Do you know Mount Street in Mayfair?
London is a city with many, many “villages”, they all unique in their way and all worth a visit.
When I first moved to London Mount Street was nothing special, a part of Mayfair more concerned with property rentals and offices space. Not any more, Mount Street is a destination and a day out.
Mount Street, around the corner from Berkeley Square and not far from Park Lane is not only pretty but also the pulse for fabulous restaurants, coffee shops and boutiques. Not to forget, the Connaught Hotel.
The boutiques have changed Mount Street because they are bringing to retail what we have been missing. When we talked online shopping earlier in the week we touched on the need for “bricks and mortar” retail to re-invent itself in order to compete with the ease and facility of online shopping. Mount Street has done just that.
It’s a street where boutiques are more than shopping centres, especially at Christopher Kane; a relatively new kid on the Mount Street block.
Christopher Kane’s boutique is an architectural space, a stunning interior and an exhibition centre where his creations simply enhance. Of course the boutique is about his fashion and accessories line but it is so much more. When I walked in, admittedly attracted by a lace skirt (one of his signature pieces) hanging in the window, I quickly forgot and was submerged into the tranquillity and beauty of the store. In London this is a precious thing; retail is not always so generous.
The boutique was designed by John Pawson, a British architectural designer well known for his minimalist aesthetic and while retaining the Edwardian facade the interiors have been re-created to draw the eye to contrasts. In parts classical and in parts contemporary the space made me feel as if no two visits would be the same. Yes it’s minimalist in the way one has come to expect from Pawson, but the Christopher Kane boutique is also warm and inviting.
There are many beautiful stores on Mount Street but Kane’s has something unexpected and unpredictable. The experience was about so much more than shopping. Yes the clothes are dreamy and covetable, especially the lace pieces, but I didn’t need to buy to feel spoilt; it was enough to be.
I stepped into an elegant and arresting interior that just so happened to be a world of high fashion. xv
Meet Christopher Kane
embellished lace midi skirt // sequinned lace and mesh skirt // crepe de chine shirt // boucle tweed jacket
Christopher Kane
