Victoria Beckham opens first shop

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/sep/25/victoria-beckham-opens-shop-london-store-fashion

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The dozens who queued from the early hours of Thursday morning to be among the first to enter Victoria Beckham’s imposing flagship store were greeted with a carefully designed 6,000 sq ft space more akin to an art gallery than a shop.

The store, over three floors in Dover Street, London, is dominated by dark-mirrored walls and an imposing polished concrete staircase, the clothes hanging from chains on the ceiling or a jagged rail.

The shop, Beckham’s first since she launched her fashion line in 2008, is the culmination of over two years of work. Architect Farshid Moussavi, whose modern, angular aesthetic reflects the same qualities as Beckham’s fashion line, has carefully considered every detail of the shop.

The diagonal grid ceiling of the second floor alone took seven builders, seven days a week for nine weeks to complete.

There are no tills to interfere with the sparse design – all purchases are made through iPads – and there is no mannequin display in the window.

The 40-year-old designer skipped the official opening to speak to the UN general assembly in New York but her husband David was one of the first through the door. The line of chauffeured Land Rovers parked outside the shop gave an indication of the steady stream of customers inside; they were each handed a glass of champagne as they entered.

One shopper, who left the store the proud owner of a “little black dress” and a pair of sunglasses, spoke glowingly.

“The shop is a real showcase for the beautiful pieces: architecture-wise it is so impressive and it lets the clothes speak for themselves,” she said, “She’s so stylish isn’t she and her collection is just so lovely so it’s brilliant. I’m a long-term fan of Victoria and I think her style is fabulous and things you can wear forever. This shop is a real testament to that.”

Lujain Alfulaij, 31, was similarly impressed. “The store is huge and beautifully done,” she said. “I think it oozes Victoria Beckham, very modern and contemporary. Her collection is sleek, her style is clean, again very personal to her so it’s very distinctive. Definitely unlike any other designer shops.”

According to an assistant, the most popular items included a black-and-white tunic dress, priced at £2,250, a white shift dress with an ornate feathered hem (£2,100) and a white “micro twill” coat with a gold chain (£2,750), all from Beckham’s autumn/winter ready-to-wear collection. The “iconically Victoria” mirrored aviator sunglasses, exclusive to the shop, were also described as a bestseller.

In the VIP shopping section, on the lower ground floor, a single piece of artwork adorns the wall – a £600,000 Damien Hirst pink heart decorated with butterflies, the same piece that was reportedly bought for the Beckhams’ daughter Harper for her first birthday.

Ewelina Rutkowska, who has a shop opening in the parallel street next week, came to Beckham’s shop to check out her competition and said she was completely bowled over.

“It’s amazing – it doesn’t feel like a shop, it feels like an exhibition,” she said. “A completely different take on a boutique. The whole space is so open, very minimalistic, but with the wow factor. We came here specially to see the shop as I work in fashion and like her work and like her collection. But I didn’t expect it to be anything like this.”