Dressing for Britain BEST OF THE BRAND
Bicester Village is open for business virtually and shows that retail therapy can happily function via WhatsApp
It seems apt that today, Mothering Sunday, I let my daughter, Nancy, join in the shoot. I told her she could be my “stylist”. If she had her own way, I’d be standing in a neon unicorn outfit. Thankfully, my “stylist” did give the thumbs up to this Stella McCartney ensemble, complete with great blockheel shoes by Rupert Sanderson. These items form part of the offering at Bicester Village (Bicestervillage.com/virtualshopping), which you can enjoy from the comfort of your home. Brands have reinvigorated the notion of going shopping in a (virtual) manner akin to that scene in when shop staff bestow upon Julia Roberts’s character the very best service. No “big mistake” here. This is, instead, big business.
Fate was at work the day I was asked to road-test the Bicester Village experience. “Poor Bicester,” is what I’d been saying to my husband, who works in retail. Just as I’ve found myself saying “Gosh, poor John Lewis… poor Selfridges… poor Liberty…” So to hear that Bicester was banging the drum for a virtual experience was impeccably timed. With 160 brands and beautifully designed layouts, Bicester Village plays a major role in the Value Retail emporium, which has 11 international sites. My favourite fact? Bicester is the second-most visited English destination by Chinese tourists, behind only Buckingham Palace. But not right now. So what do you do when a pandemic closes your retail villages? Turn to WhatsApp and a good old phone call.
I knew I wasn’t going to pose with a Le Creuset dish or White Company loofah (sorry, folks). I knew I wanted to wear British brands. For the sustainability factor, it made sense, therefore, to trial Stella McCartney, which has spearheaded an industry movement. Finally, since I know that my feet like Rupert Sanderson, I thought I’d give its Bicester experience a try. Once I’d shared my mobile number, I was greeted with a call from Guga Filho, head of personal shopping. A vivacious Brazilian, he was the ray of sunshine my day needed. He had a hotline to the boutiques and put in a call to the Stella McCartney team. Before you could say “Copacabana”, Guga was sending me images of what was available. As if chatting with a friend, I could relay to him everything about my body shape, colours I liked, how I liked things to hang, so he had what was needed to ascertain the right size in McCartney’s cuts. The Rupert Sanderson experience was also super slick. Guga guided me to its Instagram account (@rsboutiquebicester) and I flicked through the images, which were clearly labelled with sizes and prices. I sent a message from there, before receiving a phone call to clarify details. Two days later, DHL delivered the shoes to me, complete with returns label.
This is the part where I declare I’ve been working on a virtual styling service, running until the end of the month. The Mount Street Concierge (mountstreetconcierge.com) was an idea thought up by the Grosvenor Estate as a way to open up the Mayfair shopping destination and support the tenants who have lost so much footfall. A complimentary service, inviting new audiences to the heart of Mayfair, no minimum spend and with no intimidation factor (you Zoom with me), it’s an opportunity for those who might never even have been to Mount Street to “visit”. The same goes for Bicester Village. Value Retail is doing all it can to support tenants and reach muchmissed visitors. The virtual service will be in situ long after the boutiques’ doors reopen next month.
This approach does not suit everyone, but if you are interested in some retail therapy, then I suggest you test it. With no journey to Oxfordshire, no need to wear a mask, no 4pm sugar low, it makes for a pleasant experience. The discounts make it even sweeter.