From the outside, it looked like a Levi gallery - plinths with things on and canvases with a blank wall separating the front of the store from the brand spanking new 'factory' inspired denim mega-shop behind.
The shop is actually gorgeous. I'm not that into Levi's if I'm honest (except those new Jean Paul Gaultier ones, wooo, they're hot!), but the new store is a delicious, if not a little over whelming, jean experience. The clean smooth lines were taken from the airline industry, the glass on the lift was tinted with an indigo wash to link everything to the synonymous denim, everything had a meaning, or so the sweet little guy showing us round told us.
They've done well maintaining the factory theme throughout, it has to be said. Harsh exposed brick and cold steel units lined the walls. "We've taken the craft of being a shop keeper and applied it to this store" we were told by our guide. Which was all very nice, but possibly a little try hard? I for one like to be left well alone when I enter a shop.
Managers will be called 'proprietors', style advisers will be labelled 'drapers' and it's 'artisans' not denim experts silly!
If you want a good pair of jeans, head down there. Almost half of the fab downstairs is dedicated to the 501s ('the biggest jean in the world'), and these display units have pull-out drawers with numbered jeans so you can find them easily on the shelves behind. Nice!
I did laugh though when our speaker said something about the architectural beauty and grace of Regent Street. Bless him.
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