Polène, the Parisian accessibly priced luxurious leathergoods model, arrived on London’s Regent Avenue earlier than Christmas. We’re fortunate to have it. Outdoors of its house market, it solely has bodily retail shops in Tokyo, Seoul and New York. However it’s slowly opening shops in these markets the place it has probably the most followers, judging by on-line gross sales.
Based in 2016 by three siblings (Antoine, Mathieu and Elsa Mothay), this low-key home has quietly grow to be an social media sensation, helped in no small half by an (unpaid and unsolicited) endorsement from Tanner Leatherstein, the leathergoods professional who is legendary for pulling aside purses, analyzing their building and supplies, and providing his opinion on whether or not they’re well worth the usually hefty price ticket. Two years in the past he pulled aside a Polène bag and declared ominously however, because it seems, fully accurately: “Luxurious manufacturers are in bother.”
Luxurious is challenged as shoppers have uninterested in the unjustified worth hikes they usually questionable high quality, and customarily talking they’re pulling again on discretionary spend. In the meantime manufacturers like Polène and Britain’s Strathberry are quietly prospering by providing thought-about design and luxury-standard building and high quality for round £500 a bag. You can spend 5 occasions that quantity (simply) in a giant luxurious home – as Tanner Leatherstein factors out – for a bag that’s actually not 5 occasions pretty much as good. Fairly most likely it would not even be as good in some circumstances. The world’s largest luxurious group, LVMH has sat up and brought discover. In September of final yr L Catterton, the non-public fairness agency, which is backed by LVMH, snapped up a minority stake in Polène, and it is easy to know why.
Polène baggage are crafted from Italian or Spanish leather-based within the Spanish city of Ubrique, which is understood within the commerce for being house to among the world’s finest leathergoods makers, working for among the most excessive profile luxurious manufacturers, together with LVMH’s Louis Vuitton and Dior, amongst many others.
I am a purse afficionado/addict of a few years’ standing. I’ve collected many luxurious baggage over time (I intend to bequeath them to my daughter) and at the moment have designs from Dior and Celine on rotation nearly day by day. I’ve simply bought my first Polène and it will not be my final. Not solely as a result of the bag I purchased is stylish and fantastically constructed, however the retail expertise tops, or at the very least matches, that which I’ve acquired in the perfect luxurious shops.
Here is how my current go to panned out…
Minimalis aesthetic extends to product shows
Location
The shop is situated on the Piccadilly Circus finish of Regent Avenue, which actually feels somewhat bit too removed from the remainder of the style motion. Mulberry, Burberry and all of the French trend manufacturers (Sandro, Maje, Claudie Pierlot and so on) are all clustered extra in direction of center part of the road.
I initially thought this was a little bit of a ache as I trudged up the road, upon reflection, I believe there’s something fairly cool about Polène being barely separate from the gang. It’s nonetheless a little bit of an insider model and my feeling is loyalists will simply search it out, irrespective of the place it’s. It doesn’t essentially have to depend on folks chancing upon it when searching for different issues, however there are some cool athleisure manufacturers simply throughout the road, comparable to Alo, that may deliver folks as much as this finish of the road.
As well as because the unit sits on the curve of the road because it arcs in direction of Piccadilly Circus, it makes for a extra architecturally fascinating unit each in and out. I simply love the grandiose regency structure of this road – it is one among my favourites in London – so all in all. I am glad Polène has chosen to be right here.
Baggage displayed on plinths made up of stacks of leather-based off-cuts
Home windows & Entrance
I used to be planning to do that Secret Store a lot before this (the shop opened simply earlier than Christmas), however the first time I went, there was a queue outdoors, full with velvet rope. However, whereas it could be well worth the wait if you happen to encountered such a queue, I’m usually racing round when I’m in London, becoming in buying in between work commitments, and ready in a queue outdoors a retailer (even when I’m doing so for skilled functions) seems like skiving off. Plus, I simply cannot be bothered with queues outdoors outlets.
The curve of Regent Avenue makes for a surprising inside
In accordance with my very chatty gross sales affiliate (extra on her later), the queues outdoors Polène are solely in place at peak occasions and the utmost wait up to now has “solely” been 40 minutes. Once I regarded shocked at that, she defined that individuals repeatedly wait two hours to get into the Paris retailer. I visited mid-morning on a Thursday in the midst of a rain bathe, therefore no queue, and walked straight in. A safety guard opened the door as I approached and opened it for me with a pleasant “welcome to Polène” as walked in. This was a pleasant contact.
The ground to ceiling home windows featured minimalist shows with just a few baggage proven affording a transparent view into floor flooring of the store, which to be sincere seems to be extra like an artwork gallery than any retailer I normally frequent.
