By Laura Medina
Tomorrow, the British Consulate wants to say "Thank You" to American hospitality and Californian opportunities by returning the gratitude by launching a two-weeks long celebration of the unique mixture called "BritWeek."
It's annual confluence where quintessential British culture rub elbows and flourish in sunny, welcoming California.
BritWeek is their way of saying, "Thank You," for California's industries and opportunities for giving their talents and culture a chance to flourish beyond their expectations.
The British Consulate, in Los Angeles, is inviting a galaxy of A-List Brits.., ok, film and tv stars...to come celebrate this Tuesday night, launching this cross-cultural confluence.
Wherever there's a large Brit contingency, there's going to be a BritWeek. Orange County is doing their on April 26h, followed by San Fransisco on May 3rd. Believe it or not, Miami is jumping in too.
This scribe is returning the thank you to British hospitality by listing all the happenings in current, modern-day London...the fashionable West London...
Shoot, why not use this piece as your guide to fashion-forward, real London...
Over 100 Regent Street brands including Liberty London, Whole Foods Market, Coach, Reiss, Hollister, Gilly Hicks, sketch, Kirk Originals, Brasserie Zédel, Superdry, Ted Baker and Anthropologie are ready to engage with people that ‘sign in’ and integrate their social media accounts with the hub. The bespoke Regent Street conversations #RegentStreet, #HeddonStreet, #SwallowStreet and a selection of trending hashtags, give users the opportunity to engage with the Regent Street community, 24 hours a day.
David Shaw, Head of Regent Street
Portfolio, The Crown Estate, says: “We are delighted to offer shoppers
and visitors from all over the world a new way of engaging and enjoying
their Regent Street experience”.
From 15 April to 6 May, Regent Street London W1 will be showcasing a number of inspiring architectural installations created by cutting edge architects in partnership with RIBA
(Royal Institute of British Architects). Now in its fourth year, the Regent Street Windows Project matches a diverse range of RIBA architects with international fashion brands to create innovative window displays.
Brands participating in the Regent Street Windows Project 2013 include: Topshop working with NEON, Esprit working with naganJohnson architects, Jack Spade working with Carl Turner Architects, Ferrari Store working with Gensler, Karen Millen with Mamou-Mani and Moss Bros with AY Architects.
This initiative is part of an ongoing series of events and promotional opportunities which places Regent Street as one of the leading shopping destinations in the world. As part of this long-term strategy, Regent Street has recently seen the revival of iconic landmarks in the area balancing original architecture with contemporary restoration. This restoration of vast architectural buildings has recently welcomed to the street the largest Burberry in the world, restaurants Brasserie Zédel and MASH and the re-opening of Café Royal after being restored to its former golden-age glory.
Annie Walker, Director of the Regent Street Association, said: ‘The RIBA Regent Street Project, now in its fourth year, is getting more and more recognition. Each time I look forward to seeing the designs and marvel at the result of the collaboration between the architects and the retailers; it definitely adds to the visitor experience.’
Erkan Fere, CEO of The Left Shoe Company says: “For The Left Shoe Company, it was important for the first London store to be opened in St James’s, surrounded by excellent restaurants, hotels and services focusing on the made to measure and bespoke needs for the modern gentleman. The various premium lifestyle brands support one another. We at The Left Shoe Company feel very much home in St James’s.”
The Left Shoe Company measure customers with state of the art 3D foot scanning technology. The measuring platform analyses your precise foot size and this scan is then used to create handcrafted, made to order shoes. When selecting a style of shoe, there are four collections to choose from, contemporary, classic, modern classic and casual. From here you can select each aspect, including style, material and details creating your own bespoke footwear.
The process from measuring to walking takes six weeks and in the meantime your personal foot scan is stored and each detail added to a membership card, allowing you to then order shoes online to your specification from anywhere in the world.
The Smart Turnout pop-up takes prime position in the ground floor John Lewis menswear section and will be supported by dedicated staff with expert knowledge of the product range and the history behind it.
This collaboration comes just months after Smart Turnout opened its own dedicated store in the Princes Arcade, Piccadilly, London, SW1Y 6DS. Both the store and the John Lewis pop-up feature the refreshingly colourful Smart Turnout spring/summer 2013 collection. Every piece in the collection has a story to tell. The colours, numbers and crests are all significant. No colour combination, stripe thickness or spacing is accidental or meaningless. This is because Smart Turnout's origins lie in the regimental and sporting traditions of the British Army.
In British horse racing each rider wears a unique set of racing colours. These rules were no different for Scots Guards officer Philip Turner, who when racing at Sandown had to find a jumper in the colours of his regiment. Seeking only the finest materials and craftsmen to create his jumper, he made something that caught the eye of his fellow Guardsmen, who all requested one of their own. Recognising the high quality of these, their requests soon turned into further orders, not just for jumpers, but ties, watches, socks and other regimental items.
