Images via racked.com, wwd.com, and paulsmith.co.uk
Editor’s Note: Once in awhile we come across something noteworthy and we want to share it with our readers. However, due to a variety of reasons (it’s too new to obtain research, it’s in a far-away land that we can’t quite reach, etc.) we don’t quite know what to do about it other than tell you, “Hey, this is amazing and you should know about it.” Show & Tell is a collection of those recent things.
1. Online shoe site, Piperlime, is establishing a permanent footing in the Fall with a 4,000 sq. ft. brick and mortar store in New York. The Gap-owned brand tested the retail waters in 2010 with the creation of a temporary pop-up shop in Soho that coincided with New York Fashion Week. What can we expect from the store? According to Jennifer Gosselin, Senior VP and General Manager of the Piperlime Soho unit, the store will have a focus on females, include clothing and accessories, and a mix of established brands as well as some undiscovered names. We’ve all felt it was only a matter of time before this online brand opened a store, so we’ll be eagerly awaiting the opening to see how the store measures up, and what this might mean for the future of the brand…more stores, shop-in-shop opportunities for other Gap-owned brands?
2. Sephora recently announced the revamp of four of its NYC stores. The feature that we’re most excited to experience is the Fragrance Flight Bar! It’s located in a private room and stocked with unnamed fragrances in flame atomizers. Addictive, casual, playful and chic are the scent categories. Customers use an iPad to learn about olfactory families. After they choose their favorite scent the iPad features more information about their product of choice including price. We can’t wait to see what our actual favorite scents are in the “blind” test.
“What we love about the concept is that we’re engaging guests in a sensory-emotional context, apart from the brand name and marketing,” said David Suliteanu, president and chief executive officer of Sephora Americas. The next store to get the Fragrance Flight Bar will be Montreal’s St. Catherine’s location in June. And Toronto’s Eaton Center will also be completely updated this year. Going forward, Sephora will adapt a version of the Fragrance Flight Bar that will eventually be put into all stores. Check out Racked NY to read more about Sephora’s Flight Bars.
3. Remember how we loved Paul Smith’s 2012 Olympic Games Stamp designs? Well we’re loving the lifelong cycling enthusiast’s new pop-up cycling store at Harrods. The space will run for two months and is located on the 5th floor sports area of Harrods. Customers can pick from three products: RApha + Paul Smith cycling jerseys, an exclusive collection of bold graphic t-shirts and lastly made-to-order bicycle service from high-end manufacturers (Condor, Brompton, Mercian and Paris). Choosing from the four bicycle frames seen within the space, each unique bike will be finished with a luxury leather saddle from world-renowned British bicycle manufacturer, Brooks. Drawing reference from his cycling history, the inside of the back pocket of each Paul Smith jersey features a quote and picture from him, detailing his time as a young cyclist.
