Victoria Beckham knows a thing or two about shopping.
The British pop-star turned style icon, now designer, has revolutionised he way women will shop with her first-ever boutique store in Mayfair, London.
The Dover Street store opens today, but don’t expect to find Beckham proudly positioned behind the store’s till – because there are no tills to speak of.
Nor is there a display window or rails of designer frocks as soon as you enter the 6,000 square feet store.
“We’re not going to have any ugly tills anywhere,” Beckham explained in a recent interview.
“Payment is with an iPad, so we can go to the customer on whatever floor she’s on.”
The huge contemporary space is completely understated with concrete floors and dominated by a soaring staircase.
“It’s the first time people can see the brand through my eyes,’” Beckham told reporters.
“I didn’t want a traditional shop window, just a plain window, and a huge concrete sliding door.”
“It is unrecognisable from the original space,” she revealed.
‘The floors weren’t connected, and I said, “Wouldn’t it be incredible to drill a hole through all three floors, so you could stand on the top floor and see the ground floor. I didn’t think it would be possible, but it was.”
An American walnut bench acts as a seat and ‘cash and wrap’ area. Colourful handbags adorn one entire wall – looking like as much of an art feature as a product display.
Tucked away on the left are smaller leather goods like purses and key rings (starting from £150) and sunglasses.
The more affordable Victoria – Victoris Beckham collection is also on display along a zig-zag rail that echo the designer’s initials.
A bottle-green glass wall defines the changing rooms which writers have been happily reporting as decently sized with generous rail space and a bench to sit on.
The mother-of-four, whose youngest child, Harper, is just three, said: ‘There’s plenty of room if somebody’s got a child with them – a child can wait. [There is] lots of hanging space, space where they can put their bags down.”
Husbands and partners have also been carefully considered with a cluster of wooden benches and a giant screen that streams catwalk shows at the other end.
“I’ve been very lucky in the past that David’s been shopping and bought me gifts,’ she says. ‘I want men to know that whether it’s for a birthday or Christmas, Valentine’s Day, whatever it might be, a guy can come here and select the right gift. That’s very important for me. I don’t want an intimidating environment. We’ve all been shopping and felt awkward. I don’t want that.”
But with handbags and main collection dresses starting from £1,500, those men will need deep pockets if they are shopping here.
Fans will be happy to hear that the fashionista does promise to be a regular feature of the store, even if she can’t quite believe how far she has come.
Five years ago, if you’d said that I’d have a store on Dover Street, I’d never have believed it,’ she admited. ‘I feel really really lucky.’
The new Victoria Beckham store is at 36 Dover Street, London W1. For more information visit www.victoriabeckham.com
