The news that Cos is to open its first Irish standalone store in Wicklow Street later this year, possibly in autumn, will be highly anticipated by the Swedish brand’s many fans in this country. Standing for Collection of Style, its cool, ultra-modern design and sophisticated simplicity counterpoints the more trend focused fast fashion of its powerful older sister H&M.
Cos likes to associate itself more with industrial design, art and architecture than celebrity endorsement and publishes a stimulating magazine twice a year with an offbeat focus on European artists, craftworkers and musicians. The current issue, for example, has a feature on the artist and scientist Sissel Tolaas who has tried to capture site specific smells of her adopted Berlin in an evocative scent. There’s an interview with fashion photographer Vivienne Sassen, with Swedish singer Robyn and a 61-year-old Berlin teacher models items from the spring collection.
The first Cos store opened in London in 2007 in a corner on Regent Street and quickly became one of the most talked about in the city. For many, me included, its functional Swedish aesthetic, a welcome change in an era of bling, was reflected in the spareness of the clothes in natural fabrics, the fresh colour palette, the shapes that swung rather than clung, but best of all the prices. Though owned by the mighty H&M, the headquarters of Cos are in London where a 14-strong design team headed by Karen Gustaffson on womenswear, and Martin Andersson on menswear operate. Aimed at women who have a strong sense of their own style rather than those driven by trends, Cos retains a very clear signature which is cross generational. In Dublin, Cos opened in BT2 three years ago and later expanded in response to demand.
The current collection, directional in its shades and shapes, nevertheless also offers everyday stretch jeans, navy cardigans and striped tops but cut and coloured with a difference. There's a lot of black – black tent dresses, fine knits, clean cut duster coats but also tones like plaster pink, avocado, cerise and pale yellow that lighten up the summer wardrobe.
Print hardly figures, but when it does is distinctive like the overshirts in a pink/green and red pattern. According to Emilia Laurysievicz, assistant manager of Cos in BT2 in Grafton Street, what sells in Ireland are mostly dresses. “Our customers range from those in their 20s up to the 50s”, she says. “Everyone can find something to suit and it’s easy to build an outfit. The many egg and boxy shapes suit most figures and what's also popular is the wide variety of tops and blouses.” Accessories like leather bags, shoes and a variety of jewellery are also distinctive and with prices overall starting at €19 for a piece of jewellery up to €175 for a coat, what's not to like? The new Dublin shop may also include menswear and childrenwear.
