than architectural – so it's very layered with a much calmer atmosphere. It's almost like we were designing a home or a hotel rather than a retail experience.'

These intimate corners also house glass and walnut vitrines with mixed product displays where shoppers can stop and discover brands they would otherwise pass by. 

‘Male shoppers tend to be creatures of habit,' muses Rawlings, who together with his team researched the shopping patterns of men. ‘These findings were incorporated into the design and planning, interior architecture and visual merchandising – we wanted to create a layout that would excite and entice them into trying something different.' 

INFORMATION
For more information, visit the Harrods website; David Collins Studio website

ADDRESS

Harrods
87-135 Brompton Road
Knightsbridge, London
SW1X 7XL

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Harrods’ ‘Taste Revolution’ is in full swing this November, as the London department store opens its newly refurbished Fresh Market Hall. The revitalised space marks the second phase of Harrods’ two-year Food Halls overhaul, offering a contemporary design take on a sprawling food market, featuring a new range of internationally- and locally-sourced premium culinary offerings.

London-based practice David Collins Studio is responsible for the re-design, following their completion of the dry goods section, the Roastery and Bake Hall at the close of 2017. As the late-19th century department store is Grade II* listed, the firm interwove a large number of the original interior details into the new design. Veined marble can still be found across surfaces and wall partitions, and internal support columns and doorways feature the authentic tiling from the building’s 1900s heyday.

The design studio plays with lighting, materiality and the building’s art deco heritage. White and black finishes have been applied across spaces, providing a monochrome backdrop to the colourful foodstuffs. This is best experienced at Karma, the Hall’s Indian counter, which offers a rich palette of Indian classics.

Another highlight of the hall is the verdant, wall-length vegetable and fruit selection, set against a backdrop of Cristina Celestino’s green, gold and white Plumage tiles by Botteganove bearing a feathered motif. A first for Harrods, the inclusion of an accompanying Vegetable Butchery – something that might please the growing vegan demographic – allows customers to experience the produce in new ways. Its selection, as with the rest of the hall’s sub-divisions, will change with the seasons.

In age when food provenance is all, this refurbishment is all about showcasing the world-class produce; from a rack of 20 giant legs of Cincos Jotas jambons suspended from hooks to huge wheels of cheese framed in display cases.

Convenience also plays a big part, with Harrods introducing a new range of grab-and-go offerings for the time-pressed customer. Dishes such as cottage pie, truffle mac-and-cheese and fresh pasta selections, now join its staple salads and sandwiches. ‘Opening the Fresh Market Hall will allow us to bring my 150 in-house chefs to the forefront,’ states executive chef Andy Cook, ‘servicing our food customers directly and introducing the chef’s brand new creations to the Harrods Deli counter.’

The Fresh Market Hall closes a busy year of refurbishments for Harrods, which has seen its wine rooms overhauled by Martin Brudzinki Design Studio; its Toy Department colour-coded and de-gendered by Farshid Moussavi; and, most recently, its fine watch room, which was given a marble makeover by Rundell Associates.

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Harrods website, and the David Collins Studio website

ADDRESS

Harrods
87-135 Brompton Road
Knightsbridge, London
SW1X 7XL

VIEW GOOGLE MAPS

In April, Harrods unveiled Martin Brudnizki Design Studio’s refurbishment of its wine rooms, and last month, it opened the doors of its colour-coded toy department revamped by Farshid Moussavi. Now, as its interior design overhaul progresses, the London department store has unveiled its new fine watch rooms; a 1,667sq m space comprising ten boutiques, VIP suites and an aftercare department. This significant space has been masterminded by London-based Rundell Associates.

‘Each department of Harrods has a very strong character, so it was crucial to create a special atmosphere in the new fine watch rooms, to set it apart from the other glorious spaces,’ says Mike Rundell, principal of the architect and design practice. When designing the rooms, he delved into Harrods’ architectural archive, noting that the fine watch floor once housed the footings of the department store’s never-completed tower – a design which also included a light well.

An ovular domed lighting feature, with markings evoking the hours and minutes of a clock, nods to this secret history. It is also placed above the most magnificent element of the space, a staircase with a back wall constructed from a single block of rare Cipollino Tirrenia marble, its homogenous veins creating a pattern akin to a ‘very grand wallpaper’. 

‘We wanted to create a spatial experience where customers could delight in the look and feel of the materials,’ says Rundell. As well as the sinuous marble detailing, the space nods to luxury materials used in horology design. The ground floor’s mother-of-pearl-flecked terrazzo is inlaid with bronze strips, while the handrails of the staircase balustrades are finished in leather, evoking watch-strap skins.

The leather was selected from Spanish tanneries. ‘We wanted a pale leather, so it was important it should not mark when touched,’ says Rundell. ‘Nor should it have too much sheen’. He looked to London leather specialist Bill Amberg Studio for the final stitching and embossing.

The result is a conscious, appropriate space designed to reflect the rare world of fine watches and up-to-the minute, meticulous design.

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Harrods website; Rundell Associates website

ADDRESS

87-135 Brompton Road
Knightsbridge
London
SW1X 7XL

VIEW GOOGLE MAPS

Designer wine glasses are ten a-penny: stemless ones in too-cool bars, bucket-shaped ones for deep reds, too-small-to-fit-your-nose-in ones for light whites. For any novice, (and for many of us more experienced sippers) pairing wine to glass shape has become an unnavigable exercise. A reductive new collection from celebrated product designer Richard Brendon and wine critic Jancis Robinson makes pairing wine to its ideal glass shape as simple as possible, with a minimalist mantra any sensible souse could get behind: one size fits all.

‘Richard was probably rather shocked when I said firmly that I wanted to design just one perfect wine glass, but he took it on the chin, I'm delighted to say,’ Robinson explains. ‘As someone who wants to make enjoying wine as straightforward and pleasurable as possible, I was insistent on a single glass shape and size.’

The aptly named ‘1 Collection’ is a testament to Robinson’s career, which has been devoted to demystifying the heady and vastly complex wine world. In 1984, she was the first person outside of the trade to pass the rigorous Master of Wine exams, and, for her troubles, she was awarded an OBE for services to wine in 2003. Decanter Magazine argues that she’s the best in the business.

There’s simply no room for countless different types of wine glass in our space-starved, clutter-filled lives, Robinson argues. Nor is there any point. ‘On my travels around the world of wine, in recent years it has become really noticeable that producers of champagne and other sparkling wines, as well as those making sherry, port and other fortified wines, want their precious liquids to be appreciated in the same way as table wines,’ she explains. So designing one, definitive option ‘just seems so obvious and sensible.’

Brendon was the man for the job. The London-based designer started working in glass blowing in Bohemia in 2015, and, inspired by the skill and precision of the craft, now designs highly regarded collections of glassware that challenge the region’s traditional aesthetic, through contemporary shapes and future-proofed functionality.

As such, the mouth-blown ‘1 Glass’, though gossamer-thin, is dishwasher safe, thanks to its sturdier-than-average stem. The generous tulip bowl is also impeccably bright, and lead-free for an untainted tasting experience. ‘Our glass producer initially struggled to get the weight of the glass as light as we required because they had never produced a collection this fine before,’ Brendon explains. ‘That our glassblowers persevered, and very quickly learned how to make the pieces perfectly, is a real testament to their phenomenal skill and dedication to the final vision we all shared.’

