The Crown Estate has provided the dedicated space, and worked with the council and New West End Company (NWEC), to create a unique opportunity for independent brands to promote their products on one of the most famous shopping streets in the world.
After a competitive selection process, the six chosen brands are Saywood, Lab Tonica, LR.D, Buttress & Snatch, Petit Pli and 4649.REC.
From now until October 27, each brand has been given a dedicated space within the store called The Regent Street Edit which they have customised to communicate the authenticity of their products and the story behind them.
Visitors are able to have a personal and distinctive shopping experience as they move through the store with the opportunity to interact with the brand’s founders and learn the sustainability practices that underpin their products.
Some of the unique sustainability techniques include the upcycling of vintage family kimonos to create items from jackets to lampshades to the art of slow tailoring to craft unique pieces of lingerie from local suppliers with zero waste.
In addition to the brands themselves, the store itself has been produced with sustainability in mind.
Coordinated by Visual Branding Agency, Jupiter, sustainable materials have been widely used throughout the store from the large message board on arrival created from 80% recycled plastic bottles to the furniture fixings made from sterling board, an eco-friendly material of recycled wood particles.
At the end of the project, all the materials will be collected to be repurposed for future projects or sent to the closest recycling plant to generate green energy.
By experimenting using space in a different way, it is hoped that the project will support the brands to grow their customer base, educate consumers about sustainability and attract more visitors back to the area.
The timing of the Regent Street Edit correlates with London Fashion Week and NWEC’s sustainable fashion month.
Cllr Matthew Green, Cabinet Member for Business, Licensing and Planning at Westminster City Council, said:
The Regent Street Edit supports two of Westminster City Council's key objectives: attracting footfall back to the West End and sustainability. It also allows us to invest in budding entrepreneurs by giving them the opportunity to grow their businesses on one of the world's greatest shopping streets. This is the seventh pop-up to be supported in the West End by Westminster City Council and I'm confident that it will attract residents and visitors alike to enjoy an immersive and intimate shopping experience that supports sustainable fashion.
Bob Dawson, Head of Regent Street at The Crown Estate said:
Bringing our spaces to life with brands that promote sustainability is a step towards our shared vision of creating destinations that make a meaningful difference. It is great to part of this initiative, with our partners, providing independent businesses a unique opportunity to showcase their brand in a prime central London location.
Luciana Magliocco, Associate Director of Marketing at New West End Company said:
We are thrilled to be giving inspiring new business leaders the opportunity to showcase their brands and offerings in London’s West End. The High Street is evolving and the past year has been a catalyst for more rapid change. We are ready to embrace and welcome new ideas and sustainable business models to ensure our district remains relevant to future visitors and responds to changing customer trends. The temporary new landscape created by the pop-up ventures will help to feed the evolution of the West End’s post-Covid environment and retail & leisure ecosystem.
The six brands
Saywood
Saywood was created in 2020 by Harriet Saywood-Bellisario, who graduated from the London College of Fashion before working at Paul Smith, Richard Nicoll and Label/Mix. Each season, Saywood’s starting points are classics contemporised with unexpected details; the first collection comprises shirts and shirtdresses - the ultimate wardrobe staple. The collection delivers beautiful edits of wardrobe essentials, both modern and timeless, with each piece made to be worn and re-worn. At the heart of its story is a desire to reconnect with the people and processes behind what we wear, and in doing so, press pause on throwaway fashion.
“I launched Saywood to help change the face of sustainable fashion through an ethical lens, one piece at a time. To offer consumers the chance to build up their own sustainable wardrobe, adding to what they already have, slowly with consideration. To be a part of the pop up at 88 Regent Street is such an incredible opportunity for such a new brand; I am so excited to be able to showcase Saywood here alongside the amazing brands participating in the initiative”.
