Selfridges launches formalwear room: to buy or not to buy
Tuesday, 26 August 2008
A conversation with a designer of a leading luxury fashion label recently sparked an interesting conversation: if you are investing in a costly, beautifully-made item of clothing, would you be willing to purchase it at a department store without experiencing the ethos of the brand in its own
retail space, usually a more sophisticated environment? Would you have no qualms to spend your money on the shop floor of busy department store, where your shopping experience could likely involve queues at the tills, loud music and more often then not, without a sales person in sight to help you find your size? Shopping at a boutique such as Prada or Louis Vuitton can seem more appealing where you can expect first-class service, the feeling of shopping in an exclusive environment and of course enough luxury items to send your wallet into a frenzy. London's department stores would of course beg to differ, with Harrods, Harvey Nichols, Liberty and Selfridges aiming to offer the most covetable brands under one big, happy, shopping roof.
Selfridges is hoping its mens formalwear offer will be even more enticing to customers when it relaunches is formalwear department at the beginning of October 2008. Challenging the exclusive boutiques of Bond and Sloane Streets, the store has created a 15,000 square foot room, presenting a mix of labels including Gieves, Canali, Hawkes, Paul Smith and Ralph Lauren Purple. Perhaps none of these labels are 'unique' as the store claims, but finding them under one roof is attractive to consumers who are perhaps not so brand loyal and prefer to shop in multi-brand stores with a mirage of fashion brands and possibilities.
What is to Selfridges' advantage is that its new room can combine both quintessential suiting as well as seasonal trends. The store stated its customers are becoming increasingly adventurous when it comes to formalwear choices' and “Luxury and ‘serious suiting’ are the key elements in its redevelopment of Formalwear. These aspects are reflected in both the brand edit and elegant, customer-friendly surroundings."
Selfridges Director of Menswear, David-Walker Smith stated: "We have worked hard to ensure we can now offer customers a made-to-measure service with real authority. The Formalwear market is booming and becoming increasingly competitive, with more men investing in beautifully cut suits in top quality fabrics for both work and special occasions. At Selfridges, our point of difference is a luxurious offer with design integrity. This season it’s not only the suits that mean business!”
We say it's great to shop at department stores for their broad ranges of brands, however on a recent weekend visit to Selfridges we noticed the space of one designer brand was so messy it looked more like a high street jumble sale then a luxury label. This is certainly not appealing if you're looking to spend in excess of £1500 for a coat.
image: Selfridges London