In keeping with the ‘one glass fits all’ theme, there is no distinction between wine colour throughout the collection, which also boasts a water glass and two carafes. ‘I love white wine as much as red, and have never understood why white wine glasses are routinely smaller,’ Robinson adds. ‘White wines can be just as complex, and just as deserving of what you might call aroma enhancement as reds.’ Instead, the carafes are split by vintage: younger wines are intended for the balloon-bottomed carafe – large enough to fit a magnum – allowing more sprightly wines to mellow. The slimmer carafe is specifically designed for mature vintages, allowing sediment to siphon off, without exposing the hard-won wine to too much harmful oxygen.

Though the collection won’t have hardened glass collectors chucking out their variously sized stems, it is a refreshing and economical approach to wine that will undoubtedly appeal to those taking their first steps on the way of the grape. It will also attract us experienced tasters, tempted by the simplicity, functionality and clutter-free contemporary line of a modern Brendon classic. Bottoms up.

INFORMATION
Available exclusively at Harrods from 1 July. For more information, visit the Richard Brendon website

Freshly reinvented by London-based Farshid Moussavi Architecture, the Harrods Toy Department has reopened its doors on the fourth floor of the storied department store. It comprises a suite of eight individual boutiques, each dedicated to a specific toy category, distinctive in colour and theme.

This toy department boasts a heritage richer than most, dating back to the 1880s, an era when hand-carved rocking horses, wind-up animals and fully functioning miniature steam trains topped Christmas lists. ‘It’s lovely that Harrods is so deeply rooted in history,’ says Moussavi, ‘but the design has always evolved over time; it’s not static. [Harrods] has remained as a key player because it’s committed to innovation.’

One source of inspiration for Moussavi was ‘tunnel books’, 3D pop-up dioramas popular during the Victorian era. With these in mind, a ‘tapered tunnel’ runs down the centre of the toy department, with ‘transitional moments’ occurring as visitors move between each coloured room; an optical play on perspective, colour and material. ‘I’m still quite amazed they went for this because it is pretty radical,’ she says.

The design eschews conventional wisdom on department store layouts, which dictates a large open space with a stockroom at one end. Instead, each colour-coded room is divided by cleverly integrated ‘mini stockrooms’. ‘When a store is large, it needs to break down into different kinds of experiences, otherwise it becomes monotonous,’ says Moussavi.

Another convention the team has deliberately defied is gender division. ‘Normally you go to a toy department and see pink and blue,’ explains Moussavi, but here colour is presented as a spectrum, rather than a duality, prompting shoppers to subconsciously open their minds.

Farshid Moussavi Architects are no strangers to retail design, with a portfolio including Istanbul’s Meydan Retail Complex, the John Lewis shopping complex in Leicester and Victoria Beckham’s flagship store in London, but tackling the Harrods Toy Department was a first for the firm, both in terms of target market and spatial limitations. ‘The constraints were not from the client, but from the existing building,’ recalls Moussavi. The Harrods store is Victorian, Grade I listed and not easily meddled with, ‘you have to work with what needs to stay.’

Moussavi has consciously operated with a limited material palette to avoid the risk of over-complication. The flooring consists of a poured ‘chalky’ material, channeling schoolroom chalkboards and embracing blemishes. Walls are constructed using layered perforated panels, creating a unique moiré effect enhanced by intelligent lighting. ‘The idea is to make it as simple as possible, but of course simple doesn’t mean boring,’ Moussavi contends. Visual noise is a trait so often synonymous with toy retail, but the new store prioritises minimalism in order to encourage a ‘sharper detection of space’.

There’s no doubt that brick-and-mortar stores must engage consumers in new and exciting ways to resist the encroachment of online retail. ‘Our discerning customers expect a retail environment that not only sells the latest product, but also combines experience and education,’ says Annalise Fard, Harrods’ Home Director.

‘Educate, Entertain and Engage’ are the three pillars at Harrods’ core. Moussavi’s new design exemplifies this ethos with a fresh injection of charm and innovation, constructing a contemporary childhood haven in the centre of an adult world.

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Harrods website

ADDRESS

87-135 Brompton Road
Knightsbridge
London
SW1X 7XL

VIEW GOOGLE MAPS

Harrods is going through quite the taste transformation. In November 2017, it underwent stage one of its self-proclaimed ‘revolution’, in which the dry goods section received a fresh lick of art deco-inspired paint courtesy of David Collins Studio. Now, its the turn of the wine rooms. Martin Brudnizki Design Studio – also behind the new Annabels – has transformed the industry-leading cellars, both conceptually and visually, (though Harrods-typical opulence remains perfectly in tact).

‘The new rooms will break down barriers and change perceptions on the world of wines and spirits by focusing more on the flavour profile of the product, rather than the specific categories and brands,’ explains Alex Dower, director of Harrods food and restaurants. ‘These rooms set Harrods apart from every other retailer in the world.’

Throughout, the design sings of 1920s golden days, with a marble patterned floor and limed-oak timber wall paneling. But its in the immersivity – contemporary retail design buzzword du jour – where the space comes alive. Take the so-called ‘Aroma Table’, for example, where we are encouraged to fully immerse ourselves our senses at the newly interactive mis-en-scene of scents, guiding us through the flavours of each grape.

Likewise, the bespoke Education Room – a Harrods first – features bottle personalisation with an in-house engraving machine, personal consultations and one-off cellar plans for patrons looking to build their collections at home. Innovatively, it also offers live streaming to vineyards worldwide, allowing customers to see where the wine is crafted; an experience otherwise not available to the general public. No doubt, the world’s most storied department store is still guided by its founding principle: ‘anything is possible’. We’ll drink to that.

INFORMATION 

For more information, visit the Harrods website

ADDRESS 

87-135 Brompton Road
Knightsbridge, London SW1X 7XL

VIEW GOOGLE MAPS

Cambridge-based chocolatier Harry Specters opened its doors in 2012 with an aim of providing employment, training, workshops and free mentoring for youths with autism, inspiring confidence and hope. This Easter, it celebrates the outstanding work of its team through the Egg-ism egg, raising awareness and promoting inclusion and acceptance of the 700,000 people in the UK with autism. Carefully hand-painted with cocoa butter using natural food colour onto a creamy white chocolate, the egg comes hand-wrapped with a ribbon and swing tag. 60% of the company’s profits are reserved for its ever-developing social objectives.

Inspired by the exotic Hoopoe bird, London’s Artisan du Chocolat has produced a springtime chest of chocolate goodies. A hand-crafted egg (available in milk and dark chocolate) sits atop the geometrically patterned chest, with a drawer of assorted fresh coutures, mini eggs and a shimmering pearl making this treasure worth digging for.

2018 marks the 150th anniversary of California-based chocolate company Guittard. To celebrate, British chocolatier Paul A Young has developed the especially attractive Machu Picchu Signature Egg, made from Guittard 65% Peruvian Dark Chocolate and hand-painted in a colourful metallic palate. Only 10 of these eggs are available, and each is accompanied by nine truffles made from the rare anniversary blend.

This Easter at Bulgari Hotel London, the traditional chocolate egg has been reimagined into a delicate work of art – an edible homage to the opulent Bulgari brand. Handcrafted in house, the 70 per cent dark chocolate shell sits on a base of blended cereals and melted chocolate, secretly enclosing a studded ‘mendiant’ of dried fruits, a delicious blend of apricot, cranberries and raisins.

