New High Street stores for London fashionistas

What a month for London store openings and soon-to-be openings. Just recently the eagerly-awaited Banana Republic opened its doors to the UK, and positioned itself nicely in the West End’s Regent Street.

Yes, they took their time, but I for one am willing to forgive them. Their self-proclaimed ‘affordable luxury and modern working wardrobe’ ethos adds a whole new flavour to our London streets.

Banana Republic has also granted us the only European city to be graced with their presence, and their clothing has already featured in Vogue, InStyle and Elle magazines. It’s definitely made an impact on every fashion editor in town, and the public has been walking through its doors ever since they first opened.

I took a peek inside the new flagship and was immediately greeted by friendly staff, then headed for the new collection. You can tell Banana Republic has tried its best to secure the same store design quality as throughout the rest of Regent Street: contemporary lighting, vintage furniture, stone floors, and exhibited photography by Michael Hoppen.

Some great news for North Londoners is that H&M will soon be opening in Camden. To say this will be an improvement on the area would be debatable. With such a diverse mixture of people living in this London locality it could result in cries of happiness or even outright anger by local residents.

It will however increase the number of high street retailers in this cherished hub, and at least Gap will finally have a fashion retail friend to save the locals a trip to the busy West End.

The new H&M store is expected to open under their Dividend brand; one of five H&M Dividend stores in the whole of Europe. The precise date of its opening has not yet been revealed but what we do know is that the store will stock womenswear, menswear, and accessories, and it will have a warehouse-style theme, split over two levels and about 8,300 square feet.

An H&M spokesperson said: "It's a young-focus store. Dividend is aimed at 15 to 25 year-olds. It's more trend-led denim and fun fashion. We feel our target customer is within the Camden area, so it will do really well."

By Marleny Centellas-Venegas/MOLI