Biggest shoe store opens in London
CONTINUING ITS legacy of offering the best shopping experience, Selfridges launched the world’s biggest women’s shoe store last week. The store holds over 100,000 pairs at one time in its lavish 35,000 sq ft of dedicated shoe space named “The Shoe Galleries”.
Shoppers are spoilt for choice as nearly 5,000 different styles from over 150 designers are on display. With six major salons holding high street brands, eleven luxury-brand boutiques, and everything from Lanvin to Topshop, the Shoe Galleries is every woman’ shoe-fantasy come true.
“We take pride in the breadth of choice we offer our customers. The same way Selfridges prides itself on being egalitarian and welcoming to all in everything we do, we wanted a shoe offer that addressed every wish and every budget from inexpensive to something unique like our world exclusive new designer Chau Har Lee,” says Sebastian Manes, Selfridges director of accessories and shoes.
A seven-feet-tall-bedazzled stiletto impresses you as you walk into the salon space accommodating shoes from River Island, All Saints, Roger Vivier and the likes on thin shell-like concrete tables and bespoke tables made of vintage shoe lasts, crowded with very excited shoe fanatics. As you go deeper into the store, the heels get higher and so do the prices.
Each luxury brand is housed in an exclusive apartment designed individually to suit itself. Gucci’s boutique resembles a jewellery box with a striking rose-gold ceiling in metal. Prada for the first time moves away from its signature mint green with a unique octagonal space, surrounded by cream, corrugated leather wall panels. There is also an art space within the Galleries that will have rolling exhibitions throughout the year, promoting young and up and coming artists or special collaborations.
Manes tells us that many sales have been made and the feedback hasbeen astonishingly good. “People seem to love the space, the fact that the whole presentation is so fresh and different to anything they say they have experienced so far,” he adds.
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