David Bowie’s long-reigning glam influence has been channelled into luxury chocolate form, courtesy of Brandon Olsen of CXBO’s ‘Ziggy Stardust Disco Egg’. A French chocolate shell, lined with unique flavour combinations including coffee, apricot and ancho chilli, houses dark chocolate truffles and aerated milk and white chocolate chunks. 

Harrods has taken its Easter-cues from a distinctly mid-century palate this year, with an understated blue and brown 2D ‘flat’ egg, that wouldn’t look out of place on an Alvar Aalto kitchen table. Whipped up by Harrods’ head pastry chef Alistair Birt (of World Chocolate Master fame), a chocolate sponge base is sprinkled with muscavado salted caramel, and topped with extravagent dark chocolate mousse.

Pierre Herme’s 2018 offering is the particularly glitzy Oeuf Fragments egg. A polished surface, made from Pure Origin dark chocolate from the Xibun plantation in Belize (available in cocoa, signature milk chocolate and blond chocolate) covers a shining golden egg – a truly ‘looks too good to eat’ treat.

Pierre Marcolini’s Easter accolades have always been particularly playful, and this year’s Mystery Eggs keep the fun going. Inside the maison dark and white chocolate eggs, six different flavours of mini eggs can be found – pistachio praline, extreme fondant and milk chocolate nougat praline just three of the six findable flavours.

Claridge’s returns each year with its Easter classic, which embodies the timeless glamour and art deco heritage of its hotel lobby. Pastry chef Yago Doamo used dark, white and milk Valrhona chocolate for the eggs, each filled with hand-made chocolate praline quail eggs and wrapped by hand in eau de nil coloured boxes.

One of Godiva’s 2018 Easter offerings is the POP collection, a range of individually wrapped mini-eggs available in a variety of flavours. Particular favourites are the Noir Vanille (pictured), a dark chocolate shell with sweet vanilla flavoured ganache, and the Lait Praliné, a milk chocolate shell filled with smooth hazelnut praline.

Selfridges called upon the wise counsel of The Chocolate Society in the design of its incredibly limited-edition 2018 egg. Entirely hand crafted and painted in a colourful confetti-splatter design in Somerset, multi-award-winning chocolatier Al Garnsworthy imbued a Wonka-worthy level of artistry into the egg, available exclusively at Selfridges.

This year, Hotel Café Royal called upon its lauded pastry chef Sarah Barber to design its egg. Hand crafted and glazed with the finest Valrhona chocolate (renowned for its aromatic profiles and rare cocoa bean flavours), the egg is sprayed in rogue cocoa butter, and houses white chocolates and raspberry truffles.

From left, Our Modern Lives in Yellow, £95 for 50ml, by Sarah McCartney, from Roullier White; Sandalwood Temple, £180 for 100ml, by Sana Jardin, from Harrods; Musc Pallida, £275 for 20ml, by Hermès, from Harrods; The Writer, £130 for 100ml, by St Giles, from Selfridges. ‘Hand’ canister, €30, by Toast Living, from Notable Designs. ‘Time’ hourglass, £25, by Hay, from Skandium. Copper strainer, £75, by Toru Tsuji, for Kanaami-Tsuji, from Postcard Teas. Teacup, £18, from Native & Co. Imporium ballpoint pen, £290, by Mario Bellini, for Lamy. ‘Lombok’ fabric in Ficielle, £71 per m, by Lelievre

Perfume fans have always known that scent can make you feel good, but can it help you concentrate? That’s the thinking behind the writer from new brand St Giles. It uses rosemary as a key ingredient, inspired by a clinical trial in 2012 that observed the smell of rosemary seemed to increase both speed and accuracy of mental performance.

Fine fragrance, it seems, can do more than just make us smell good. British perfumer Sarah McCartney, of 4160 Tuesdays, uses the stimulating benefits of coffee, as well as citrus fruits and herbal essences, in yellow, a scent from her new Our Modern Lives range. ‘I’m also qualified to teach yoga, and I made the scents to use in my classes,’ she says. ‘ I call them scents with benefits. They can change your mood, in a good way.’

Hermés, meanwhile, has just released its first oil-based perfumes, Musc Pallida and Cardamusc. Created by in-house perfumer Christine Nagel, they are luxurious and refined and their superlight oil feels wonderfully calming on the skin. Musc Pallida mixes relaxing, transporting musks with a gentle note of iris, while cardamusc pairs them with the invigorating scent of cardamom.

If you’re of a more spiritual bent, try Sana Jardin, which bills itself as ‘the world’s first socially-conscious luxury fragrance house’. Its perfumes, created by Carlos Benaim, include the meditative Sandalwood Temple, whose key ingredient has apparently been ‘used for centuries to open the third eye.’ We can sense it working already.

As originally featured in the April 2018 issue of Wallpaper* (W*229)

When we pay a visit to the architect Farshid Moussavi in her temporary-ish offices in the City of London, she is wearing a pink Commes des Garçons top with what might be described as architectural interventions at the elbow. She was more than happy, though, to sport Simone Rocha, her pick for Best Women’s Fashion Collection A/W 17, in our shoot. Moussavi is a long-time fan and customer. ‘I first saw a few of her pieces in Selfridges,’ she says. ‘And this was before she was in Dover Street Market or had her own store.’ For Moussavi, Rocha works very much in the tradition of the great Japanese designers, while adding her own particular spin. ‘She does what the Japanese designers do in terms of the play with form and structure, but adds femininity and fun.

‘I think with Simone you are awarding an attitude that is more enduring,’ she adds. ‘It’s a bit like Commes des Garçons or Junya Watanabe, they don’t really work in fashion. And you can wear them forever. It is the right approach in terms of sustainability.’

Her pick for Public Building of the Year is also a case of smart and sustainable reuse – Thomas Heatherwick’s Zeitz MOCAA museum in Cape Town. ‘He transformed an existing building and showed a real boldness and confidence,’ she says. ‘I think it was difficult and brave and well done. The original building was so powerful and strong and he responded with equal strength.’

Best Women’s Fashion Collection winner, Simone Rocha A/W 17. See the winners of our Judges’ Awards here

It is Moussavi’s patience as much as her strength that is being tested by her largest current project. By now, the building which houses Moussavi’s pop-up office on Fenchurch Street should have been razed to the ground to make way for a 17-storey mid-rise tower with a fluted black glass façade. Brexit has temporarily stalled the development and Moussavi has had to smartly accommodate budget cuts. (This after wrangling with the City’s planning chiefs, who weren’t keen on her gradiated black glass, preferring the optics of transparency.)

Moussavi, co-founder of Foreign Office Architects and with a solo CV that includes the Museum of Contemporary Art in Cleveland and the Victoria Beckham store in London, remains sanguine, accepting it all as part of the journey with major projects. And the practice has plenty in the way of pleasant distractions, including a re-design for Harrods’ Toy Department. ‘They called and said, “Do you want to have a go?” It has been a great opportunity for us.’ For Moussavi, it was also a chance to be part of the re-thinking of bricks-and-mortar retailing. ‘It’s interesting because the space is going to be slightly smaller than their old toy department, because they are editing the offer down and trying to concentrate on things that you don’t really buy online.

‘We have tried to simplify the environment and play with colour,’ she continues. ‘With fashion stores you have to approach it like a gallery. It has to be a unique and precious setting, but also stay in the background. But [with] this the space has to be stronger than the toys. And they are already really colourful.’

