Logos and lollies: shop like it's 2018

From monogrammed ‘it’ bags to designer ice creams, luxury labels are going wild in the aisles this summer, says Karen Dacre 
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Karen Dacre31 July 2018

It's officially silly season. Cue holiday exoduses, Tuesday hangovers and Twitter feeds filled with the headline “Cute duck joins fox for journey on Jubilee line”. Truly, there’s nothing like London in August.

Yes, while New York has fall and Paris has spring, silly season is a dessert best enjoyed here in the capital. A fact you’ll know only too well if you’ve felt the true joy of stepping onto a sweaty Central line carriage in rush hour to find not one but three free seats.

Keen to capitalise on the carnival attitude is Fendi, which has chosen August as the month to launch the most off-the-wall venture in its history. Shaking off its serious Milanese temperament (think jaw-droppingly expensive fur coats and stores merchandised with mathematical precision), the Italian giant unveils its own kiosk — housed within the Corner Shop space in Selfridges.

Open to the public from today until the end of the month, the kiosk takes its inspiration from those found in a traditional Roman piazza and will combine some of the brand’s most exciting new launches with a Fendi balloon stall (distributed twice a day, free of charge), a retro photo booth (think drunken wedding fun in a high-fashion setting) and an ice-cream stall courtesy of famous Italian ice cream brand Steccolecco (never before available in London), which will sell ice-cream flavours on Fendi-branded sticks.

Fendi's pop-up in Selfriges (Fendi )
Fendi

By all accounts, it’s going to be a right laugh. Or at least a mood lightener for those who find the £4 required to splash out on designer lolly and a postcard to be a much a much more realistic price than a four-figure sum for a handbag.

Of course, there will be much to tantalise the big spenders too. Notably Fendi’s collaboration with Fila and Instagram sensation Hey Reilly —as seen on the catwalk in February.

Lollies from a custom-made FENDI x Steccolecco Gelato stand (Fendi )
Fendi

Over at Harrods, albeit with a more subdued atmosphere, Dior will also be making its bid to make the most of the August shopper with a pop-up retail venture and visual treat.

Celebrating the house’s signature Oblique — or canvas — line, the pop-up will include a personalisation service from which customers can have their initials embroidered onto the “book” bag, thus scoring themselves a VIP airport favourite.

You can personalise your own book bag
Dior

The space, certain to incite Diormania among super fans, will also house logo sweaters and scarves emblazoned with the slogan “C’est non, non et non”. While the most affordable additions to Dior’s pop-up include a scarf at £150 and a set of friendship bracelets at £250, the venture, like Fendi’s kiosk, does offer a more accessible path to customers who are excited by the idea of luxury fashion. Not least because in creating these super-stylish playgrounds big-budget brands are offering a retail opportunity that doubles as an experience.

Dior friendship bracelets, £250
Dior

Experiential shopping is arguably where retail is at right now with more and more brands looking for creative ways to capture the consumer’s attention. Customers are no longer content with going into a shop and buying something — they can do this from the comfort of their sofa — and so retailers must work harder to entice them out of the house and into stores — and then encourage them to come back for more. It’s out of this desire to keep bricks-and-mortar shopping alive that “retailtainment” was born.

For the major department stores that continue to prioritise the 3D customer over her digital counterpart, transforming the shop floor into a tourist attraction has become a crucial part of the business with Selfridges very much experts in the field.

The latest in a long line of ventures is the Corner Shop space which houses Fendi’s kiosk and is among the most successful of its experiential ideas. Sebastian Manes, Selfridges’ director of buying and merchandising, puts the demand for experiential shopping down to our collective desire for the next big thing. “The concept of pop-up and the effect on luxury retail confirms that customers want to experience new ideas and product drops. The desire for newness and exclusive opportunity is thriving and we in retail have to adapt accordingly.”

Not so silly after all.

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