Buttress & Snatch
Buttress & Snatch veteran UK indie lingerie brand, founded by Rachel Kenyon, has been producing fine pieces of artisanal underwear and swimwear in London for over 20 years. Their work is all made to order and cut individually using responsibly sourced modern and eco tech lingerie fabrics mixed with silks, organic textiles, recycled cottons finished with a treasured collection of vintage lace trims. They’ve been top spot Indie sustainable lingerie brand for two years running and do not dull down design for mass production but handmade all work in house for all-body inclusivity.
We're really excited to have the opportunity to show what we do in a physical space after being online only for the last ten years. A lot of the custom and bespoke work that we make never makes it to the photography stage, so we'll delight in the chance to show some of our finest artisanal one off pieces in the real.
4649.REC
4649.REC was born during lockdown in founder and designer Yumi Sakaki ’s studio in London. During this time of isolation, she began disassembling vintage family kimonos sent from Japan by her mother and transforming them into everyday attire. Lovingly crafted by Yumi and local designers, each piece is a unique and exclusive one-off you will not find elsewhere. Based in London, an area full of multi-culture influence, the pieces appeal to an audience who appreciate eastern/Japanese aesthetics and cultures, as well as those who advocate for sustainability.
This area has always been the key place for any Japanese visitors and residents in the UK, and it is an honour to be taking part in this initiative. We are looking forward to connecting with a wider audience and showcase that we can look good while caring for people and the planet.
Petit Pli
Petit Pli, founded in 2017 by aeronautical engineer, Ryan Mario Yasin, invents and applies groundbreaking material technologies that solve problems for individuals, businesses and the planet across the textiles value chain. It all started with Ryan’s nephew. Shortly after Vigo was born Ryan gifted him clothes, but by the time they arrived they were already too small. Inspired by his background in deployable satellite technology, Ryan created a garment that would grow with his nephew, reducing water and carbon footprints, and the need to keep buying new clothes. Soon after, Petit Pli was born and Clothes That Grow went on to win multiple awards.
In the wake of Covid-19, retail has been forced to innovate through digital offerings and collaborations, and increasingly, sustainability is also top of mind. Every second, an entire truck's worth of clothes is burned or buried in a rubbish dump, and at Petit Pli we are urgently working to help solve the crisis of waste and responsible consumption in fashion. We are honoured to have been selected by The Crown Estate and Westminster to pop up at 88 Regent Street over September and October and we look forward to engaging with many passers-by, discussing novel methods of sustainability and responsible consumption.
LR.D
Launched for Summer 2021 by Sydney-born and London-based designer, Lily Rose Dambelli set up LR.D to inspire a different relationship between women and their wardrobes. LR.D is driven first and foremost by the commitment to ethical, sustainable and fully traceable fabrics creating a conscious curation of timeless, versatile styles designed for all occasions. Manufactured in London, every piece has been thoughtfully considered and fabrics selected based on their sustainable credentials. The first collection, ‘Keeping in Good Company’ celebrates the art and versatility of everyday dressing with clever designs seen across dresses and trousers creating ‘two-in-one’ styles for an effortless wardrobe.
I am thrilled to be part of the Regent Street Edit pop-up, my first retail space since launching my label in Summer 2021. The prime position retail space offers a brilliant platform to showcase my first collection alongside five other incredible sustainable brands. Thank you to the Crown Estate, Westminster Council and NWEC for the opportunity to be part of the initiative and utilising spaces for new brands.
Lab Tonica
After working at creative agency, BBH London in Soho for eight years, Kitty McEntee created herbal wellness brand Lab Tonica. Lab Tonica is a contemporary new wellness brand, bringing the healing power of plants to an urban audience. Every sip of their tea, smudge of their balm and spritz of their mists contains century old knowledge, sustainable techniques and the finest herbal ingredients to nurture inside and out.
I devised Lab Tonica during the pandemic in response to rising societal wellbeing issues and my desire to share my passion and knowledge for herbalism with others. My aim was to challenge the dusty old stereotypes of herbalism with cutting edge design, a sustainable process and collections designed around peoples’ lives. To be able to showcase Lab Tonica at the 88 Regent Street Pop Up is a dream come true for a 6-month-old start up brand!
Published: 7 September 2021