A version of this article originally appeared in the February 2018 issue of Wallpaper* (W*227)

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Farshid Moussavi Architecture website

Luxury heritage department store Harrods has been retailing furniture since the 1880s. Starting with cots and beds, it has developed an elegant library featuring the likes of design stalwarts Vitra, Gubi and B&B Italia; but now, for the first time, the British brand is launching its very own in-house furniture line.

Under the Harrods of London brand, the store has long been creating womenswear, menswear and luxury linens imbued with its own aesthetic. It is now growing this with the inaugural furniture launch, created in collaboration with Italian brand Porada and British upholsterers Artistic.

‘Designing a furniture collection in-house was the next step after the re-launch of Harrods Home four years ago,’ says Annalise Fard, director of home at Harrods. ‘We wanted to create a range which we could truly trust the quality of – and saw no better way to achieve this than working with two of our longest standing partners.’

The unique collaboration with Porada was an interesting choice. Working from the beginning on the initial design concepts, the Italian company sought to stay authentic to the materials used. ‘We wanted to combine artisanal craftsmanship with advanced processes; to treat the raw materials with the utmost respect,’ says Porada’s Mauro Nastri.

The range of sofas, tables, cabinetry and upholstery harks back to Harrods’ 1930s heritage, with accents of ziricote, maple and sycamore for the deep woods, combined with satin brass to allude to art deco influences. Marble features also enhance the collection's decadence, particularly in the statement ‘Sayre’ console.

The quality is undeniable, and further heightens the design cachet Harrods has been developing over the years. 'I think the real synergy between Porada and Harrods is the love of quality and the emphasis placed on respect for natural materials,’ stresses Nastri. Wallpaper* itself has collaborated with the store, showing designs from the annual Wallpaper* Handmade expo in its windows. In recent years, Harrods has become a destination during the London Design Festival, all the while hosting exclusive design collaborations and coveted pop-ups.

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Harrods website

To celebrate ten years in business, London-based designer Lee Broom has collaborated with British heritage brand Wedgwood on a collection of vases and bowls, pictured above. The four vessels, launching this month in a limited edition of 15, have been made in classic Jasperware at Wedgwood’s Stoke-on-Trent factory. Broom drew inspiration from the company’s 250-year-old archives for his pieces, including the 18th century ‘Panther’ vase with its black and white stripes. Treated to glossy finishes and bold splashes of colour, the pieces feel original and new. ‘I’ve been working with Wedgwood on this for a couple of years,’ says Broom. ‘I don’t often do collaborations, but this felt right. I’m so happy with the connection between our two brands: the Britishness of it all, one contemporary, one heritage, with references to historical manufacturing.’

With his tenth anniversary year in full swing, Wallpaper* caught up with Broom to find out more about his Wedgwood collaboration, his upcoming Salone del Mobile presentation, and what the next decade holds...

W*: How did the Wedgwood by Lee Broom collaboration come about?
LB: I was contacted by Wedgwood who asked if I would be interested in designing a collection just over three years ago and the idea was for me to create a prestige range of limited edition vases using their iconic Jasperware. Jasperware isn’t something which has been touched by many designers over the years so I was really excited at the prospect of creating my own interpretation of something we all know so well. I designed the collection in London but also spent many days in the Wedgwood archive and visiting the factory in Barlaston, Stoke-on-Trent.

The pieces feel formally contemporary  - how did you balance this with Wedgwood's long history and traditions?
During my time in the archives I looked back at a lot of Jasperware silhouettes from different periods. I wanted to retain the very classic Wedgwood silhouette but strip back the ornamentation. This immediately gave the vase a very contemporary feel. I then looked at combining the graphic stripes with postmodern elements, such as introducing vibrant colours and high gloss lacquered textures which starkly juxtapose the very matte biscuit finish of the traditional Jasperware. As a result, I think the collection looks both distinctly Wedgwood and Lee Broom at the same time.

You've said before that you don't do many collaborations. Why is this? Has this collaboration changed your mind?
I have found it tricky at times to fit in collaborations, however, we are ten years old this year and collaborations are something we plan to do a lot more of. When I am working on my own collections, I set my own brief so the canvas is completely blank. With a collaborative project, you are often given a distinct brief which for me, pushes my brain in a direction I potentially may have not have ventured into otherwise. So for me as a designer that’s incredibly exciting and very rewarding. It also allows me to potentially work with materials I have never touched on before such as ceramics - as with Wedgwood.

What other exciting anniversary projects can we expect this year for the studio?
Milan Design Week is our next focus. We are planning a show to celebrate our ten years called ‘Time Machine’ which will be a look back on the past decade, interpreted in a very new and a very unique way. Over the past few years I have created immersive and experiential presentations and this one will be no different. We are also presenting in the new design district, Ventura Centrale inside a disused 350 sq m vault within the Milano Centrale station. It is an incredible location – so worth seeing.

You've conquered so much in the last ten years - what does the next decade hold?
We have grown rapidly as a brand over the past ten years with over 250 stores selling our products across the world and two stores of our own in London and New York. However, there is still so much more I would like to create as a designer. I feel like we have only just begun.

This article was originally featured in the March 2017 issue of Wallpaper* (W*216)

INFORMATION 

The Wedgwood by Lee Broom collection is available exclusively from Harrods, with prices starting from £7,500. For more information, visit the Lee Broom website, the Harrods website, and the Wedgwood website

It’s been 77 years since the John L Harvey-designed Grand Entrance Hall at Harrods opened, signalling high time for a make-over. Enter Make Architects, which in less than a year (a tight deadline for the project’s ambitious scale) entirely redesigned the hall and adjoining escalators in the most complex refurbishment of the Grade II listed building ever attempted – all the way up to the sixth floor.

Bolstered by a £20 million budget, Make drew inspiration from the building’s original architecture, looking back at Harrods’ archive photographs to inform the grandeur and elegance of the art deco-inspired space, focusing on themes of permanence, longevity and elegance.

Cladding that was erected in the 1980s was stripped back to reveal an original glass window that was previously blocked up. This was recovered and reinterpreted to draw in natural light, while original chandeliers line the black and white marble walls and floors; a replica chandelier has been created to feature in the triple-height entrance hall.

To create the appearance of more space throughout the hall (and especially on the ground floor), Make simply flipped the configuration of the escalators, mirroring the previous positioning, resulting in a more spacious entrance with clear sight lines down to the latest contemporary menswear collections and up to the women’s fashion department. The ground floor hall leads directly through to the cosmetics department via a sleek white marble hallway lined with art deco wall lights, and flows over into the Beauty Apothecary and international men’s collections departments.

‘This is one of the most ambitious and complex renovations in Harrods’ history, and we had to get it done in 40 weeks to open before the festive trading period’, says Martin Illingworth, director of store development at Harrods. ‘We took direct inspiration from the Harrods archives for this redevelopment, tastefully paying homage to the architectural heritage of the brand, but also investing in state-of-the-art digital to enhance the customer experience’.

To wit, hyperreal large-scale digital screens with minute 1.7mm pixels appear on all levels – either flat or cleverly wrapping around corners – showing campaigns from the likes of Rolex or Burberry and underscoring the store’s luxury retail offerings.

