Kodama Blogs: Selfridges Shoe Galleries Now Open!

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Selfridges Shoe Galleries Now Open!

Mentioning 'shoes' it's not just me that will go gaga... Lady Gaga would definitely go gaga too (despite her own name!), so as any other shoe-holics out there as well. And to add to the excitement, you'll definitely have to check out the ultimate shoe store destination on the planet that you can never find anywhere else: it's the Selfridges' Shoe Galleries which is now open to public at the 2nd Floor of the world's famous departmental store in London!

What's hot about the Shoe Galleries? Shoes. Period. If you are an avid fan or a total maniac in collecting shoes or anything gotta do with it, then this is the place to be. Rumor has it the floor area of this whole 'gallery' that is located on the north wing of the store is bigger than the Turbine Hall at Tate Modern. Yes, bigger. And let me emphasize that word - the floor plan, not the whole room though - because when I stepped into the 'gallery' last week I was quite disappointed, thinking it's gonna be as massive and having high ceilings as the Turbine Hall itself.

(this is how the Turbine Hall @ Tate Modern looks like)

Anyway. Selfridges Shoe Galleries. One word: fantastic. I know it's very understated but that's all I can say about it. It's so huge that it'll take some time just to walk around from one entrance to the other exit. The gallery is categorized into different sections to cater for the designer brands as well as the highstreet labels as well.

If you take the east side entrance, then you're gonna be greeted by the massive silver stilletto in all its glitteratti. Then there's Havaiannas section on the right hand side with humungous flip-flops collection that I've ever seen. On the left-hand side is shoes from highstreet labels like River Island and Office, including some of their exclusive edition for Selfridges (that you can't find at any River Island store itself!)

And bla bla bla... you'll also see another section for highstreet that's located in the middle of the gallery and connect both sides together.

Something that'll give an x-factor about the Shoe Gallery is how the high-end designer labels showcase their collection. Labels like Gucci, Prada, Fendi, Dior and Christian Louboutin have their own 'apartment' that is designed to be a mirror image of their original store. They're all located at the far side of the room with different decor suit for the designers themselves. For instant, you got Gucci apartment in all the bronze-gold glory, Chanel in simplicity chic decor, Louboutin has a trompe l’oeil wall, Dior in pearl white etc...etc. Shoppers will be having different experience when stepping into different apartments to try those shoes on display.

For other designers like Balmain, Balenciaga, Givency and Rupert Sanderson, the shoes are showcased in the 'Designer Rooms' just like River Island, Office and Kurt Geiger. And of course, you can also find their exclusive edition for sale at Selfridges just like the others which is all displayed on hand-carved alabaster plinths.

Before I forgot to mention - all the shoes are definitely for sale... not just for display like in the museum kinda thing. You can try 'em on many seats available around the rooms - from the plush seats designer 'apartments' to the Louis IV-inspired chairs with the butterfly motifs at the highstreet brands, to the purple velvet 'benches' in the designer rooms - the shoes are for you to purchase.

Oh, another thing: the shoe galleries only houses women's collection. (Dang!). So guys, we can all eat our heart out and go to the first floor instead to try our Gucci and Prada in a oh-so-small room compared to the Shoe Galleries.

Anyway, some of the pix that I took...