From what people have said about Dover Street Market, I was expecting it to be this huge, old warehouse that took up half of Dover Street but it was the complete opposite. If I hadn't have been on the look out for the store I would've walked past it without another thought. From the outside it looks like an art exhibition and as soon as you walk through the double glass doors, you feel as though you're in a gallery. A surreal feeling when you're entering the same building which houses some of the great designers of the moment; but a good feeling.
The first thing that caught my attention when I walked into the store was the concrete floor and the shed where all the staff hung around as they welcomed you to the store. There are surprises around every corner as different styles and clothing are mixed together; from a red scaffolding-esque structure to wooden cases stocked with single items of clothing and contrasting styles from beautifully embellished dresses to military style boots. The content of this store is really impressive and the quality is outstanding. Walking around the store, with classical music in the background, you begin to feel more and more at ease as you aren't being carefully watched by the staff. They quite happily leave you to admire the surroundings and the clothes within.
Jewellery is displayed in wooden glass cases.
An amazing light fitting on the ground floor.
The ceilings still look how you'd expect a typical old warehouse to be, even though just below them are amazing clothes by Celine.
Tucked into a small corner out of the way on the 1st floor is the WORLD ARCHIVE where one off pieces collected by Micheal Kostiff whilst globetrotting.
This is probably the most memorable display that I saw at DSM, the idea is really strange but very creative. I can't really see how it reflects the garments though apart from the colour palette, maybe?
These sketches were displayed in one of the corners of the 1st floor. You could see the designers flow of how they got to their final pieces. It was refreshing to see a designer sharing their creative flow.
Behind all the fabric and surroundings is where all the stock is kept. With the size of the place I expected the stock to have it's own room in the basement or something!
I thought it was really random that a grand piano shared the same space as shoes and accessories.
The smell on the top floor was amazing, but the eating area was a lot smaller than I expected with an open kitchen, it was a very intimate layout with a relaxing atmosphere.
Overall I really loved DSM's take on a department store. It really shows that you should make your own opinion of somewhere and never judge a book by it's cover because you never know whats gonna be inside until you take the time to discover it for yourself.
