I really hope that I'm not just typing this in jet-lag stupor and that I am in fact making some inkling of a valid point because god forbid that I wake up tomorrow and realise that this is blurry blot on the blog that needs to be deleted (I've never EVER deleted a post...).
Here goes though... in a blurry sun drenched drive from Heathrow airport straight to work this morning, I caught sight of the longstanding ex-Virgin Megastore building on the corner of Regent Street on Piccadilly that was then turned into Zavvi and post Zavvi-meltdown was lying empty for aaages. For anybody who hasn't been to London, the space is huuge (33,875 sq ft to be exact). This is old news to some but it was news to me when I saw these posters up in the window declaring that "The Sting", a "network of brands" of "international fashion" is set to open in Spring 2010.
Without even researching what the heck The Sting is, I already sat in the back of the cab fuming to myself like the middle-aged busy body that I am. Everything about the poster from the font to the graphics to the wording was odious. With two swift phrases of 'international fashion' and 'network of brands' I already had visions of sad racks of polo shirts and stacks of tired jeans. As it turns out, The Sting is a Dutch chain of stores that is looking to advance into the UK market with brands like erm...Costes, Cotton Club, Hallinger New Zealand, Miss America, and Stangata. I'm trying to bite my tongue here and yes, this will come off sounding sadly snobby but there you go.
Whilst I'm in full comprehension of my stubborn battiness, I am reasonable though. Of COURSE I'm not expecting Dover Street Market Nr. 2 to drop down on the space and OF COURSE I'm aware of the fact that casual wear flies off shelves like nobody's business. Just look at the droves of people that go to Abercrombie and Fitch near Savile Row (if i had a penny for every tourist asking me for directions to a store that I have never even set my foot inside...grrr). The Sting may have added bile to another ex-Zavvi store on the butt-end of Oxford Street currently being inhabited by a shop called Hyper Hyper which of course bears no resemblance to the Hyper Hyper Londoners will know from the Kensington High Street market days...
In my dusty brain there were hopes that the Crown Estate who are responsible for the conservation and development of Regent Street would have more pride in 1 Piccadilly Building. I very naively dreamt of a reinstatement of a department store; Barkers or Derry & Toms perhaps. Or perhaps the physical version of what CultureLabel.com sells on their site combined with an expansive place for tea and cakes (tourists escaping to Starbuck's in the heart of London is also a bit of sad affair...). Something a bit fee and twee in its quintessential Englishness but it's ok, because the location commands a bit of tweeness. Yes, this is STILL Batty British Lady speaking and I'm sticking to it because I'm allowed to be mad in my jet-lag stupor.
I'm pre-judging of course. I've yet to see what The Sting is ACTUALLY all about but I definitely knew I was a bit STUNG when I got back to London.
(Pics of offending windows from The London Insider)
