In 2004, on Mayfair’s Dover Avenue, Rei Kawakubo, founding father of Comme des Garçons, and her husband Adrian Joffe based a multi-brand retailer that defied expectation — and continues to take action because it thrives, in huge five-floor glory in its Haymarket residence since 2016, whereas others crumble round it.

Whereas it has developed right into a community of luxurious and rising star vogue names spanning New York, Tokyo, Singapore, Paris, Beijing and Los Angeles, its London roots make up the foundations and buyers right here put on their affiliation as a badge of honour.

“It’s form of miraculous to make it to twenty,” says Joffe, the president. “Slowly however absolutely we’re getting the message throughout about how essential bodily shops are.”

Right here, those who understand it finest replicate on a spectacular twenty years.

I first visited DSM in 2010 once I was a pupil at Central St Martins. It has been so integral in launching the careers of so many London creatives. My favorite reminiscences have been putting in shows over the previous decade; from our first window with an enormous blue octopus to tarpaulin frogs and fish, latex lighthouses and big sea defence rock towers in cages. The liberty to experiment is what makes DSM such a particular place — and why I like working with them nonetheless.

It’s the epitome of cool, and the other of company! My funniest recollection is once I was creating my very own perfume with Comme des Garçons. I as soon as visited Adrian [Joffe] with my bakhoor burner and a blow torch. I set it up on the store ground and began burning charcoal, bakhoor and oud. Adrian appeared greater than just a little stunned…

It was huge, huge information that it was going to open and I had heard that it was going to be based mostly on Rei’s go to to Kensington Market within the Seventies. I had been there as effectively and I used to be fascinated to know what it was going to be like. It’s the best store on the planet, and it occurs to be in London. My recommendation: get to know the employees, they’re fascinating.

Dover Avenue Market isn’t only a retailer; it’s an establishment. It redefined retail by creating an area the place creativity is widely known, from the curation of items to the clever installations. It’s a mirrored image of London itself — dynamic, daring and unapologetically forward-thinking. On my first day I immediately recognised that I used to be working alongside a few of the finest characters on the town. No two members of employees have been the identical, it was the proper reflection of London’s worldwide spirit … I bear in mind Mick Jagger coming into the basement the place I labored, and I placed on These New Puritans on our music system, considering he’d be into it. As I used to be bringing over his shoe dimension, he mentioned the music was too loud and will I flip it down … not fairly the response I used to be anticipating from one in every of our biggest rock stars.

I bear in mind first visiting as an adolescent with my finest buddy Tom and considering it was the best place on the planet. Since then, I recall one night once I drank an excessive amount of wine at an open home and was interviewed by Love journal within the carry … I gave probably the most embarrassing/odd solutions to their questions.

It was simply so thrilling to have the ability to see all of those designers below one roof; the one place you can do that. It’s a lifeline of assist to younger London expertise, too. Adrian and Dickon Bowden, the vice chairman, assist so many individuals via DSM — they want a medal for it. My tip is to start out on the prime and work down.

Dover Avenue has such an enormous hyperlink to the previous; to the previous London earlier than the chain shops and occasional outlets. DSM is as inspiring and infuriating as a complete road of idiosyncratic Eighties outlets. We bear in mind David Beckham searching for sneakers within the previous retailer basement, and abruptly, each different male buyer was on the counter loudly declaring, “I’ll take three of those”.

I used to go to DSM as a pupil to take a look at who they have been shopping for and admire the ending of various merchandise (earlier than I might afford to purchase something). DSM is a particular, independent-minded residence for vogue within the metropolis.

I used to be 16 years previous the primary time I went to Dover Avenue Market and it utterly blew my thoughts. For a fashion-obsessed teenager, it was simply every part — complete inventive expression. I began working there a yr later, once I was 17, and it was the very best 5 years of my life. I nonetheless name it my training as a result of it actually opened my eyes to so many designers and new methods of considering. The creativity was unparalleled — and nonetheless is!

It’s the unique that feels prefer it might solely be born in London, and now London and in all places in retail wouldn’t be the identical with out it. A particular second was after we put in our first window on Dover Avenue. It was a residing inexperienced sculpture representing the lane behind my home in Dublin.

On the day earlier than we opened again in 2004, we carried an enormous piece of furnishings that we made with Hedi Slimane up three flights of stairs with 10 builders, solely to seek out it didn’t match … and carried it again down once more. Not the one drama. I additionally bear in mind unloading a life-size elephant with a crane from a truck early one morning to the amazement of the Mayfair group. She now lives in Tokyo at Dover Avenue Market Ginza and is an iconic a part of the shop.

I’ve been going to DSM for thus lengthy now, however I do bear in mind my first time going to DSM right here in London when it was on Dover Avenue, there was an occasion occurring and I additionally bear in mind Michèle Lamy being in attendance, and I used to be fairly excited to see her there lol. It’s the one place the place you understand you can go and discover all of the best issues one might purchase and see probably the most trendy crew/employees to greet you as you enter and exit.

I really feel so proud that I used to be DSM’s first-ever window show, with the legendary Michael Howells, we recreated a stunning model of the inside of my then-shop on Westbourne Grove. A lot of purple velvet and delightful jewelry cupboards. Guests are assured to seek out gadgets they received’t discover wherever else. Artwork and originality are imbued in each little bit of it. The London DSM is an authentic landmark value a go to for Londoners in addition to vacationers.