To accommodate the 16 new floating escalators, Harrods had to dig a new 22m foundation to support the structural requirements. It was worth that monumental effort for the resulting sculptural effect of the bespoke ribbed and fluted nickel bronze cladding used to define the fluidity and emphasise the movement.

‘In essence, it is an escalator hall but escalators don’t have to be completely functional,’ says Make partner and project architect Regine Kandan. ‘We wanted to celebrate the escalators similarly to how John Harvey did it in 1939, when he used cutting edge materials and created them in sculptural forms. We have made these into sculptural forms in cast and pressed aluminium, the same material Harvey used.’

‘Over the years, layers and layers of technology or regulation or just bits of clutter were added and you sort of forgot the identity of the space as it should be’, she says. ‘It’s a grand entrance; it’s about the arrival of the customers and to help them navigate through the store. It was designed to be a very grand entrance and the new hall is a return to that grandeur.’

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Harrods website

ADDRESS

87-135 Brompton Road
Knightsbridge
London SW1X 7XL

VIEW GOOGLE MAPS

Very rarely are we transfixed by a kitchenware collection. The newest venture by Dutch designer Marcel Wanders for Alessi, however, left us hypnotised with its theatrical theme.

Wanders is of course known for putting on a show with his works, and this time he chose the magic and trickery of the big top as inspiration. Channeling the maximalist power of pattern he brings to Moooi, the whimsical collection consists of 29 objects in the tableware range, plus five limited-edition Officina Alessi ornamental pieces.

Described by Wanders himself as a ‘one-of-a-kind spectacle’, the striking stainless tableware is dressed in adventurous patterns, often diamonds or stripes in vivid red, yellow and blacks. ‘We explored how we could merge colour and stainless steel in fun, unexpected and unique ways,’ says Wanders. ‘With the concept of the circus, and the surprising display it’s known for, we were able to bring colourful delight and energy to what Alessi has built its reputation upon.'

For the five limited editions, Wanders has created different archetypal characters from the circus to create bespoke kitchen performances. These include the muscle-clad 'Strongman' (a nutcracker), the baby elephant 'Ballerina' (a musical box), the laughing 'Jester' (corkscrew), the classical 'Ringleader' (a call bell), and if you are brave enough, the clown 'Candyman' (sweets dispenser). It's hard not to appreciate Wander’s wild imagination through the fantastical nature of the pieces, which have been designed as lifelong collectables. ‘Our collection is unequivocally designed to bring smiles and delight,’ continues Gabriele Chiave, creative director at Marcel Wanders.

Delving into a new playful and energetic direction for Alessi, the venture took five years to master – just like any circus act, practice makes perfect.

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Alessi website

For the last four seasons, two rails of sportif, elegant menswear have been selling out on the lower ground floor of Harrods with little ballyhoo. The neat sweatshirts with graphic appliqué fronts inspired by Matisse’s dazzling cutouts and the tailored coats in lightweight felt with sporty hoods are by Solid Homme – a contemporary Korean brand with a 30-year history. ‘We wanted the consumers to discover the brand for themselves,’ says Caroline Kim, chief operating officer of Solid Corporation. ‘Now we hope to play on our strengths for the next 60 years or more.’

It was in 1988 that Madame Woo – the designer behind the venerated Wooyoungmi label – noticed a yearning among fashionable young Koreans for men’s clothes with a certain European élan. Casual but with formal twists, Solid Homme and Wooyoungmi have led the market ever since, making way for the likes of Juun.J and Songzio. Both enjoyed local success long before international recognition. ‘The global market is following what we experienced in Korea over the last ten years, where menswear is now an equal to womenswear,’ Kim says. With 24 standalone stores in Korea, now would seem like the appropriate time to look further afield.

By A/W 2017 the collection will be sold in China, Hong Kong, France, Canada, US and the Middle East – impressive for a brand that has only been available internationally for less than two years. ‘We want the label to go beyond being seen as Korean or a K Fashion brand, but more as a brand that appeals to fashion audiences around the world. We see London as the true global leader in creative menswear.’ Her words coincide with the launch of a personal shopping service at Harrods and the reopening of a glossy 28,000 sq ft area in Harvey Nichols, both aimed at men. The city is busy smartening up its act.

It isn’t fashion hokum to say that at its core, Solid Homme’s proposition is one wedded to authenticity in design, quality and production. Familiar details appear in unexpected places; the clothes are quiet and confident. ‘Nothing is there to make a quick profit,’ Kim says. ‘This is not fast fashion.’

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Solid Homme website

Fresh from staging her first Baselworld exhibition alongside the big-gun independents, such as MB&F and HYT, this week, Scotland-born watch designer Fiona Krüger unveils a month-long solo exhibition of her pieces at Harrods. And if it seems that she is fresh on the scene, like any horologist worth her salt, Krüger has been working towards this breakthrough moment for a long time.

To return to the beginning, Krüger had been well on her way to becoming a fine art academic when a brush with haute horology changed her course. During a one-year masters at the ECAL university of art and design in Lausanne, Switzerland, Krüger came across watchmaker Audemars Piguet, a course sponsor.

'I’d never heard of them,' she recalls. 'I didn’t know anything about watches – the differences between mechanical and quartz – nothing.' Cue a later trip to the Patek Philippe museum – where she discovered a watch shape 'could be anything you imagined' – and the bug was firmly caught. She fused her new-found love for horological history and her own fascination with time and mortality – and launched her first skeletised 'Skull' timepiece in 2013.

Inspired by a 17th century timepiece known as the Mary Queen of Scots’ 'Skull watch' and Mexican Day of the Dead celebrations, Krüger has stayed true to her theme. Where the debut 'Skull' was highly mechanical in style – its hand-painted, gold lacquer details mirroring the underlying movement – her second, the 'Black', was more aesthetic. Strongly graphic with a hand-painted supernova that glows in the dark, it is multi-dimensional and, like all her watches, has a deep, edgy vibe.

In contrast, the eye-poppingly bright 'Celebration' model is a joyous homage to life, its vibrant colours each linked to their original meanings in the Dia
de Los Muertos – while further reflecting Krüger’s own memories living in Mexico as a child. Supernova details again transform the watch into a subdued number come night, giving it a genius split personality.

Finally, her latest 'Petit' series, on show at Harrods, takes on a time-honoured, decorative technique: guilloché. Working with varied patterns, the result is highly sculptural and – in their diminutive sizes – extra precious.

INFORMATION

Fiona Krüger’s pop-up exhibition will be on view at Harrods until 27 April. For more information, visit Krüger’s website

There isn’t much out there that interior designer Kelly Wearstler hasn’t dipped into. In the midst of her opulent hotel transformations and residential redesigns in a soulful American style, she also brings with her a plethora of products at her eponymous design brand store. The Los Angeles-based creative is now hopping the pond to set up shop for the first time in the UK, and has chosen grand retailer Harrods for her inaugural British take-over.

Wearstler has bought the spirit of LA to the decadent surrounds of the department store (hers is the first Californian homeware brand to be stocked there). Chosen from the 65 pieces of her permanent collection, the special showcase of products bought an immediate calm via a cool, creamy set up. ‘It is like little sculpture – there is great scale change and a neutral palette here, you can have it both minimalist and maximalist,’ Wearstler tells Wallpaper*.

An ambassador for American design, Wearstler also invited us into her manufacturing world. ‘Los Angeles is one of the manufacturing capitals, it is incredible right now,’ she explains. The brand makes most of its embellished sculpted home accessories right in the Californian city, cast glass in Northern California and upholstery on the East Coast.

