Cutting across Bond Street the other day was nothing short of depressing. At the crossroads with Brook Street where Fenwicks sat, three out of the four corner stores are empty. Opposite the old department store is the boarded-up chasm of where Victoria’s Secret once had queues out the door.
However, if you look under the surface in this town, everyone’s still shopping — in a more local, covert, plain brown paper bag sort of way. At last week’s Simone Rocha sample sale at the designers’ studio in Haggerston, fans were queuing in the rain to get hold of her marked-down dresses. Rocha is having more than a white-hot minute. In January her haute couture collection for Jean Paul Gaultier was a viral and industry hit; her recent Croc collaboration sold out in 10 minutes. It’s unsurprising then that Chanel face Keira Knightley was spotted rummaging at the VIP preview before it opened to the public. Even movie stars love a bargain.
