• Source: Online
• Publication date: 08 May 2008 12:09 PM
• Author: Emily Pacey

Oxfam is opening its first boutique fashion store this weekend, overseen by former Topshop brand director Jane Shepherdson, and with interiors by Creative Resource.

Shepherdson consulted on the project, which is intended ‘to attract a new type of customer’, according to retail development manager Anna Thorne.

Interior design and branding group Creative Resource was appointed in October last year to remodel the existing store facia and interior of the Oxfam store in west London, following a two-way pitch.

The consultancy has used recycled parquet flooring and low-energy lighting for the interior. It commissioned a forge in east London to create wrought iron and glass merchandising units, decorated by local artists.

The exterior features a black facade instead of Oxfam’s usual white, but retains the Oxfam branding.

‘We wanted to produce as sustainable a store as possible,’ reports Thorne. ‘Refitting our shops is important to us, but it must be cost-effective and lasting. The brief to Creative Resource and Jane Shepherdson was to come up with something that would last a long time but also look good.’

The store on London’s Westbourne Grove features ethical, remade and donated clothing. Fashion designers including Giles Deacon, Stephen Jones and Christopher Kane are creating pieces from donated clothing, which Oxfam is auctioning on Ebay today.

Fashion illustrations by David Downton adorn the shop’s windows and clothing labels. Along with Shepherdson, Creative Resource and the fashion designers, David Downton donated his services free of charge to the charity.

Oxfam plans to open a further two boutiques in west London over the summer, before rolling the concept out to 25 stores nationally.

Oxfam is today publishing a book about vintage and second-hand clothing, with illustrations by Downton, available in-store from Saturday.