Ben Sherman set for London store

Classic British youth fashion brand Ben Sherman is to open its first flagship store in London next month designed by Caulder Moore, as the company seeks to sharpen its image ahead of its 40th anniversary next year.

The 372m2 outlet opens in Carnaby Street on 14 November. A Ben Sherman spokesman says it is likely to be the first of a number of stores in major cities around the world.

Caulder Moore is also finalising a brand manual for the company’s international concessions, having already designed its new headquarters in Clerkenwell, London.

The consultancy was briefed to contemporise the brand’s values and convey a more sophisticated and ‘sharper’ brand proposition, says Caulder Moore creative director Ian Caulder.

‘It’s a very successful fashion brand, but the aim is to restore some of the kudos and brand equity,’ he says. ‘Ben Sherman is seen as quite cool and cutting-edge by consumers abroad, but in the UK it’s become more solid and mainstream.’

‘Ben Sherman is coming back to its roots, but it didn’t want to play up the retro part or the Mod culture too much. You can see the 1960s reference points, but it shouldn’t be too overt or obvious,’ Caulder adds.

The signature piece of the Carnaby Street store is a double-height glass-brick wall in the brand’s colours of red, white and blue.

The in-store design features fumigated oak fixtures, stainless steel revolving fitting rooms, a white pebble wall inspired by Brighton beach, and studded white leatherette to line the fitting room walls. The merchandising has a more ‘aspirational’ feel than UK consumers have recently come to expect from Ben Sherman, Caudler suggests.

The consultancy won the work after a six-way pitch in April.