What puts an interiors retailer in the bracket of  ‘high end high street’?

Whether a brand is classified as high-end high street depends on many factors including; the quality of the materials used, the quality of the designs, how the products are made, the marketing, the feel of the shop and the price range.  

For example, Toast, is an upscale store that sells women and men’s clothes as well as home and household products. They pride themselves on their simple classic designs and ethical choice of fabrics and raw materials that are of a high quality and so have a longer life span. They use organic cotton and animal products that are a by-product of the meat industry, ensuring they are being environmentally friendly and using ethically raised animal products.

They try to produce products that have a story behind them, meaning they have not been mass produced but instead hand crafted or made by a small co operative business This ensures that the money goes straight into the community of workers. 

Anthropologie is another business that prides itself on the fact that they use high quality fabrics and raw materials that are ethically produced and environmentally friendly when possible, for example recycled glass is used for their ‘rain streaked motives’. They also produce hand made products when possible, such as their hand stained ink paintings and drawings.

Their designs have a very different feel to Toast, which were simple and sophisticated with clean lines and often muted colors. However anthroplpogie emulate a free spirited, bohemian style, which often involves bold and brightly colored patterns, and vibrant colors. Both of these are of a high quality and depict a certain sense of style that is emulated throughout the whole brand.

Anthropologie depict its bohemian style not just within its products designs but also throughout the shop design and window displays. They employ a team of artists and designers who work solely on designing the window displays, which often involve a product or garment and then evolve from there using anything from coffee filters to hundreds of aligned clothes pegs. They try to use everyday items, which would be found in most homes.

From looking into ‘what makes an interiors store ‘high end high street’ I have concluded where a store is placed in the market not only depends on the quality of the materials and designs, how the products are made, the marketing and the price range, but also the creation of an individual style and sticking to it throughout. This helps create a continuity that the low-end high street just can’t emulate. 

Key issues & events impacting design.

In high street stores, there is more consideration for ethical conduct than in the lower ranks of the market - fibres are sustainably sourced and, where possible, there is an effort to reduce the global impact of shipping and production. A lot of the websites for these stores have designated sections of their websites to inform the reader of ethical practise and their impact on the environment as well as the global events impacting design. As well as their online store, Conran have a blog

(found at http://www.conrantalkingshop.com/uk/category/handcrafted-in-britain/)On here, there is information about the copyright amendment campaign "Equal Rights For Design" which Conran were a supporting member of. Speaking of this issue, Terence Conran says:
‘By protecting new designs more generously, we are encouraging more investment of time and talent in British design. That will lead to more manufacturing in Britain, and that in turn will lead to more jobs – which we desperately need right now. Properly protected design can help make the UK a profitable workshop again. We have the creative talent – lets use it.’

Likewise, Toast have a very clear and easy to find statement on their ethical policies such as treatment of animals, international trade, environmental impact and charity organisations. they also heavily support artisan makers and craftsmen and have high standards of quality when it comes to products to ensure their longevity. 

All the info can be found here!

Why?
 Quality and ability to last. The furniture in the highend highstreet stores is designed to last, not wear out as quickly and to potentially be passed down generations.
  This being the case, there is no need to repurchase after a few years. 

Trends in High End High Street

Trends In High End High Street

Many of the high street interiors of a High End market I have researched have a running theme in current collections of a vintage, worn, revival designs. 

Some examples of current High End companies selling wallpaper and fabric designs are Osborne and Little, Houles, Luke Irwin, Toast, Conran, Harlequin, Liberty and Rebel Walls.

Liberty for example have taken influence for their first ever collection of paints and wallpapers from the 19^th century designs of landscape architect William Nesfield, their range focuses on bold colour and botanical details inspired by Kew gardens. These had one of the boldest colour palettes of the companies I researched, whilst companies such as Rebel Walls and Harlequin wallpapers are designed to give the impression of an old building in whatever kind of building the customer wishes. This is something I find interesting; the high-end market seems to be selling a low budget look. Why is this? Rebel Walls write on their website “Being a rebel is not an end in itself but rather a must. When you wish something that do not yet exist, you create it yourself.” Is this a way of thinking you would normally associate with a high-end company? They go on to describe themselves as giving the customer “the tools to change your surroundings on your terms.” This seems to be a different feeling of hide end from Houles whose cliental include palaces and castles like le Château de Versailles, or Presidential Residences in France and abroad aswell as private apartments and houses.

Following on from the trend of vintage look wallpaper is Up cycling home wear items, this is very present currently in magazines such as Elle Decoration. But are the cliental who buy Elle decoration and shop in High End High Street actually doing this or are they just buying ready made Up cycled look items because they can afford too.
African folklore and multicultural influences are also on trend with designers such as Rifat Ozbek creating cushions inspired by 'voodoo' and textile house Maharam and Belgian-Dutch duo Studio Job collaborating to create a collection of prints 'Bavaria' and 'Bavaria Stripe' influenced by farming. Both of these designers work still has the running vintage retro feel about them.