Bally is latest arrival on Regent Street with new concept

By

Nigel TAYLOR

Published
Jul 26, 2021

Bally has gone for big and bold with its new London flagship store. Situated in one of London’s premier retail locations, the latest Bally Haus concept store on Regent Street comes with a high degree of historical and contemporary artistic content for the upscale footwear and accessories retailer.

Celebrating Bally’s 170-year heritage, Bally Haus “honours the brand’s Swiss pillars of art, architecture and craftsmanship through contemporary design and natural materials”. This will be merged with creative cues from London’s landscape and commissioned artworks.

Regent Street has seen a series of openings and announcements of new tenants in recent periods, the latest having been news that Uniqlo and Theory are to open in the former Superdry flagship on the street.

The failure of some retailers, as well as other surviving companies shuttering individual stores, has created plenty of space opportunities for brands seeking premium stores on a prestigious shopping street. 

And the new Bally store? Housed in a 400 sq m historic building and boasting a columned façade and windows framed by antique trim, the Bally Haus interior is inspired by the city’s geological and architectural history.

It also offers “new ways of shopping with a multi-functional format that lends itself to cultural programming, including film screenings, panel discussions and exhibitions”. 

Bally said the focus on materials creates “an open, flexible space with visual contrasts, a central Bally Haus feature”. Light and dark marble flooring meets earthy, red stones, terracotta shelving displays and natural millwork. 

At the store’s entrance, an expansive LED screen introduces unique 360 content for digital campaigns and collections. 

Bally has commissioned local materialist and maker James Shaw. The resulting pieces, such as bespoke footwear risers, bookends and mid-floor fixtures, were made from repurposed local waste plastic which Shaw hand-extruded into high-density polyethylene and polypropylene sculptures. 

A series of limited-edition products will also feature throughout the store, including the Crystalia tote bag with an exclusive leather-embossed patch displaying Bally Haus London’s street and city name.  Later this year, the store will exhibit sculptural pieces by London-based artist Zuza Mengham. The exhibit will be the first in a Bally Haus series, “providing a cultural hub to explore local talent”.

Bally CEO Nicolas Girotto said: “London has always been such an important fashion capital for creativity and culture. Bally Haus London hopes to fulfll new post-pandemic needs with a multi-functional space that engages local artists to give second life to repurposed materials - offering new ways of seeing old things - while providing an experiential environment that embraces the excitement of discovery”. 

In addition to London, new Bally concept store openings in 2021 include New York’s Meatpacking District, opened last month, and on Sydney’s George Street, later this summer.