"This store is about streetwear and occasion wear," said Shelly Corkery of Brown Thomas, launching BT2's spring/summer collections yesterday with a short video showing a 20-something female getting ready for work and later dressing up for a date.
The shop in Dublin's Grafton Street has been reorganised and some areas expanded. Their 15 brands of jeans are now displayed on tables, familiar labels like Reiss and Pinko have gone, and Ted Baker relocated upstairs alongside Cos and Superdry.
Jeans are the mainstay of BT2 and for the new season, the best sellers are still high-waisted, skinny and black, with the odd pair of flares – for those who dare – from Victoria Beckham. Prices range from €50 for Salsa jeans (an Irish brand) up to €525 for a pair in python by J Brand.
Evening wear is a total contrast, with decorative beaded dresses by Needle & Thread and figure-hugging neoprene prints (evocative of Peter Pilotto) by Clover Canyon from the US at affordable prices.
Later this month Simone Van Trojen, a former lawyer and founder of LaDress in Denmark, will visit the shop to promote her brand, which specialises in “the perfect dress”.
From March 5th, a pop-up shop called Pop Icons will open in store, featuring selected key pieces – leather jackets and T-shirts – from top international names such as Kenzo, Comme des Garcons, Acne, Isabel Marant, Diane Von Furstenburg and others, along with runners, caps and sunglasses. Buyer Ian Kelly also confirmed that the same idea will be replicated on the lower ground floor for menswear, offering limited items from Barbour, Ralph Lauren, Paul Smith and Les Artists from Paris.