All the pieces are imbued with personality. From the brushed copper through to the walnut that coats the inside of the furniture pieces, a particular ardour resides in the wares. Together with the patterns she explores – the bold stripes of her ‘Lineage’ collection, the subtle leopard print in the ottoman, or the engraved woodwork on the natural oak 'Trousdale' dining table to name a few –  all of the pieces are afforded a sense of familiarity through the finishing touches.

‘I love things that have repetition and also Mother Nature,’ she continues. Resonating not only in the materials and patterns, but also in the whimsical foot or lip motifs and animalistic legs she is known for, the Kelly touch glows throughout the space.

The Harrods launch coincides with the release of a new hand painted collection for The Rug Company. Exclusively available at Harrods, two new fluid designs ‘Wake’ and ‘Staccato’ stick within the minimalist palette.

Asked if there is any material she has not worked with before, she tells us that she is feeling concrete right now, hopefully working on some products for future release. Watch this space for the Wearstler way with stone.

INFORMATION

For more information, visit Harrods' website

It’s that time of year when the majority of us start to get excited about the Christmas countdown – even if we don’t always like to admit it. Whether we openly embrace the Christmas spirit or opt for a discreet celebration, there is no reason not to start the Christmas countdown this year in style. And so we have rounded up this year’s cream of the crop, the best advent calendars to lead us through December. From beauty products to truffle chocolates, this year’s selection will be sure to suit every taste. (Even those who favour a good old fashion wooden calendar.)

A 3D work of art, The Christian Lacroix ‘Shaman Night’ advent calendar by Libretto is sure to impress. Featuring a striking center pop-up with four unique characters — Zebra Girl, Shaman, Jungle Leo, and Wild Bird — and surrounded by panels that expand into a four foot long tableau. Along the tableau you’ll find the pop-up windows for the twent-four days before Christmas, and it all conveniently folds into a smart hardback folio - the perfect calendar to be brought out in anticipation year after year.

For those of us who prefer a sweet treat to indulge in (it is Christmas after all) the Harrods Brompton Road advent calendar, filled with Harrods Couverture Truffles, is a sure choice.

For a festive tiple, The Gin Foundary has teamed up with the Drinks by the Dram team to bring us the Ginvent Calendar. A gin-filled advent calendar featuring award-winning spririts from top distilleries. Behind each of the windows you’ll find a sample of gin.

For a more feminine Christmas countdown, there’s plenty of choice. The Beauty Workshop calendar by Selfridges, containing twenty four exciting products; Charlotte Tilbury's Book of Makeup Magic, made up of twelve make up cabinets, each containing a travel or full size product from the iconic collection; or the calendar from Diptyque, featuring a selection of mini candles, hand creams and fragrances.

Finally, for those who still prefer to fall back to the classic advent calendar, Fortnum & Mason, of course, does not disappoint. The traditional Christmas tree calendar has twenty-four little doors, behind which a small gift or chocolate can be hidden. Alternatively, a slightly more musical choice – a wooden advent calendar, decorated with the facade of Fortnum’s Piccadilly store – plays a different Christmas tune upon opening each of its little doors.

With all the choice there’s no excuse not to be prepared this year...

With fashion houses and their bright spark designers searching further and wider than ever for inspiration, it’s little surprise when they suddenly look skywards - threading some of the magic and mystery of celestial exploration into their catwalk creations.

At Ermenegildo Zegna Couture, creative director Stefano Pilati’s mission has been unfolding along a somewhat more pragmatic route, that was until his autumn/winter 2014 men’s collection walked out this January backdropped by a monumental video experience of virtual space travel. Today Harrods unveils a 23-window 'takeover' of their London storefront with Zegna's film taking pride of place.

Despite the aesthetical leaps and bounds of fashion film in the past decade, Pilati’s commission takes the genre to another level. He worked with renowned scientist Dr Fiorella Terenzi, an astronomy professor at Florida International University, who both crafted the soundtrack and plotted the film’s precise, earthbound astral journey with the help of the Hayden Planetarium’s Professor Neil deGrasse Tyson.

Their arresting visuals send viewers spinning through space. The journey starts with an abstraction of cloudy nebulae shooting through the Earth’s solar system, before zooming at breakneck speed down towards Earth, then Europe, and finally into Italy’s boot-shaped terrain to arrive within Zegna’s fall show venue, the Milan CityLife Palace.

Whilst visually stunning in its own right, it may well be Terenzi’s sonic accompaniment that takes the cake here – a soundscape she created by layering Tchaikovsky with ‘acoustic astronomy’ - an element of her research that she explains 'turns radiation from space into an acoustic signature reflecting the chemical, physical and dynamic properties of the celestial object in question'.

'The natural, raw sounds of radio waves from space wash over our planet constantly,' explains Terenzi, whose appreciation for fashion and the arts spurred this unlikely pairing forward. 'I am both an astrophysicist who is moved by an artistic sensibility, and an artist who relies upon technology to express myself,' she continued. 'I want these discoveries to swim in our imaginations, to open our hearts to new ways of thinking and feeling about daily life, whether it be music, fashion, aromas, or even food. If we promote the collaborative mind, bridging astrophysics and aesthetics, we can both objectively learn about the universe and commune with it.'

ADDRESS

Harrods
87-135 Brompton Rd
London SW1X 7XL

VIEW GOOGLE MAPS

For the month of May, London's most iconic department store will host a Prada 'takeover', extending from its forty Brompton Road windows, to a pop-up store, museum-worthy exhibition and grand Milanese café.

Uniting Mrs Prada's fashion, art, architecture and cinema spheres of influence, the Spring showcase is the monolithic store's latest shopping spectacle, following the house of Dior's treatment last year and Chanel in 2011. It's a wildly successful brand-building consumer concept that has since sparked a string of retail retrospectives internationally - from Le Bon Marche's recent Proenza Schouler exhibition, to Barney's current sponsorship of Dries Van Noten's 'Inspirations' at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs.

And while the Knightsbridge windows (also commandeered by Wallpaper* last October with highlights from our Handmade exhibitions) and pop-up boutique on the ground floor showcase an exclusive collection of Prada archive re-issues – the leather fringe dress is indeed back, along with 2009's gladiator Mary Janes – the fourth floor exhibition is without doubt the main attraction.

To bring Mrs Prada's 'museum within a museum' concept to life, the creative director enlisted regular collaborator, 2x4 founding partner, Michael Rock to manifest the grandiose exhibit of intertwined Prada obsessions.

Inside, the spectacle opens with archive curios from Mrs Prada's grandfather Mario Prada, and his brother Martino's original Milan store. Founded in 1913 within the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II shopping arcade, the store's original tortoiseshell hair combs lie next to gentleman's manicure sets and time-warn silk clutch bags, echoing another era of the brand's rich history.

However, introductions made, Pradasphere was not designed as a retrospective, so from there visitors are quickly transplanted into the now. Crossing the vast room's moss and ebony checkerboard carpet (referencing the brand's marble tiled stores), six expansive vitrines, replicating those from the original Galleria store, house myriad ensembles grouped into central themes that have defined Mrs Prada's work.

