London designers Shed and creative director Nick Hart have completed the new flagship store for fashion brand Spencer Hart, located in a former bank in Mayfair, London.
Garments are displayed on a circular glass table suspended from the ceiling, arranged on long wooden steps and hung from circular apertures in a dividing screen.
A VIP lounge is locked away inside the former bank vault, and is so exclusive that Spencer Hart won't release pictures of it.
We've previously featured Shed's shoe salon for top London department store Harrods.
Photography is by Ed Reeve.
Here are some more details from Shed:
SPENCER HART FLAGSHIP LAUNCHES IN MAYFAIR A DESIGN COLLABORATION BETWEEN INTERIOR ARCHITECTS SHED AND NICK HART
After meeting with Shed, Nick Hart - Founder and Creative Director of Spencer Hart knew this was the right team to create his London flagship; This was however just the beginning of a two-year collaboration between the two creatives and the resulting store is the embodiment of the Spencer Hart brand today. Shed’s brief was to manifest Hart’s vision of a mid-century, modern utopia populated by the likes of Sinatra, Warhol and Kerouac, into a fresh and modern retail world for men.
Nick Stringer, Director at Shed says, ‘The Spencer Hart Flagship on Brook Street represents a huge step forward in men’s tailoring and the world of men’s retail. This true design collaboration between us (Shed) and Nick Hart has resulted in a stunning environment which defines and houses the many different ‘worlds’ of Spencer Hart.
Shed are leading experts in designing luxury, retail environments with originality and impact. Their first class credentials are reflected in the creation of flagships, stores, exhibitions and departments for global brands such as Vertu, Harrods, Barbour, Hunter and Nokia. Nick Stringer himself has delivered Miu Miu and Prada flagships worldwide as former Prada Project Director
The Spencer Hart Flagship will be presented within a period Neo-Georgian building, a former bank situated on the corner of Mayfair’s Brook Street. Shed has worked with many of the original features including the opening up of the highly fenestrated windows, impressive entrance Portico and retained the high bank ceilings. In addition the basement vaults are to house a seductive, VIP space (images and narrative not available for release).
The World of Spencer Hart
The different worlds of Spencer Hart have been reflected in the new flagship, with environments for the forward thinking ‘business’ man and Avante Garde ‘architect’. Shed was also briefed to devise spaces that worked commercially for showcasing and selling the new collections of denim, underwear, luggage, shoes and scents.
Nick Hart’s overall vision is a new culture for men’s tailoring where the ‘suiting’ core business is maintained against a backdrop of new product lines; books, films, music and art are presented as integral parts of the World of Spencer Hart and customers are encouraged to browse, purchase or just enjoy.
Spencer Hart Palm Springs
Nick Hart says, ‘The store is about Savile Row and Palms Springs; it began as an out-there reference but has become physical in terms of both store-design and products.
Spencer Hart Palm Springs is the casual wear, the scent - every non-suiting offering which will be at the flagship’.
‘It’s a sub-brand, a whole story and world about Palm Springs’ relationship to Savile Row which I have created. Palm Springs as the world of cool was the epicentre and in some respects it still is. Savile Row will still remain the core of what we do, however we are taking on a lot of new design challenges by applying specific rules to each new product category to deliver credibility across each sector’.
‘An example of this particular inspiration manifesting itself in the design process’ says Shed’s Nick Stringer, ‘is the stunning, handmade sculptured wall that will run through the middle of the store. The wall is constructed from geometric blocks inspired by Palm Springs’ Parker Hotel’.
‘This tessellated, iconic shape has become a 3D object; a mini sculpture and main feature born out of geometry. It is now the backbone to the whole store, the essence of which has now been applied to several elements of the brand.’
Luxurious and Holistic Design
Nick Hart’s underlying vision and iconic cultural references have impacted upon products, interior architecture, colour, shape, atmosphere and packaging. An abstract glass watch case sits on terraces of soft suede, adding a swath of luxury to every corner of the space;
A period, fibrous plaster ceiling finish, completes the modern delivery of a classic texture - punctuated by high performance luminaires.
The collaboration with Nick Hart has also become an opportunity for Shed to work in a holistic manner; For example the team were further commissioned to create a series of packaging, of which the visual iconography derives from ideas first explored within the design of the space. Stringer says, ‘This (brand work) was an unconventional route of ‘brand’ following ‘interior’ but the iconic mark, gleaned from the feature wall helps packaging and interior deliver a holistic vibe of mid-century cool. We are fortunate to have had a design hand in almost everything in the flagship’.
Hart says, ‘The Spencer Hart universe is an edited version of a world that doesn't really exist. It’s a world I put out there ten years ago and was very much to do with the relationship between black American musicians and the United Kingdom’.
‘It’s the ultimate men’s world of design cool inhabited by various male icons from different eras – Miles, Bowie, Sinatra, Hopper and Warhol that have shaped rightly or wrongly, the modern concept of hip masculinity’.
Spencer Hart Flagship
62-64 Brook St,
London W1K 5DH.