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Gieves & Hawkes flagship store renovations by Interior designer Teresa Hastings

Location: London
Source: retail-focus
Made by: Teresa Hastings
Published in: January 28 2015 / Fashion Stores
As part of the ongoing elevation and evolution of the house, Gieves & Hawkes has completed the renovations of No. 1 Savile Row and the launch of a new global flagship store.

No. 1 Savile Row is an elegant 18th century William Kent townhouse and has been the flagship store of Gieves & Hawkes since 1912. Under one roof there's the ready to wear collections, private tailoring and bespoke services alongside the military department and Royal archive. Downstairs, master tailors cut and stitch bespoke suits by hand, as they have done for generations.

Interior designer Teresa Hastings worked with chief executive officer Jason Basmajian to sensitively restore and modernise the interiors. The brief was to create a space that respected the past of both the architecture and the heritage of the brand whilst looking clearly to the future.

'I was challenged to develop a store that's both elegant and timeless, to balance with Jason Basmajian's collections and an environment where comfort is key. Not easy in a Grade II listed chunk of Mayfair,' explains Hastings. 'The refurbishment was spread over five phases of works, each with their own specification, design brief and look.'

As this was the first major refurbishment of No 1 for the last 20 years, there was a very high expectation from every member of the Gieves & Hawkes team. 'Each phase involved various design starts and restarts until the exact scheme was achieved. The store needed to work both as a retail space where display was at the forefront and at the same time I was required to develop a huge collection of unique design, that was not only functional but also symbolic of the quality and history of the brand,' says Hastings. 'I developed more than 400 hand drawings of bespoke design, which went into production during this project. I have a tradition as a designer of working with natural materials and come to a project with a team of craftsman who work using traditional skills to develop my work, and these skills needed to meet the clients retail expectations.'

With a passion for the handcrafted, Hastings has introduced a palette of fumed oak, cast bronze, tailoring textures and fabricated metals to create an atmosphere of modern masculine luxury. As with fine tailoring, the luxury is in the detail with bronze and brass door handles hand-cast using the lost-wax technique. At the centre of the store is the famous map room, added to the Royal Geographic Society in 1871, restored to its former splendour.

Upstairs, the grand reception rooms of the house have been brought back to life. The Robert Gieve room, which is used for military and Royal appointments, is decorated in dark anthracite with tall skirting and panelled walls. A wall of illuminated floor-to-ceiling handmade cabinets house the red and gold uniforms of HM The Queen's bodyguard, complete with boots, swords and swan feather helmets.

The dark walls are home to framed items from the Royal archive of the house, the three Royal warrants currently held to the British Royal family and handwritten correspondence with Nelson, Wellington and the previous Prince George of Cambridge amongst many others.

The elegantly proportioned main drawing room, known as the William Kent room, has been transformed into a wholesale showroom used for appointments with Harrods, Bergdorf Goodman or Isetan. A silver Crush piece by Fredrikson Stallard sits above an original 1732 William Kent fireplace, juxtaposing the new alongside the old.
The colour palate was developed from a section of an early Chinoiserie panel gifted to Coutts bank in the 18th century and which would have been completely appropriate to the architectural interior of No1 Savile Row – the panels can be viewed by arrangement with Coutts at its offices in the Strand.

At the entrance, Kentian design details are re-interpreted with oak six-panel doors and internal windows feeling modern yet grounded in history. The tall ceiling windows flow from one to another, presenting collections of weekend wear, shirts, ties and accessories.
Gieves & Hawkes, store interior Gieves & Hawkes, Interior designer Teresa Hastings, fumed oak, cast bronze, tailoring textures, Teresa Hastings, royal store,

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