Fast forward to the present day and Smart Turnout is a global British fashion brand with sales of £1 million. It is stocked in premium menswear outlets around the world, including Bloomingdales & J Press in the USA; Old England in Italy; Galleries Lafayette in Dubai; Beams, Ships, United Arrows & Bay Crews in Japan; and Bean Pole & Aland in Korea. UK stockists include Harrods, Stuarts of London, YMC, Williams & Griffin (as of July 2013) and Stumper & Fielding.
For the pop up, Smart Turnout has handpicked pieces they know John Lewis customers will covet. Key on trend pieces for the SS13 season include the striking Half & Half ties, contrast-pocket t-shirts and a huge range of colourful bow ties. See for yourself in John Lewis Oxford Street, Tuesday 16 April – 30 April 2013.
John Lewis invited them to take part in their initiative to support UK brands as Smart Turnout
epitomise the hallmarks of British style: tradition, distinction and
craftsmanship. The collection combines the colours of some of Britain's
historical institutions with pieces crafted to the highest standards from the
finest materials.
Celebrity followers of Smart Turnout include One Direction front man Harry
Styles who was seen sporting the Boundary Bow Tie at a recent event.
‘InsureandGo The World on Regent Street’ will welcome destinations including: Argentina, Egypt, Great Britain, Trinidad and Tobago and Turkey with further cultural representation from Chinatown who will offer fantastic food, drink and activities and entertainment set against the backdrop of Regent Street’s famed British architecture.
Throughout the month, there will be a schedule of events including in store activities, special menus and competitions.
Free for all to attend, activities from the participating destinations will include wine sampling, cooking demonstrations and tango lessons from Argentina; folkloric performances, cuisine, fashion display and professional henna drawings from Egypt; Wallace and Gromit adventures featuring a hot air balloon brought by Great Britain; a professional steel pan band and dancing carnival from Trinidad and Tobago; coffee shop experience and food sampling with a live music band and dance floor from Turkey and Chinese drumming performance with lion dancing and martial arts demonstrations brought by Chinatown.
Regent Street continues to build on its reputation as one of the ultimate shopping and lifestyle destinations in the world, with many global fashion brands choosing to call this famous shopping thoroughfare their home. Recently, Swedish brand ‘& Other Stories’ opened at 256-258 Regent Street , introducing a new range of stylish products to join other international flagships such as Burberry, Liberty, Apple, Anthropologie, Hollister, Superdry, Coach, Sebago and Calvin Klein.
This past Saturday, independent vinyl record stores of Berwick Street Soho, London W1, joined forces to celebrate Record Store Day.
If you think shopping, browsing, sipping, drinking, and snacking...alright...let's face it, partying and socializing like a Londoner is the best way to experience being a Londoner then there is no better place than London's SoHo District.
Record Store Day has brought music lovers to Berwick Street for exclusive vinyl and CD releases and to enjoy live music, bands and DJs performing throughout the area. Showcasing a range of British music talent from 12pm till 7pm, special performances from a purpose built stage included Wire, Smoke Fairies, Frank Turner and Matthew E White as well as an eclectic mix of DJs across all genres from reggae to electronica.
Berwick Street has been a destination for vinyl record collectors since the 1980s when it became known as ‘The Golden Mile of Vinyl’. This corner of Soho is still home to central London’s largest concentration of thriving independent record shops; Reckless Records, Sister Ray and The Music and Video Exchange as well as Sounds of the Universe around the corner on Broadwick Street, Black Market Soho on D’Arblay Street and Phonica on Poland Street.
The shops, pubs and restaurants also joined in the celebrations with DJ’s playing in store, music quizzes and in-store parties. The iconic Berwick Street market was open as usual with flowers, fruit and vegetable traders as well as street food including Napoli style pizzas served by the Pizza Pilgrims from the back of a converted Piaggio van. The market also featured a music history experience from The Museum of Soho and a vinyl fair.
The official film of Record Store Day, ‘Last Shop Standing’, is a documentary which charts the rise, fall and rebirth of the independent record shop. This was screened throughout the day in a pop-up cinema space. Graham Jones, the author of the book that inspired the film made a special guest appearance with a Q&A session and to sign copies of the book and DVD.
Berwick Street has a strong music heritage and many associations with the industry. It was the location for the cover shoot of the 1995 Oasis album ‘(What’s The Story) Morning Glory’ (as seen in the window of Reckless Records). Ian Brown cycled backwards down Berwick Street in the music video for F.E.A.R. and T-Rex front man Marc Bolan worked on his mum’s stall on Berwick Street market in the 1960s.*
Berwick Street is a vibrant urban community with a rich heritage in the heart of London’s Soho. Discover traditional London pubs, bespoke tailoring, textiles, vintage, food, fashion and of course independent record stores. Berwick Street is London for Londoners.
If you caught the "London Buzz" from all these BritWeek parties and fairs, or you're an Anglophile, then this is an oopportune time to jump in real, modern-day London.
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