It’s fair to say that the state of retail as it stands is under a lot of pressure, particularly in the luxury market, which is why I wanted to spotlight a rather unsung hero for consumers that plays into the mix on an increasing level – the outlet mall.
This Op-Ed piece on Business of Fashion which states that the “Future of Retail Is The End of Wholesale” makes some highly valid points that I can vouch for first hand as a creative who has had his product sold in major department stores only to out-price our own values and therefore have a hefty price increase to the end of line customer which, frankly, wouldn’t need to be that high if the brand had stronger control of its distribution channels. This is where the function of the outlet mall or brand owned concession outlet comes into play. With trends fading and catwalk ideologies becoming more irrelevant, a place where customers can experience a brand first hand and shop it at a discounted/more controlled price is the outlet.
Last week I went to explore Bicester Village – for those of you that don’t know – Bicester Village is an international luxury shopping destination – a mere 45 minutes from London Marylebone on the train and offers the choice of hundreds of brands from Fendi to Saint Laurent, The Kooples to Sandro, Loewe to Moncler. It’s the Disneyland of fashion with no queues and no attitude. The reason I wanted to explore, is because with the resurgence of menswear – the Bicester Village offering is so much more robust than any other British outlet malls. To put this to the test, I pulled and styled three looks – one contemporary, one smart alternative, and one summer with a bit of a preppy Cruel Intentions vibe.
It’s with great pleasure that I am sharing the first of these looks – all shot on site at the beautiful Bicester Village (photography by Alex Lord). Fashion credits under the images!
Jacket by The Kooples, bag and shoes by Bally, sunglasses by Armani available via David Clulow, t-shirt from Reiss, jeans by Diesel. All available at Bicester Village.
I’ll be continuing this three part series on the retail market and Bicester Village with the other two looks and a short video, so make sure to keep scrolling.
Bicester Village Summer Opening Hours are 9pm throughout June and 7pm Sunday. In July and August Bicester Village is open every Thursday Friday and Saturday until 10pm.