May 20, 2021
Many brands are opening new stores at present following the UK’s lockdown easing, but
target="_blank" title="Anya Hindmarch">Anya Hindmarch is taking it to extremes with the opening of five stores. The plan was announced earlier this year and the new concept, called The Village, opened this week.
It's on Pont Street in London's Mayfair and has an Anya Café at its heart, as well as the full product offer. Hindmarch said that “if retail is to exist in a digital world, there needs to be a reason to visit”.
And she's offering five reasons to visit with the five neighbouring stores returning to the street that was the original home of the label. She said they will be “the destination for brand experiences, collaborations and exhibitions, all of which will be amplified digitally”.
“I feel that the next 10 years are going to be about ‘localisation’ not ‘globalisation’ and it feels so right to return to the brand’s roots here on the Cadogan Estate and to realise my dream of The Village,” she added.
The network of spaces comprises some traditional retail concepts given a new spin in that they’re all themed.
The Plastic Store is “a space to showcase and collaborate with others focused on issues of sustainability, circularity and the reduction of plastic consumption”. It’s also home to the I Am A Plastic Bag collection made from recycled plastic bottles.
The Labelled Store is “dedicated to the art of organisation offering the best-selling Labelled collection, a system of cases and bags that are labelled to keep you organised”.
And the original Bespoke store will continue to offer personalised pieces designed “to mark special moments in time and be handed down through the generations”.
Meanwhile, instead of an in-store café, The Anya Café is a standalone space “inspired by the quintessential British café of old but reimagined with the brand’s trademark humour”.
And the Village Hall is “an ever-evolving concept space launching as the ‘Anya Hair Salon – Shampoo & Therapy’ to celebrate the publication of the designer’s first book, If In Doubt, Wash Your Hair”.