Lyle & Scott to spread its wings

Scottish knitwear label Lyle & Scott is to open its first ever standalone store this October, situated in London’s Covent Garden, and created with Vermilion Brand Communications.

Interiors at the 40m2 ground-floor space are jointly designed by Lyle & Scott brand director Derrick Campbell and Vermilion, which was also responsible for the brand’s identity overhaul two years ago.

‘We realised we were on the right track to launch into retail, but what we were missing was a window. We felt that London was the right place to start,’ Campbell explains.

Over the past two years, the label has introduced capsule clothing ranges based on vintage designs in Urban Outfitters, Selfridges and New York’s Bergdorf Goodman department store. These will also be sold in the Covent Garden shop, alongside golf and cashmere collections.

Retail interiors will remain true to Lyle & Scott’s positioning as a golf brand, while avoiding ‘heather and tartan’ connotations, says Campbell. ‘We’re trying to stick to our roots, but through design, update [them],’ he explains.

White walls and furniture, and a polished cement floor with an embedded aluminium Lyle & Scott eagle logo, will allow ‘the product to be the hero’, says Vermilion creative director Alan Price.