Layers, London
In the centre of England’s most celebrated city, just off the heart of its historical sartorial districts, lies a retail establishment certain to supply the city with a refreshingly oxidized aesthetic perspective. The magnum opus of retail veteran Keven McDermott, Layers hopes to broaden London’s aesthetical lens by providing it with an as-of-yet unseen level of brand-related focus.
)
A native of Birmingham with a vast level of experience in London’s retail scene, McDermott’s own fascination with the avant-garde began after working for Jones 2 Directional in Covent Garden – a boutique credited with the introduction of Comme Des Garçons and Yohji Yamamoto to the London market. McDermott has always fallen in love with those sorts of brands, and has fittingly situated his own labour of love at the tail end of Savile Row – sandwiched between Yohji Yamamoto and Issey Miyake’s namesake stores in the opulent Mayfair district of central London.
Michael R. Takkou, who worked with McDermott earlier (“at a company… mentioning no names”), was brought on board to handle press, marketing, and art direction for the store. Takkou, a native Londoner, studied menswear design and marketing at the University College for the Creative Arts in Kent – and has since worked for the likes of Gareth Pugh as well as mentoring young designers.
Layers’ conception was the result of a relatively simple realization on the part of McDermott: “I basically thought that we needed a directional store in London.” A quick look at a website of some of their labels will show stockists all over the world, so it is no wonder McDermott’s inspiration for Layer’s creation was so straightforward: “Other cities have directional stores, such as Tokyo, New York, Paris … it’s not a new concept, it’s not a new idea.”
Despite its apparent panache, and conspicuous interest for all things fashion – London’s retail scene has remained inexplicably wrapt in an unapologetically high-street state of mind. As Takkou points out, “It’s still a very new market, and although some people might have dabbled in it slightly … there hasn’t been a proper directional store with this sort of aesthetic.”
)
The city’s best efforts at exploring the avant-garde have remained mired in economically sound eclecticism; relying on those stocking luxury and streetwear to buoy the presumably palliative sales of the properly artisanal lines of clothing with which Layers lines its rails. McDermott believed it was time for a change in London, where instead of forcing the fashion adept to purchase their favourite labels from stores catered to the fashion inept, “we needed something that’s very directional, cool, and niche – that caters to people who are properly fashion conscious”.
Decorating its continuous system of oxidized rails with highly revered alternative labels such as Julius, Damir Doma, Forme D’Expression, Lost & Found, M.A+ , A1923, Guidi, and Gareth Pugh – Layers has successfully created precisely the sort of environment that is attractive to the uber-conscious client. A clientele whose reaction, says McDermott, has proven “very, very positive – not only on the client side, but on the supplier side as well”.
A satisfaction certainly supplied by presenting the designers’ work in an artistically favourable light. The store’s credo reads, “art becomes fashion, fashion becomes art” – a potentially vacuous statement with a refreshingly uncomplicated explanation: “All the brands we have in-store are artisans in and of themselves. They have no expiry date, no age, they’re timeless… they’re artists within their own right.” The store’s interior design manages to echo this statement by harmoniously interjecting time-worn artifacts and ornaments amongst its modern wearables – emphasizing the timelessness of the very brands it houses.
)
)
Although Layers is ostensibly founded on ideas and ideals borrowed from boutiques in other cities’ well-documented successes – they provide an elegantly simple spin on this all-too-elite industry by imbuing it with a never-before seen level of accessibility. McDermott & Takkou convey a distinctly casual vibe – refraining from the usual furled brows and accompanying poetical waxings one has come to expect from some establishments. Instead, they focus their energy on quality of customer service and experience. McDermott wants “people to come in and feel that they can talk to us, not necessarily buy, but hang out and have a coffee with us.” An attitude which has happily influenced every member of staff; eschewing the usual cold-shouldered and high-nosed hard-selling techniques of the luxury world to function, instead, like ushers in a gallery – informative, friendly, willing & helpful. “And that’s just everything we wanted Layers to be,” affirms Takkou, “a hub for people to learn about these designers and their work”.
)
Where the future is concerned, “there’s a lot of ideas floating around,” says Takkou. Considering the enviable amount of square-footage they have at their disposal, it is not surprising to hear that there are some really interesting installations planned for the very near future. Layers is designed with versatility in mind. “None of our furnishings are fixed, so we can completely change the layout to give the store a new feel”. Which, in the fall of 2011 – when they introduce Alexandre Plokhov, Steffie Christianes, Rad Hourani, Werkstatt Munchen, and newcomer Zam Barrett to their roster – will allow them to present their newly acquired collections in a light custom-tailored to each-brand’s particular aesthetic.
Layers is a much-welcome and long-overdue addition to the London retail market. Having taken its founding cues from celebrated directional boutiques in New York and Tokyo, Layers builds upon the rudimentary values it has borrowed from such operations. With a fervent focus on supporting new talent and constantly on the lookout for young artists and designers, the store hopes to inject the somewhat-stringent directional aesthetic with some fresh blood by “giving new talent a platform to showcase their work.”
By pulling the dissembling curtain of cool from in front of the eyes of the uninitiated, and eschewing the customary cold shoulder for an unexpectedly open door – Layers is certain to lend focus to London’s sartorial lens, whilst broadening that and those of boutiques the world at large.
Written by Graham Newmarch
Photos by Scoute & Andrew Beasely