Accessories are similarly arranged in a case called 'Specimens', along with mounted examples of the brand's 'materiality', putting the Prada atelier's exquisite craftsmanship under the microscope. Highlights include mink intarsias, mother of pearl embroideries, and silicone-dipped Guipure lace, all protected under glass. Vernon Panton's Clover Leaf sofas, launched at the Salone del Mobile last month, offer a seat for contemplation.

Next, large format books document the visual Prada universe from show venues to campaign stars, while additional displays are dedicated to show invitations, a model of the Seoul Transformer, and Fondazione Prada's new Milan headquarters designed by OMA.

Rounding up the house's cross-disciplinary pursuits is 'Evolution 1': a digital wall that tracks the brand's recent history, from a catwalk video of Mrs Prada's first collection, to a timeline of special projects that include film collaborations with directors Roman Polanski and Wes Anderson, and architectural projects with Rem Koolhaas and Herzog & de Meuron. The digital concept has then been extended to a video catwalk wall - organised by colour, rather than season, concealing a VIP shopping salon behind Prada's model army.

In London from New York, curator Michael Rock walks us through Pradasphere's concept to realisation…

Wallpaper*: What was the initial project brief from Miuccia Prada?
Michael Rock: The inspiration was a natural history museum of Prada, because we thought that the 19th century department store was a kind of museum in itself, so it was an attempt to be contextual. We had this image in mind of the way that the dinosaurs look.

What was the take home message that you wanted to extend to visitors?
It was about trying to tell the story of what makes Mrs Prada's work so consistent, because it's not consistent visually, so it has to be consistent in another way, as she's often exploring lots of things at the same time. What I think makes her work so specific is that she's always questioning. She has her own questions and she's working them out through design. The best design always does that. You really feel an inquisitive mind at work.

How long have you been working on the exhibition?
Not as long as you think. Time's compressed in the Prada world. It's probably been about a year in the making. We had worked with Mrs Prada on the Prada book about four years ago and that worked as the foundation for this - all the research had been done. She's been super involved in every stage of it, selecting all the looks and making the final edits.

Tell us about the restaurant space?
Rather than make a fake Milanese café we just brought Marchesi in. It's a special place to her, a classic, iconic place. To bring that here is part of the experience. The space is normally a terrace, so not in use. All the lights, display cabinets, palms and furnishings were added.

What were the main challenges that you faced?
Time and the vast amount of stuff. The archive is huge. When we were doing this, they filled the whole fashion show area with racks full of clothes, and we started to developed a series of themes and she pulled out clothes to match them. It was a very back and forth process between theory and practice.

Is this the exhibition's only stop?
It's under consideration. Originally we were thinking just for here but it lends itself to travel because it's very contained. We have a plan for it, so I think that now we'll explore it.

What's next for you?
Five weeks from now we open a new show in Venice for the Fondazione. Then it's the next addition of the Miu Miu member's club - to be disclosed soon. In July, I'll take a holiday.

ADDRESS

Harrods
87-135 Brompton Rd
London SW1X 7XL

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In just four editions, Wallpaper's annual Handmade exhibition has established itself as a must-see at Milan's Salone del Mobile. Now, for the first time, Handmade is on the move, arriving at London's Harrods store on 4 October with a spectacular 'best of' presentation topped up with five unique new pieces produced in collaboration with Jaguar.

Handmade is a groundbreaking celebration of contemporary design and craft, as well as cutting edge materials and production techniques, calling on the talents of the world's best designers, artists, makers and manufacturers. Over the last four years, acting as curator, client and creative director, Wallpaper* has brought these talents together to create hundreds of one-off design wonders.

Over 50 Wallpaper* Handmade pieces, produced by the likes of Hermès, Alfredo Häberli, Harry Winston, Konstantin Grcic, Isay Weinfeld, Paul Cocksedge, Michael Anastassiades, the late David Collins, Barber Osgerby, Brioni, Naoto Fukasawa, Louis Vuitton, Sam Hecht and Poltrona Frau to name but a few, will be put proudly on display across 12 windows in the iconic Kensington store. They will be joined by five new concept products, commissioned by Wallpaper* editors and exploring Jaguar's design language and advanced technology, by Moritz Waldemeyer, Neri & Hu, Mathieu Gustafsson, Fredrikson Stallard and Salvatori & Jaguar Advanced Design.

Mark Briggs, Harrods store image director, commented: 'As world leaders in style, design and technology, we are delighted to be working with Wallpaper* and Jaguar to bring the Handmade exhibition from Milan to London for the first time. The world-renowned Harrods windows will present this year's shortlisted designers in the perfect luxury space, for all to see.'

And Julian Thomson, Jaguar Advanced Design director, added: 'This partnership with Wallpaper* is very exciting and it is a great opportunity to apply Jaguar design philosophy in new forms and to inspire a culturally diverse audience. Harrods is an iconic landmark in London and we aim to surprise and delight the people of the city with a selection of unique and intriguing design installations.'

Tony Chambers, Wallpaper* Editor-in-Chief, said: 'Our Handmade project is testimony to the power of good design, great ideas, creative collaboration and quality production. The value of striving to make things better. We are delighted to bring some of the best pieces from our annual celebration of art, craft, skill and vision to London - with the best British partners one could wish for: Harrods and Jaguar.'

With Wallpaper* Handmade now a powerful and resonant brand in its own right, the Harrods exhibition marks the next stage in the development of the project. The five new projects will go on a global tour after leaving London, arriving back in Milan next April in time for the next edition of Salone del Mobile and a brand new Handmade presentation.

Watch Lernert & Sander's 'Handmade' film, made in collaboration with Brioni and White Lodge

ADDRESS

Harrods
87-135 Brompton Rd
Knightsbridge
London SW1X 7XL

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Designer Lee Broom has created a drama-filled new store concept for Christian Louboutin. Following in the footsteps of other Christian Louboutin boutiques around the world that are designed to reflect the city in which they are located, Broom's creation pays theatrical homage to the city of London.

Housed within Harrods' eveningwear department, the light-filled space, which includes an archive of Christian Louboutin shoes alongside the designer's latest collections, is framed by a fanned archway entrance inspired by the glass façade of Covent Garden's Royal Opera House.

Other nods to the city can be found in the tiled walls, themselves reminiscent of that of the London Underground, and white street lamps which illuminate the footwear on display. Even Big Ben makes his presence known in the arched store window, which has been etched to resemble a giant glass clock face.

Broom's fashion credentials make him perfectly placed to design the shoe maestro's largest store in the world to date - he studied fashion design at Central St Martins, also doing a stint at Vivienne Westwood, before he settled on a career in product and interiors design.

Injecting Louboutin's DNA into the space with classic red carpets and molded stucco ceilings, the designer's stage set-like space is peppered with signature pieces from his own collections, such as his Crystal Bulbs, and the Salon range, which the designer has reworked in a new colour palette of purples, greys and pinks.

ADDRESS

Harrods
87-135 Brompton Road  
Knightsbridge
London SW1X 7XL

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The legacy of Christian Dior continues to resonate as loud and bold as the day the designer debuted his seminal New Look collection. This spring, Harrods has joined forces with the fashion house to create a couture wonderland and the ultimate homage to the designer. The collaboration has transformed the exterior of the luxury department store and taken over its entire fourth floor with a series of concept spaces and a pop-up café. The venture marks a 60-year relationship between the two powerhouse brands, which began when the designer inaugrated the Harrods Fashion Theatre in 1954.

