Store design: Viyella, Regent Street, London

Yet walk into the recently opened two-floor, semi-standalone Viyella flagship, accessed from Regent Street or via its parent brand Austin Reed, and initial feelings are that you have walked into a menswear shop. Look more closely and the clubby, dark-wood library feel of the ground floor does in fact contain a tincture of women’s clothing, but the overall feel is masculine, whether it’s the wall of silver antlers or the graphic of an old-fashioned study at the back.

The latter does, in fairness, contain a visual clue in the shape of a white Parian ware bust that happens to be female, rather than male, but otherwise, waxed jackets and a pair of brogues are the somewhat Shires-based masculine order of the day.

The point is that this is about telling shoppers that Viyella is not the ‘pearls and twinset’ brand that some might imagine, and that if country-influenced clothing for men or women is your thing, then this is certainly an option.

The womenswear offer proper is actually in the basement, where an abrupt change of mood takes place with a white, minimalist environment used to show off the boldly coloured stock. A faded Union Jack graphic is set into one of the walls, emphasising the brand’s essentially British qualities, but this level has a slickly metropolitan feel – in complete contrast to the floor above.

Austin Reed moved across Regent Street to open the three-floor store of which the Viyella shop forms an element. There was a requirement to keep the two brands associated and yet apart and this has been achieved. However, the men’s tweedy flat caps with a sign stating ‘womenswear’ might require a rethink.