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Retail news: Retail choice - Urban Outfitters, Oxford Street
When designer Nick McMahon was given the brief for the Urban Outfitters store on Oxford Street, he must have been terrified. The concept demands an eclectic mix of clothes, furniture, accessories and kitsch, while showcasing high-profile modern clothing brands (Evisu, Diesel, Levi's) as well as vintage wear, all under one roof.
As if that were not hard enough, the store also had to woo the Oxford Street shopper. The retailer already has stores in Covent Garden and Kensington High Street, but I doubt whether matching the cold and sterile look of the latter would have worked in W1's shopping mecca.
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Yet McMahon's design succeeds. The Oxford Street branch is as funky as its Kensington counterpart, without being as self-consciously cool (there's no DJ and very little open brickwork or steel). The walls sport warm, stylish wallpapers, which are for sale, there is art on the roof and the brightly coloured vintage furniture makes the place feel accessible and fun. It's the sort of environment where a £2600 sideboard can sit alongside a plastic George W doll uttering classic Bushisms, including 'It isn't pollution that is harming our environment, it's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it'.
It's a slice of New York, bang in the middle of mainstream London. Anyone who remembers the C&A store which occupied this site previously will surely agree that this can only be a good thing.
Design - Nick McMahon.
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