3 Regent Street Companies Changing Fashion And Retail Space

Throughout September, Regent Street is celebrating what it is calling Fashion and Design month with a series of talks from fashion industry names such as Amanda Wakeley and Zandra Rhodes. Subjects range from the history of fashion to designing sets for runway shows.

To join in the fun, we’re looking at three Regent Street flagships that have innovated fashion, technology and retail space.

Burberry

In recent years, Burberry experimented with RFID chips that assist with stock and quality control. The RFID tags activated changing room mirrors when customers entered a dressing room, and the mirrors showed a video about the making of the piece and its time on the catwalk.  

In 2013, it experimented with the ill-fated “Burberry Kisses” campaign in which the company partnered with Google to create "lip detection technology" and allowed customers to blow kisses to loved ones.  In 2015 partnered with Google again to create “The Burberry Booth,” where customers could film their own real-time versions of the brand’s current ad campaign alongside celebs like Naomi Campbell, James Corden and Romeo Beckham.

Burberry recently created an exclusive area at its flagship store dedicated to gifting and added an all-day café.  

Burberry was also one of the first brands to test out Twitter’s buy button. And its launched a channel on Apple Music.

Levi's

The Levi's Flagship store in Regent Street was the first place in London to offer bespoke, made-to-order jeans. They took 16 hours to make, cost £500 and Londoners lapped them up. The brand still offers custom-created jeans, but has turned the shop into a mini-museum of all things Levi's with monthly temporary installations that tell the Levi’s story in a way that engages customers.

Ted Baker

In 2013, Ted Baker launched "shoppable videos", which allow customers to click any item to purchase. Recently, the store closed for a refresh, and opened with even more techy goodness. The shop now features an interactive screen where customers can pose for photos wearing a virtual crown. The photos can be emailed and shared on social media. The company also recently created a game. Customers travel across London collecting Ted Baker’s missing jewels (part of the royal collection, we assume). The customer with the highest score wins a £1k shopping spree at Ted Baker.

Presently, Ted Baker is featuring its Mission Impeccable campaign, a collaboration with filmmaker Guy Ritchie. The film, which will be launched at the Regent Street store, features T.E.D, an enigmatic leader of his eponymous agency, deploying his best agents to prevent a spectacular fashion catastrophe at the hands of a twisted villain.