For those who spend their evenings in nightclubs tripping the light fantastic, the chances are good that the words Hed Kandi will be familiar. This is a company that produces predominantly dance music and is owned by that global force in such matters: Ministry of Sound.
Now it has moved into retailing and the first store has opened in Bluewater, with a second branch just announced in Liverpool. In essence this is a young fashion store that seeks to trade off the Hed Kandi name and to offer modish young things the chance to wear a little piece of the label that they may have spent their evenings dancing to.
The look and feel of this 1,450 sq ft store is, well, glitzy from the moment that shoppers clap eyes on it. The logo is high gloss and reflective and the monochrome, side-hung stock at the front of the shop is festooned with sequins,
in keeping with the sassy-looking mannequin wearing a fake rubber dress, who stares in on the store.
Mirrors, spotlights and disco glitterballs overhead set the tone for the rest of the space and it’s hard to escape the sense that you have exited the controlled environs of a well-kept contemporary shopping centre and entered a shady demi-monde.
Never easy, the business of stretching a brand and what has been done in Bluewater shows what is possible, with a little care and attention. At 3,000 sq ft, the Liverpool store will be twice the size of the Bluewater pilot. It will be interesting to see whether this one finds favour with clubbers. Certainly, taking a brand associated with nightspots and putting it into a retail environment is a bold move.
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