Wee Birdy

March 4, 2010

Best of London shopping: Dover Street Market*

It’s easy to feel intimidated walking into Dover Street Market,
arguably London’s number one cutting-edge shopping destination. When I
first arrived in London last year, I wasn’t really sure what to expect,
but gathered it was something along the lines of Colette in Paris. So far, so (very) good.

But
with "market" in the title, I was initially thinking on a linear level,
as opposed to an uber-department store with six floors dedicated to
fashion, design and art. And with terms like "avant-garde",
"groundbreaking" and "edgy" bandied about in the press over the past
three years, I was half-excited and half-scared, fearing six floors of
pretension and a f***-off attitude to boot.

Emerging
from the lift onto the fourth floor, I was immediately struck by a few
things. Firstly, a vintage anatomy plaster model of a foetus in utero,
the kind of thing you’d find in a university science lab from the
fifties; secondly, my beloved Labour and Wait’s
counter of traditional homewares (think balls of twine, sturdy
gardening tools and French stripey tops); and finally, a rack of Commes
des Garcon’s PLAY line, mixed in with designers such as Commuun, Toga Archives, and Veronique Branquinho.**
All this and the comforting homely aroma of freshly baked scones
pervading from the Rose Bakery in the corner of the room (more on this
in another post). It’s kinda crazy and cool and I love it.

But
let’s turn down the “crazy” dial for the moment, after all, there is
serious fashion to consider. Dover Street Market is the brainchild of
Commes des Garcon’s Rei Kawakubo, and it features well over 50
designers, with numerous exclusive collaborations and all 14 CdG lines.

Kawakubo
challenges traditional concepts of merchandising by mixing top
designers such as Dior, Galliano and Alaïa, with lesser-known labels
sourced from all over the world. Menswear merges with womenswear, and
unexpected suprises (like the voodoo-vibed World Archives stall and Emma Hawkins’ Victorian
collection of taxidermy, animal skeletons and vintage plaster anatomy
models) keep shoppers engaged and excited. And by inviting the various
designers to curate and regularly update their own space, Kawakubo
breathes new life into fashion retail.

Personal highlights include Very Lustre’s ultra-modern diamond jewellery; Boudicca’s velvet-draped birdcage dressing room, complete with mirror and bell; Parisien Didier Ludot’s
ultimate LBD range, and Cameron Silver’s “Decades” stall (a little
piece of Melrose in Mayfair, where I spied heart-stopping premium
vintage pieces by Azzedine Alaïa, Missoni and YSL couture). I was also
enamoured by Japanese label Sacai’s simple and relaxed knitwear, as
well as Sacai Luck’s ultra-femme lingerie line featuring pretty
camisoles and shorts in cashmere and silk.

On each visit to DSM, I've found it increasingly difficult to walk past the range of Pierre Hardy
shoes without drooling all over the wares, and it was nice to see
Australian designer Michelle Jank’s eclectic one-off neckpieces. And
the one-off creations by London’s premier milliner Stephen Jones for DSM are always fun and fanciable (I loved the adorable A/W 2007
"Chic!" berets). I could go on and on … each 'stall' is worthy of an
individual post, so you can expect additional posts and updates on DSM
in the future.

**NB: this post was originally written in January 2008 so some of the installations and designers I've described have changed since then.

Dover Street Market
17-18 Dover St,
London W1
Tel: 020 7518 0680
Nearest tube: Green Park
Click here for a Wee Birdy map.

Opening hours:
Monday to Saturday 11am-6pm
Thursday 11am-7pm

All images courtesy of Dover Street Market.
Click here for more shops in W1.

* Please bear with me – I'm flying back to my Sydney nest so I'm digging into the Wee Birdy archives for a couple of weeks. Normal posting (and ace new London shops) will resume shortly. xx

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