LONDON-based international jewellery designer Theo Fennel is having a busy July. He manned a chic stand at Masterpiece and later this month opens a new shop in Burlington Arcade, a haven of luxury shopping since it opened in Mayfair in 1819.
This is in addition to his famed flagship store in Fulham Road.
Theo Fennell (above), who counts David Beckham and Elton John among his clients, says: “I am thrilled to be going into Burlington Arcade, it has always been one of my favourite places in London. To show off work like ours is what the Arcade was originally built for.”
He joins some of the big names in luxury goods who have recently moved in, among them handbag designer Lulu Guinness and top people’s shoe shop Jimmy Choo. And I hear whispers that Linley is also planning to join.
But there is a downside to this influx of fashionable names in that it squeezes out the traditional small antiques traders once a fixture in the arcade.
Like silver dealer Daniel Bexfield, who has been there 13 years but was told by developers Meyer Bergman, who have spent millions refurbishing the landmark, that his business “no longer fits” the image of the place and his lease will not be renewed next year.
How odd. I would have thought Georgian silver most appropriate for a Georgian shopping arcade.
Image courtesy Luke Sheridan Oliver.
Theo Fennell Designs Necklace For Diamond Jubilee—YouTube video