I Spy With My Little Eye...

On my way to Harrods, I saw this poster on the Underground. I was instantly attracted by the exterior, as this screams out BRITAIN! I love the style of the house! I'll take a trip to Kew Palace and take a look inside, maybe I can get more ideas about the interior of Accent

Stay Tuned...

Adventure Three: Harrods

 Yesterday, I decided to take a trip to Harrods. No...not to buy clothes or bags, but look around and scout for some  britishness. Harrods has been recognised as a British department store that sell luxury goods. Overall, I thought the store didn't seem british...

The only thing that was british was the location - Knightsbridge and the exterior. I think Harrods is more recognised as selling luxury goods, rather than being british. However, I did admire and took some inspiration from some of their concession. I admired the Chandeliers at Jo Malone,  the motifs on the ceiling and on the walls of Alexander McQueen. I took these admirations as not only did I find them British, but I thought they were feminine too. When looking at the interior of Accent, I need my interior to illustrate britishness and femininity. 

Adventure Number Two: Liberty, London

Today, I went on another adventure and paid a visit to Liberty, London. Liberty is a department store located off Carnaby Street. They have departments in Mens, Women's, Home, Accessories, Fabric and Children. In general, I thought the store had a sense of 'britishness'  through its exterior and interior. I felt the use of oak upholstery throughout the store reminded me of something 'homely'. I loved the 'hanging taxi's' in store as the 'black cab' is an icon that represents Britain. The tudorish infrastructure represents the appreciation of  Britain's heritage. I thought being allocated in Carnaby Street, highlights the sense of British as Carnaby Street is a street which is known for fashion in the 60's, as well as bring thousands of tourist around the world. Although, I thought their visual merchandising was dead and plan, I didn't get a sense of britishness.  By looking at Liberty, I realised that location, interior, visual merchandising and exterior is the way forward to gain a sense of britishness.  

Departments

I have decided that Accent will be a British store who only stock women clothing. I felt that this is easier for me to develop as not only can I relate to female clothing, but there's a wider range of designers who I can choose from. As a independent retailer, I need to figure out what departments I'll like to have.  As a new business, I don't want to have too many departments. So I have narrowed it down to these: 

Clothes (Trousers, Shirts, T-Shirt, Dresses, Knitwear, Shorts, Skirts)

Shoes (Heels, Flats) 

Bags (Clutches, Totes, Shoulder) 

Scarves 

My choices was based from the results from my focus group. Now that I have decided on the products am stocking, I need to do a list of designers which I think fit these category. 

Stay Tuned...

Adventure Number One: LN-CC

As part of my research, looking at the competitors for Accent is vital. In Doing so, I decided to take a trip to LN-CC, Dalston over the weekend. LN-CC is a independent retailer situated in the heart of "Ghetto Hackney" Dalston. Stocking luxury designers such as Givenchy, Jil Sander and Lanvin, and underground Japanese designers,  LN-CC is a store that's targeted for a niche market. 

Say My Name, Say My Name...

Thinking of a name as been tricky, as I want a name that's catchy, edgy, cool and british. 

I decided to name my store Accent.

I thought Accent is a great name as the British accent is one of the most recognisable accent's in the world. Whether its a Essex accent, French accent or an American accent, accents allow us to define where were from. Henceforth, as the store aims to target early adopters and trendsetters, these people can be defined as having their own 'accent'  as they shop in quirky boutiques, independent retailers, belong to a certain culture and hopefully shop at Accent. 

Maybe It's Because I'm A Londoner...

So...I thought long and hard about my concept store and how I'll make it different. I looked at a couple of independent retailers and realised that most stores stocked designers from around the world. As London is becoming the new Paris, I thought that my concept store would only stock designers who are British. As Britain is known for breeding designers such as: Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen and Mulberry, I thought it would be interesting to stock not only established exclusive british designers, but give the opportunity for upcoming british designers to stock their collection too! 

This gives London the avenue to not only promote British designers, but to promote "britishness" 

The Dream...

Hey!

Welcome to my blog. This blog is going to be based on my final major project. I'm so excited to do this project, especially as I've chosen a GREAT idea! I came up with this GREAT idea, as I've always been interested in luxury and independent retailers. In doing so, I've always been keen on concept store. So...my GREAT idea is to come up with a concept store that stocks designers with a twist...however I don't know what this twist is...AND I need to come up with a name of my store...

 Time to get my thinking hat on...