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SELFRIDGES OPENS THE BIG BRITISH SHOP: THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITISH PRODUCTSRed, white and blue have never looked so cool
From 4 May, Selfridges will launch the Big British Shop, one of several major initiatives making up the Big British Bang, the store’s all-encompassing creative homage to the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics staged during the most important cultural and sporting year in Great Britain’s history for decades. The Big British Shop at Selfridges will be the ultimate destination to indulge any appetite for true-blue British shopping.
The Big British Shop will take over the Wonder Room’s Concept Store, Selfridges’ foremost space for unique rolling retail experiences. There, dozens of products ranging from fashion to food will go on display, all irresistibly loaded with British character and cultural references. The majority of these products has been exclusively designed and curated for Selfridges by some of the most iconic British brands. Many of them take the visual essence of Britishness – the Union Jack, as their creative starting point whilst the Queen’s likeness is a central reference for the Big British Shop’s Tiara Shop and the Shop Like The Queen’s curated corner which also features an exhibition of historic coronation gloves by Dents.
Shop like a Brit!
Sometimes literally used, but often deconstructed, the Union Jack is almost everywhere within the Big British Shop: from Union Jack-lined Barbour jackets to bespoke navy blazers with a Union Jack embroidered motif by Gieves & Hawkes. Part of the product mix also includes Fred Perry’s polo shirts designed by artist Peter Blake and hand-knitted striped hunting socks by Emma Willis and her hand-finished, proper British boxer shorts. More of Savile Row features via Richard James with a beautifully crystallised silk pocket square whilst Mulberry embellishes its best-selling Bayswater bag with a Union Jack clasp and Rupert Sanderson puts his patriotic foot forward with a pair of glossy red white and blue strappy heels.
Clockwise from left: Gieves & Hawkes Union Jack Scarf, £75; Exclusive YSL Limited Edition Eyeshadow Quad, £69; Exclusive Alexander McQueen Clutch, £1,095
The Big British Shop also offers plenty of room for lateral thinking in the interpretation of British identity. From Nicholas Kirkwood’s crazy pearly queen six-inch heels and even Ted Baker offering an accessories collection with typically English halcyon days references.
Vivienne Westwood completes the starry line up of British designers contributing to Selfridges’ Big British Bang by designing a series of windows for the store as well as a flag-like scarf, a dress and a series of t-shirts.
On the home front – literally – much is on offer too. Tom Dixon collaborates exclusively with Osborne and Little to pack his iconic wingback chair with a Scottish punch via a new range tartan upholstery, Mr Wingate creates embroidered cushions featuring iconic London sights (including Selfridges), Emma Bridgewater showcases a new Jubilee collection and the Selfridges’ home buying team has scoured the
country to salvage vintage coronation and Jubilee pieces full of history and charm – from original 1953 tea cups to coronation biscuit tins.
The Tiara Shop
Focusing on the most visually telling sign of royal status – the tiara, Selfridges salutes the Queen’s Jubilee with the Tiara Shop, the ultimate destination for tiaras. Part of the Big British Shop, the Tiara Shop will showcase several tiara designs with prices ranging from H&M’s £14.99 creation, to Tiffany’s one-off £52,500 diamond Grace tiara and pieces beyond the £1million mark. Affordable replicas of the tiaras worn by Lady Diana and Kate Middleton on their wedding day or Audrey Hepburn in the film Roman Holiday are also part of the mix. World-renowned jewellery brands within Selfridges’ Wonder Room including Chopard and Boucheron will open their vault to release seldom-seen pieces, thus contributing to the unique appeal of this special Tiara Shop. There will simply be no excuse not to shine like the Queen on her Jubilee day.
Clockwise from left: Exclusive Charlotte Olympia Pearly Queen Shoe, £1,895; Exclusive Mulberry Bayswater, £795; Eclusive Vivienne Westwood Tartan Envelope Bag, £240
Clockwise from left: Exclusive Tatty Devine Gold Crown Tiara, £126; Exclusive Replica Kate Middleton Tiara, £69; Tiffany Grid Tiara, £23,000
Shop like the Queen and the Dents exhibition of historic royal gloves
The authentic Queen look features the Launer bag – the Queen’s favourite make, the Fulton umbrella, a selection of headscarves and Dents gloves. Find all of them within The Big British Shop where in addition to these iconic items, Dents has been invited to curate a mini exhibition of historic gloves to include Charles I coronation gloves and the never-before-seen in public Queen Elizabeth I coronation glove. Additional relics include Queen’s Victoria’s morning gloves and several Jubilee celebration gloves, all created to celebrate her illustrious reign. As well as these historic pieces, Dents will launch a special edition Jubilee 2012 glove designed exclusively for Selfridges. For Queen fans, the Big British Shop will also feature numerous products all bearing her royal likeness – from cushions, masks, bunting and novelty party decorations, to Dunoon’s official Jubilee’s crockery.
Clockwise from left: Exclusive Dents Diamond Jubilee Gloves, £99; Queen Elizabeth I’s Coronation Glove; Exclusive Dents Union Jack Gloves, £99; Fulton Birdcage Umbrella, £16; Launer Handbag, £1,057
Exclusive Bespoke Corgi, £1,953
Bruno BarbaBrand PR ManagerT +44 (0) 20 7318 3204E [email protected]
Kitty McGeeFashion PR ManagerT +44 (0) 20 7318 3397E [email protected]
Barbie KaffelBeauty PR ManagerT +44 (0) 20 7318 1395E [email protected]
Georgia FrostFood & Home Press OfficerT +44 (0) 20 7318 2499E [email protected]
CONTACT DETAILSFor further information and images, please contact:
Selfridges’ take on the Olympic Games – The Urban Survival Backpacks
No one doubts that amid the joy of hosting the Olympic Games, Londoners will also have to cope with what hosting such games is likely to bring along with them. The extraordinary influx of tourists and the congested transport system are only two of the most obvious examples. So Selfridges has decided to help lighten the load and keep people smiling and stress-free by commissioning a series of Urban Survival backpacks from British and international brands including Anya Hindmarch, Vivienne Westwood and Paul Smith as well as 3.1 Philip Lim, Junya Watanabe and Nike. They each give their interpretation of what it would take to survive London during the Olympics. Each backpack comes complete with a full survival kit curated – and in most cases created, by the brand especially for this special commission.There will be a Selfridges’ own survival kit too, featuring a bespoke Eastpak bag – the 109 survival backpack, named after the pantone reference of Selfridges’ iconic yellow. It will come with a selection of Selfridges yellow products including an A-Z, an umbrella, a special edition Wallpaper City Guide, a bar of Kendal Mint cake and other practical and fun goodies. The Urban Survival backpacks will launch within the Big British Shop from 21 June.
Visit www.selfridges.com/bigbritishbangfor further info
Top: 3.1 Philip Lim Urban Survival Backpack, £495;Bottom: Anya Hindmarch Urban Surival Backpack, £250