Dior has commandeered the store’s window displays in a fitting nod to the couturier’s affinity for Britain – Royal Beefeaters stand guard next to ready-to-wear designs by creative director Raf Simons and telephone boxes evoke the New Look silhouette. A new ground floor pop-up boutique decked out in the label’s signature grey features Royal Mail postboxes that act as plinths for limited-edition products.

Upstairs visitors are greeted by the façade of 30 avenue Montaigne, Dior’s Parisian headquarters, recreated in miniature. The space beyond has the feel of a major retrospective, with installations that include a gargantuan digital book of fairytales. On display is a series of ‘Lady Dior’ bags reimagined by up-and-coming artists and mini-Stockman mannequins wearing seminal couture designs. The Dior team has also uncovered rare photographs and sketches of the designer, which are displayed alongside personal memorabilia.

The space culminates with the new Café Dior, serving up cupcakes iced with Dior fashion illustrations, black truffle omelettes and other recipes borrowed from a cookbook published by the designer (and self-professed gourmand) in 1972. Harrods will host a series of events throughout the month to celebrate the project: have your portrait sketched by a Dior artist, personalise a perfume bottle or select from a range of beauty products created specially for the collaboration by Tyen, Dior Make-up’s creative director.

ADDRESS

Harrods
87-135 Brompton Rd
London SW1X 7XL

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Next week we'll be posting our report on watch fair SalonQP – which pitches up at the Saatchi Gallery in London this weekend (8–10 November) – but as Harrods has just announced an ongoing partnership with the event, we wanted to be the first to reveal that it is previewing a special collection of unique pieces at the fair.

Now in its fourth year, Europe's top fine-watch fair is fast becoming one of the most important dates on the global fine-watch circuit. Here, the world’s top names – Harry Winston, Bulgari, Hermès – show with lesser-known makers and independents, such as MB&F (founder Maximilian Büsser’s quirky Flying Panda watch was one of last year’s highlights).

A selection of watchmakers have created the pieces especially for Harrods to celebrate the first birthday of their Fine Watch Department, which is the most important in Europe. The watches, debuted today at SalonQP and on show for the duration of the show, will be available to buy at Harrods at the end of next week.

Franck Muller, Audemars Piguet and Breguet are just some who have contributed, and it's a deftly curated mix, not least because it has some serious women's watches among it. Take the Audemars Piguet Lady Tuxedo automatic: it retains all the design cred of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak model but with a shimmer of diamonds making it less masculine in all the right ways.

Then there's Vacheron Constantin's Metiers d'Art piece. While not specifically for a man or a woman, it is so elegantly realised – the guilloché dial has an overlay of enamel – that it can be suited to anyone with a passion for beautiful things.

The watches that Hublot, Zenith and Maurice Lacroix have opted to display, on the other hand, are all fine examples of the extent of their design expertise, with variations on skeleton and tourbillon techniques taking pride of place.

During its SalonQP residency at the Saatchi Gallery this weekend, Harrods will sponsor the Seminar Theatre, which will host a series of presentations, workshops and demonstrations across the weekend.

Another major pull is that Harrods is also setting up a pop-up watch service and after-sales bar at SalonQP – the first time it has done so outside the store. So, if you want to experience its exemplary watch repair and cleaning services or pop in for a bespoke consultation, take your favourite timepieces down to the Saatchi Gallery this weekend.

The fashion scene may have seasonal dalliances with mock-croc, fake reptilian and leopard print, but when it comes to the real deal, exotics have always held a certain cachet, unaffected by time or place. Columbian designer Nancy Gonzalez, whose bags made from exotic skin have been a favourite across the world for over 20 years, has confirmed this by extending her retail reach in over 400 multi-brand stores to Harrods, which is now playing host to her eponymous brand's first London boutique.

In this month’s style special (W*156), we explore how a select crew of luxury brands like Nancy Gonzalez are branching out their production line to directly engage with the farmers and producers at the source. By overseeing the production process from raw material to finished piece and controlling its crocodile farms and tanneries where the skins for the bags come from, Nancy Gonzalez believes it guarantees customers the best-quality skins available.

This extreme attention to detail is also reflected in the 300 sq ft shop-in-shop, where the constraints of a department store setting have not scuppered the brand's exacting standards. Bags are displayed on ultra-thick cubes of plexiglas which have much larger dimensions than the usual shop standard. Banishing metal from the space, the boutique, located in Harrods' Egyptian Room, uses only bronze detailing on cabinets.

Framed with a backdrop of silken velvet walls, the interior is dominated by highly polished rosewood fixtures that were sourced in Columbia and shipped over to Budrio, Italy, to be assembled by luxury shop furniture specialists Arredoquattroindustrie.

When commissioning New York-based Rawlins Design to design the overall space, Nancy's son and company president Santiago briefed them to combine the sensibility of designers such as André Arbus, Jean-Michel Frank and Gabriella Crespi (whose influence can be see in the demi-moon rosewood cabinets in the boutique's central space) with minimalist art - Gonzalez cites Donald Judd as a heavy influence on his conceptualisation for the boxy-shaped cabinets.

Meanwhile, a carefully-considered lighting scheme, which ensures not a single shadow is cast on the bags, reflects Gonzalez's desire for a space that had to be 'very precisely lit' with perfectly balanced lighting. 

And gone are the days where the hues of exotic accessories are limited to innocuous browns, tans and creams - at Nancy Gonzalez, it's all about eye-popping brights.

ADDRESS

Harrods
87-135 Brompton Road
Knightsbridge
London SW1X 7XL

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Karl Lagerfeld doesn't do things in halves. Which is why when his team at Chanel collaborated with Harrods, the results - unveiled today - were eye-popping to say the least. Not content with filling the entire stretch of window displays on the store's Brompton Road façade with powerful scenes of its A/W 2011 collection, featuring an enchanted bestiary and whimsical French fairy tale imagery, Chanel has put its stamp on the storefront like you would on a turreted castle, embellishing it with a series of branded flags. And that's just what you see on the outside.

Stepping inside the store, it's hard to know which part of Chanel's adventure requires attention first. On the ground floor, the brand has created a temporary 'misty garden' fashion boutique, lined with white and black walls embossed with lions' heads, and filled with every sartorial item imaginable - including the classic Harrods bag, which has been given a Chanel makeover.

Over in the beauty department, a pink make-up counter - complete with the pop-up photo booth seen in the A/W 2011 campaign and oversized Chanel perfume bottles - houses the Knightsbridge Collection, a limited-edition make-up range created by Peter Phillips, creative director of Chanel make-up.

Meanwhile, on the third floor, a dramatic 350 sq m installation, 'Une Promenade', is an Alice-in-Wonderland-style journey into the world of Coco Chanel. Visitors enter through a curtain of oversized white pearls into a monochrome camellia garden setting, where the exhibition revolves around six different rooms: the 2.55, where visitors walk into a padded creation of the brand's iconic bag to discover the production process of the bag; the tweed room, inspired by Chanel's jacket fabric of choice; an enchanted children's bedroom scene filled with dolls and toys; a Haute Couture room, reconstructed as Gabrielle Chanel's apartment at 31 rue Cambon; the library space in Lagerfeld's studio 7L, and finally a room dedicated to Chanel symbols, including its Number 5 perfume bottle.

ADDRESS

Harrods
87-135 Brompton Road
Knightsbridge
London SW1X 7XL

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