Although Nottingham is regarded as a key shopping destination in the East Midlands, its menu has always lacked one particular flavour. But as punters will have noticed, there’s a new boy on the block to remedy that. Platform’s Editor-in-Chief GLEN DAVIES takes a look.
It’s one of the flagship retail spaces of the city centre. The ornate, listed building on the corner where the uber-stylish Bridlesmith Gate meets High Pavement has been covered in scaffolding and building works for around six months, but now they’ve come down to reveal a fresh-looking, refurbished store which has been completely changed inside.
This is the seventh flagship store to open in the UK from Firetrap, the urban-come-indie-come-vintage-style brand which has been gradually expanding throughout the country. It opened recently to much fanfare, but how has Nottingham taken to it – and vice versa – in its first fortnight?
Although it’s been going since 1991, starting in Covent Garden in London and expanding to the likes of Edinburgh, Leeds and Belfast, natives of the East Midlands – or indeed anyone not in a major city – could be forgiven for not having heard of it.
Primarily dealing in jeans, the brand has expanded over the years to include a range of clothes which are all proudly designed by budding Brits, focusing on edgy, underground youth culture, as Mike Callan, the store’s 24-year-old assistant manager explains.
“It’s all about London life,” he says, as we talk on the shop floor. He’s unable to leave the till because of short staffing which means our interview has to dodge around the shoppers.
“Firetrap is very much an urban brand and the capital is the best place to look for that. We focus on the nightlife of London.”
He says they chose Nottingham for their next big store location because of its cultural history.
“Nottingham has a lot of fashion heritage, especially with Paul Smith and his flagship store around the corner and Bridlesmith Gate having so many premium brands.”
At the store’s opening last weekend, there was live music from a DJ who set up beside the jeans racks, models giving out goodie bags in the street, Trent FM’s Black Thunder crew and a man who calls himself The Urbanist. He airbrushed graffiti-style graphics onto t-shirts, creating bespoke and unique designs.
But Firetrap’s appeal isn’t just limited to the Black Skinny Jean Parade.
“We had a very varied range of customers coming through the doors”, says Mike. “We’re probably thought of as a young brand, but we have people ranging from 18 right up to 50-plus coming in and buying our clothes.”
Curiosity must surely be one of the reasons. The place isn’t just a standard shop, with some painted walls and a few stands of clothes. Black enamel tiles cover the walls whilst random bits of tarnished metal carry the clothing lines. Even the staircase looks as though it came from a derelict industrial space.
For some inexplicable reason, that’s partly what makes this shop cool. The place is decked out like a film set, with its low voltage lighting, props and aged bits of furniture. Chandeliers illuminate the period features like the ornate cornices and leaded windows. It’s a rather wonderful juxtaposition of old and new.
Myriam Ben Yedder, Firetrap’s Brand and Retail Director, seemed very pleased with their new location.
“Particular attention was paid to enhancing the characteristic of the magnificent listed building that will be our new home,” she said in a statement.
“We are very proud and excited to open our latest Firetrap store in Nottingham, a city renowned and recognized for its creative and fashion heritage.”
But although the opening at the weekend attracted lots of punters, its first week has been on the quiet side. It’s still a hard time to be in retail, with most shops in the city suffering on weekdays.
Mike, who has always worked in retail for various brands, explains how lots of shops are struggling.
“A lot of the shops around here have only been taking £100 a day, because the whole city centre goes quiet during the week, although we’ve been doing comparatively well. But we had a fantastic opening weekend.”
Even though it’s a Friday afternoon, there are still a few shoppers wandering through the store.
“It’s just something a bit different for Nottingham,” says 20-year-old Emma Roberts as she rummages through a selection of heavily worn jeans.
“We’ve got loads of vintage and independent little shops doing similar things but you’ve got to put the effort into finding those, and then spend hours looking for something decent in them. It’s so much better to have a high street shop like this.”
Their latest collection for Spring is softened from their previous lines. Where before everything looked as though it had been fed through a mincer before being put on the shelves, the clothes are now more pristine, creating another little juxtaposition as they hang from tarnished steel.
Whatever your own particular style, it’s refreshing to see something this different lurking on the street corner.
By Glen Davies
Editor-in-Chief
