"I wanted to create a kind of market where various creators from various fields gather together and encounter each other in an ongoing atmosphere of beautiful chaos: the mixing up and coming together of different kindred souls who all share a strong personal vision."
Over the 5 floors, the chaos becomes apparent after seeing even just a snapshot of each floor. The basement is more of a warehouse, with brick walls, iron railings and a yellow porta-loo, the second floor is a sea of beech and pinewood, with everything displayed in square or rectangular box shelves and the fourth floor is home to the Rose Bakery. It’s a small café with shared seating and fresh food, not the sort of thing you’d usually find in an exclusive fashion shop. It has that same cosy feel to it that Food for Thought in Covent Garden does. The coffees are reasonably priced, but it’s the sort of place you’d go to for a special occasion lunch, not somewhere you’d eat every day.
The shop is very relaxed for a high end fashion retailer. They’ve taken a risk with the chaotic and sometimes hectic décor, but they’ve pulled it off brilliantly. It’s cool, current and very quirky which is appealing to younger people nowadays. The staff are very friendly too- comparing them to shop assistants in other high end fashion shops, they’re welcoming, chatty and don’t judge you if you’re young and can’t afford all these lovely (but bloody expensive) clothes. The only downside is that they have a strict ‘no photos’ rule which is a shame, because some of the displays in the shop are incredible. If the shop does suspect that you’re snapping certain floors, the shop assistants will follow you round, trying to catch you. Ninja photography is essential in these places...
Now
to the clothes. *Sigh* rails and rails of beautifully designed garments, each
designer hanging in its own individual way. E.g. Céline are at an angle, so you
can stand back and look at each item without having to rummage through the rails.
The best thing about the displays? ONE of each item. Not two, or three, or
dozens *coughTopshopcough*, just one. This means no clutter, no overcrowding on
the rails having to yank other garments out of the way, just clean and simple
rails. The range of designers in DSM is huge. From Alexander McQueen to Z Zegna,
they have great variety. However, Comme des Garçons remains the main brand,
with collections scattered throughout the shop.
1 improvement to shop: Iron the shirts. Nothing worse in a high end fashion shop than
shirts with HUGE price tags that aren’t ironed.
Favourite
aspect of shop: T SHIRT VENDING MACHINE. Need I say more?
