b-store is a gem; one of those stores that makes London even more, well, London-ish. Formed seven years ago by Matthew Murphy and Kirk Beattie, who wanted to make a shop where people could hang out and buy clothes, the pair are looking forward to the ever increasing menswear shows during fashion weeks and the fact that men are making a come back (well, men’s togs are!). “Men like to do their ‘shopping’ before they do their shopping and they become very brand loyal,” tells the superbly dapper Murphy, “they’re becoming more and more aware of what looks good and the fact that the high street store isn’t providing them with what they want. Originally we set up the store to launch our own brand, which was at that point was shoes. I always felt quite frustrated as a consumer, when you look at a magazine and see something you want but its not available anywhere. So when we opened the store we decided to support young designers, it wasn’t about the money,’ he continues, ‘it just made it [the store] a great brand. 

The crazy thing was that there were very few other people  doing the same thing, and this pushed us to take more risks, like working with people in their final year. When we moved to our Saville Row premises two years ago, we realised that a lot of our customers were in the art world, and this lead us to the concept of supporting young artists too and using the space almost as a gallery. We’re never looking for the next big thing, we just like working with people we like, and that’s what keeps it interesting too. If we started working with Raf Simmons or somebody else that established, our customers would be so disappointed. We’ve had an idea, been focused and stuck to it. It’s a rare thing; it’s a bit ‘struggling artist’. But do you know what? That’s the reason that so much talent comes out of London.” I think he might be right.

Hanna Hanra