When the fashion store Topshop opened in New York just over a year ago, a torrent of hype ensured there were queues of shoppers at the door on the first day. There was a blizzard of red, white and blue ticker tape to mark the moment, and at the opening party A-list celebrities including Jennifer Lopez and the editor of US Vogue, Anna Wintour, rubbed shoulders with Topshop's chunky billionaire owner, Sir Philip Green.
Six weeks ago, just a few hundred yards further along Broadway, another big name in British fashion retailing – AllSaints – arrived in the Big Apple with an altogether lower-key launch.
But the word in the rag trade is that it is going down a storm with New York's fashion-conscious consumers, and has taken more than $1m in its first two weeks – beating the takings at Topshop, whose shop is almost twice the size.
The 70-strong AllSaints chain is a little bit Goth. Its edgy clothing rails are a sea of black, beige, and grey. Its trademark motif is a skull and its speciality is the distressed look; clothes made to look well worn-in and scuffed Victorian-style boots without laces.
It's not cheap: leather jackets are north of £300; there are 45 graphic and skull-print T-shirts at up to £80 a piece; and more than 100 dresses averaging around £50 to £250. However, that doesn't seem to deter the masses who are paying not just for the trend that is All Saints but the sensational brand experience they get when they walk into one of their stores.
And what's interesting is that it doesn't advertise, preferring to drum up sales from free mentions in the fashion press and customer referrals. Equally, no staff are allowed to speak on behalf of the business.
What they do however is to promote the All Saints brand to their target by association. In NYC this Summer they have teamed up with the Williamsburg concert series, Jelly Pool Parties. At the event they set up an AllSaints pub where guests drank complimentary cocktails by Sailor Jerry rum and Dos Equis beer. The pub venue was decked out in their traditional heritage East End style with an antique bar, authentic piano and distressed AllSaints furniture.
All Saints have also teamed up with Agyness Deyn and fashion journalist Fiona Byrne who video blogged the event for their newly launched website NAAG.com and interviewed Alexa Chung, fashion designer Christian Siriano and model, Becka Diamond.
Their 'Flipbook' station was also housed in an AllSaints on-site container, which was painted by a local NYC artist. Every participant has a short clip filmed which is then turned into an original, hard copy flipbook and a digital version for them to share on Facebook and Twitter.
This is a retail brand that customers want to engage with both on the high street and off and one to watch for the future.
Thanks to The Guardian UK
