Next day delivery: a dream come true for the consumer, but a shopkeeper’s worst nightmare. Quite simply, it means retail stores now need to offer something you can’t get online. Or better still – as demonstrated by Leica’s new London flagship gallery and shop – a great deal of in-store only perks.
The German camera manufacturer’s latest outpost, newly opened on Mayfair’s Duke Street, combines store, gallery, and bespoke training centre. Naturally, the store will offer the full range of Leica cameras (including the brand’s new Leica Q2), optics and lenses, along with the erudite advice we’ve come to expect from the brand, but on this occasion it feels like the merchandise is there to compliment what else is going on, rather than the other way round.
Dublin 1962 for Vogue. © Brian Duffy/Duffy Archive, currently on view at the Leica store in London
Much of the hype seems to be around the Leica Gallery, the first of its kind in the UK, albeit the 22nd globally. Here, the brand will exhibit the work of some of the world’s most celebrated Leica photographers, beginning with the exhibition ‘True Glamour/True Grit’ (until 26 April), a collection of vintage fashion images by Terence Donovan, Brian Duffy, Terry O’Neill and John Swannell. The surrealist photography of Ralph Gibson is next in line.
But it’s the Leica Akademie training centre, which will share the gallery space, that’s expected to get aspiring photographers through the doors. The Akademie, which has run in Germany since 1934, will offer an extensive schedule of talks and workshops for photographers and enthusiasts of all abilities – everything from portraiture to food photography. First up, Fashion & Art in Practise with Turkina Faso, followed by Beginner Street Photography with Robin Sinha. It’ll also run taster experiences with selected models, which could be just what you need to get your head round the Leica Q2’s new bells and whistles. That’s a service you’ll rarely get delivered to your door.
INFORMATION
For more information, visit the Leica website
ADDRESS
64 - 66 Duke St
Mayfair
London, W1K 6JD
-
Remembering Frank Gehry, a titan of architecture and a brilliant human beingLong-time Wallpaper* contributor Michael Webb reflects on the legacy of the Los Angeles architect, who died today at age 96
-
Lexus finally confirms the name of its all-electric LFA Concept supercarStill designated a design study, the Lexus LFA Concept should be the successor to the most unlikely of all 20th-century supercars
-
King of cashmere Brunello Cucinelli on his new biographical docu-drama: ‘This is my testimony’Directed by Cinema Paradiso’s Giuseppe Tornatore, ‘Brunello: the Gracious Visionary’ premiered in cinematic fashion at Rome’s Cinecittà studios last night, charting the meteoric rise of the deep-thinking Italian designer
-
Out of office: The Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekIt’s wet, windy and wintry and, this week, the Wallpaper* team craved moments of escape. We found it in memories of the Mediterranean, flavours of Mexico, and immersions in the worlds of music and art
-
Each mundane object tells a story at Pace’s tribute to the everydayIn a group exhibition, ‘Monument to the Unimportant’, artists give the seemingly insignificant – from discarded clothes to weeds in cracks – a longer look
-
Out of office: The Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekThis week, the Wallpaper* team had its finger on the pulse of architecture, interiors and fashion – while also scooping the latest on the Radiohead reunion and London’s buzziest pizza
-
Out of office: The Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekIt’s been a week of escapism: daydreams of Ghana sparked by lively local projects, glimpses of Tokyo on nostalgic film rolls, and a charming foray into the heart of Christmas as the festive season kicks off in earnest
-
Wes Anderson at the Design Museum celebrates an obsessive attention to detail‘Wes Anderson: The Archives’ pays tribute to the American film director’s career – expect props and puppets aplenty in this comprehensive London retrospective
-
Meet Eva Helene Pade, the emerging artist redefining figurative paintingPade’s dreamlike figures in a crowd are currently on show at Thaddaeus Ropac London; she tells us about her need ‘to capture movements especially’
-
David Shrigley is quite literally asking for money for old rope (£1 million, to be precise)The Turner Prize-nominated artist has filled a London gallery with ten tonnes of discarded rope, priced at £1 million, slyly questioning the arbitrariness of artistic value
-
Out of office: The Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekThe rain is falling, the nights are closing in, and it’s still a bit too early to get excited for Christmas, but this week, the Wallpaper* team brought warmth to the gloom with cosy interiors, good books, and a Hebridean dram
