Dover Street Market Market Sample Sale

A few posts ago I wrote about the new Dover Street Market in Ginza, Tokyo. Now's the turn of London. All this weekend Dover Street Market are hosting a sample sale at Bloomsbury Square. The theme this year is museum, with a vast array of clothing and accessories from past seasons from all Comme des Garçons collections, plus some other brands such as Celine, Peter Pilotto and Erdem. Most of the products were between 50-70% off, I spotted some gorgeous Erdem skirts (if only they had been in a smaller size!) and even a Comme des Garçons jacket which looked like it was from their AW 2011 collection, with bulbous black forms growing from the shoulders and sleeves. Although I didn't end up buying anything, the sale is still worth going to. It's on until Sunday 13th May from 10am to 7pm at Victoria House, Bloomsbury Square, WC1B 4DA.

Images: My own on Instagram

Dover Street Market Ginza, Tokyo

The newly restored 1946 Ginza Komatsu department store in Tokyo's upmarket shopping district Ginza, has recently gained two new additions; the world's biggest Uniqlo and the first international outlet of London's Dover Street Market. Founder of Comme des Garçons, Rei Kawakubo, first set up her avant-garde department store eight years ago in Mayfair's Dover Street, gaining a reputation for handpicked and cutting-edge fashion, art and design. The Ginza store features over 60 fashion labels, each designer with complete artistic freedom for their display, and with Kawakubo customising the Comme des Garçons displays. The result: a beautiful but chaotic shopping experience set within this former office building; antique cupboards are reworked into changing rooms, a life-sized plaster elephant by Stephanie Quayle has been placed in the Louise Vuitton booth, and a vending machine produces special DSM Ginza T-shirts. The six floors of fashion are tied together with an installation by the Japanese sculptor, Kohei Nawa; 'Pulse' features diagonal white splinters that conceal the many escalators and direct shoppers between a montage of luxury and streetwear brands. As Kawakubo describes on the Dover Street Market website; "the mixing up and coming together of different kindred souls who all share a strong personal vision". 

Images: Wallpaper

The Céline Space, Dover Street Market

The new Céline space at London's Dover Street Market is sleek, sophisticated, and modern, perfectly complimenting and showing off Phoebe Philo's elegant and simple pieces. The position of the space in the store, also says something about the brand's designs; it is located on the unofficial 'menswear floor' including Comme des Garçons Homme Deux, Margiela and Raf Simons. Philo's androgynous, interchangeable and uncomplicated clothes settle well accompanied by other menswear brands, as opposed to some of the more frivolous womenswear clothing. The importance of this show space is furthermore implicated in the context of London; there is no flagship store for Céline. The entire space was conceived and designed by Philo herself without the use of a set designer or architect. The result are strong black rails holding statement pieces and low grey boxes to display the current must-have bags. 

Images: AnOther