No amount of contemporary credit crunch calamity can detract from the old adage that we are a nation of shopkeepers. And nowhere is this more apparent than in the rich history of inspiring, innovative, independent fashion boutiques which have sprung up in the Capital throughout the years - from Biba to SEX, or Browns, World, Pineal Eye and Kokon To Zai, to name just a few. 

b store has steadily built on its discerning fan base since the onset of the current decade, after switching from its early incarnation as an online boutique and e-zine named www.thing-is.com, to its present-day status, as a West End retail space-proper. Now, further changes are-a-blowing in the fashion wind for this much-loved, multi-label stockist of some of the finest young designers around: Their very own pop-up menswear shop is, er, popping up in Selfridges, just in time for London Fashion Week. Hurray!  

“Pop-up shops are a good opportunity for relatively niche people to reach a wider audience,” begins the ever-affable Matthew Murphy, co-manager and buyer for b store. “And it’s a great way for us to show people internationally - customers and other store owners - what we’re about and how what we do can work in other stores."  

So, come mid-September, anyone gliding up Selfridges’ escalator to the first floor, will - after glancing to the left, at the area which used to be Y-3’s space - now spot a specially designed, for-one-month-only b space instead. “As it’s a temporary project, we thought it was pointless to spend a fortune on it,” he continues. “But we wanted it to stand out, and have a particular look, though one which isn’t necessarily trying to recreate the look of the main store. Tom Finch, a qualified architect who has done installations for us before - after he got to know us as a customer -  is responsible for the look of the space, and it’s quite modernist and colourful. Because it’s quite modular in its design we will be able to take parts of it away afterwards and re-use them.” 

In terms of what’s on offer within - well, it won’t simply be a selection of existing stock from b store’s main Savile Row site. Matthew reveals: “ About sixty per cent of the space will be the full latest collection from our own b clothing label, and the rest are limited edition pieces which have been created specifically by five of our designers. The idea is that if we do this again, in the future, we will use five different designers, to keep things different each time.”  

Lucky punters will be able to take their pick from cheeky undies, vests and socks from Bernhard Willhelm, along with Siv Stoldal’s chinos digitally printed with images of denim jeans, plus Hans Christian Madsen’s huge hand-knitted cardigan-meets-dressing gown creations, or silk denim-look blazers via SOAR, not to mention Ute Ploier’s shirts with dinky bomber jacket details. A member of b store’s lovely team will be packing their sarnies and flask each day during Fashion Week, and heading over to Selfridges to personally staff the space -  with Selfridges’ in-store assistants taking over on sales duties for the remaining three weeks. Though whether they’ll actually be any finery left to flog by the end of the month is debatable; this particular little b is already causing quite a buzz… 


b store’s pop-up space in Selfridges opens on Monday September 15th.

www.bstorelondon.com