The British Designers Boutique

FashionCapital to Open Unique Boutique Concept in Bath

Back in the day Georgian's flocked to the spa resort of Bath to dress in their finery and to be seen. Bath was at the heart of fashionable Georgian society with its thermal waters, grand venues and elegant architecture. Today the preserved splendor of Bath attracts 4.4 million tourists each year, while its high percentage of independent shops (45%), attracts consumers from all over the country.

 

While its World Heritage status has kept a tight leash on modern development it has not halted retail growth in Bath’s city centre. Two examples of note include Milsom Place; a discrete, multi-level complex comprising of up-market shops and restaurants and Southgate; an open street Georgian style shopping destination comprising of, once finished, 55 stores.

There’s no doubt that Bath provides the perfect location for retail venture with several core markets to tap into from the 20,000 students studying in the city to the well-heeled residents of Bath and its surrounds.

Jenny Holloway, Director of Fashion Enter Ltd, Vanessa Isaia, Development Manager at Fashion Enter and JoJo Iles, journalist and PR, had talked about setting up a boutique in Bath for sometime when an opportunity literally landed in their laps. 

“I received an e-mail from Ken Elliott at L&R Group,” Jenny explains. “He was extremely impressed with the ‘British Designers Collective’ concept we had set up with the British Fashion Council in Bicester Village and the project snowballed from there.”

 

JoJo Iles adds; “Jenny and I had been discussing the idea of a boutique/workshop in Bath for sometime. We want it to be a multi-faceted concept whereby we not only introduce great designers to Bath but we provide support and exposure for local creative talent too. Bath Spa University’s Fashion Department is currently gaining great recognition and the city is also home to the Fashion Museum so we feel the area is ripe for business and possible collaborations.”

Situated in Bath’s fashionable Milsom Place, the unit is a light airy space with exposed ceiling beams and modern glass and steel interior. Neighbouring stores and restaurants include the likes of Jamie’s Italian, Cath Kidston and Traffic People. Despite the incredible offer of a stylish unit getting the local council on board was far from plain sailing. After months of negotiations and company reviews a deal was finally struck for an initial 3 month period.

 

Keeping Bath’s core customer in mind The British Designers Boutique intends to offer great design from London Fashion Week names that rarely stray beyond the capital. JoJo comments: “The last few seasons has seen the rise of chic, sophisticated designs by the likes of Erdem, Osman and Hannah Marshall. We believe such quality and unique elegance would fit perfectly with core customers here.”

Co-Managing the new boutique with JoJo is Vanessa Isaia, she helped organise the highly successful ‘British Designers Collective’ in Bicester Village, she says: ““The British Designers Boutique will enable people to buy designer pieces that are normally only found in London. We aim to offer fantastic reductions on limited samples and pieces from previous seasons alongside new collections. We are naturally very excited about this new project and look forward to working with the designers as well as the Universities and local talent in and around Bath.”

 

Watch this space as Vanessa and JoJo get busy preparing the shop floor, organising stock and the business in time to open on September 1st!

 

The British Designers Boutique, 14 & 15, Milsom Place, Bath BA1.