Retailer Match
Once I first entered the shop my first impression was there have been extra employees than there have been baggage. There have been 12 baggage displayed on the wall to the left, three on plinths within the centre of the ground and a handful within the home windows. That’s it. Clearly product density per sq. foot has no relevance to this model however I nearly bought the sense that the goal was to place as little product on this house as attainable.
This floor flooring house is fairly huge and initially, I used to be the one buyer in it (many extra arrived later). I used to be nearly afraid to the touch something however the employees, clad head to toe in beige uniforms, had been so good and pleasant, I rapidly relaxed.
Leather-based off-cuts had been used to clad the handrail on the staircase
Let’s begin with the shop match. It’s lovely. The principle show wall, the place the 12 baggage are displayed, is crafted out of leather-based offcuts which were compressed into tiles that appear cork-like in texture. The plinths within the centre of the shop, together with the gorgeous money register are customary from squares of leather-based off-cuts, basically layered on prime of one another to gorgeous impact. I discovered myself stroking them involuntarily and as I did so, a gross sales affiliate popped as much as clarify that the leather-based got here from Italy and was the identical leather-based used within the baggage. It is a very nice contact as you may see precisely the type of high quality leather-based that Polène makes use of.
The identical retailer affiliate defined there have been extra baggage upstairs and I used to be welcome to attempt something on and have a browse, so I headed for the huge staircase. As I reached for the hand rail, I jumped, as a voice behind me mentioned: “that is made from leather-based offcuts, this retailer could be very sustainable.” It was one other gross sales affiliate who had determined to accompany me on my journey to the highest flooring. “Did you see the wall downstairs?” she requested. “The desk upstairs is made from the identical materials, come and look.”
An unlimited desk is crafted from leather-based off-cuts
Once I reached the highest flooring, I noticed mentioned desk. It was made from the identical cork impact leather-based tiles and it was huge, fully dominating your complete flooring. The was completely nothing in any respect on it. There are extra baggage up right here, which displayed alongside two partitions with one or two baggage within the home windows. There’s additionally a small cupboard displaying jewelry.
Product Vary
OK, there is not a lot on show however my goodness it is good. Polène’s baggage are sometimes named after numbers and I used to be out there for a Dix or 10, which is the tenth bag the model designed and a saddle bag model. As soon as I might bought over the sense I used to be in an artwork gallery, I relaxed and began attempting issues on and the gross sales affiliate was pleased for me to take action and made recommendations primarily based on what I used to be carrying and what I mentioned I wished,
There are totes, shoulder baggage, bucket baggage, clutches and pouches for each event, so long as the event calls for tan, taupe, ecru, gray, black or darkish crimson equipment that’s. I notably appreciated the iPhone pouches that every one the employees have slung cross physique over their uniforms. The standard of the luggage and the development is elegant. Should you took off the Polène branding and advised me it was Céline, I would not have disbelieved it. However the price ticket is the give away, I picked up just one bag that was in extra of £500 in worth. Most are round £400 and leather-trimmed canvas kinds can by beneath £300.
In addition to baggage, there’s a small choice of jewelry and some belts within the vary. I want there have been sneakers. They’d make such nice sneakers… My gross sales affiliate guarantees to move my request on.
Service
It bought the purpose once I questioned if my gross sales affiliate was conscious I used to be secret buying and was pulling out all of the stops to be attentive, however she clearly did not have a clue who I used to be and I did not inform her I labored out there. Her data of the model was deep and she or he was clearly very proud to work for Polène, though she had apparently solely started working for the corporate when the shop opened. Each time I mentioned one thing good in regards to the retailer or a bag, she would thank me “a lot” and I believe she actually meant it.
She was additionally very affected person with me. I used to be so undecided in regards to the color of bag I wished and she or he was pleased to advise me and confirmed me on her iPad what different colors had been in inventory. I eventualy landed on a gray Dix and simply as I used to be about to descend the steps I modified my thoughts and selected the very pale gray one. “it isn’t drawback, actually,” she mentioned and scuttled off to get me a recent one from the inventory room. By the way in which, I ought to add when the recent baggage arrive from the inventory room they’re encased in lovely branded containers with dustbags which might be of the identical high quality you’ll obtain with a designer bag.
I might requested to see the belts whereas I used to be upstairs and she or he advised me they had been downstairs. After we bought downstairs, she launched me to a different employees member who was carrying the belt and was merely thrilled to provide me demonstration. It was a kind of kinds that wrap round twice and she or he spent a while displaying me the totally different approach of carrying it and the way to fasten it. I confess I could have glazed over a bit at this level as I used to be pondering “how laborious can or not it’s to buckle a belt?” I purchased it, clearly, and once I bought house I want I had paid extra consideration because it was a bit fiddly, to be honest. I labored it out although.
Experiential choices
Checkout was beautiful and, because it was raining, they fitted my paper bag with a plastic jacket to guard. Simply once I thought my go to was over, the gross sales affiliate requested me if I might been proven the “expertise” and pointed to a machine within the nook. To be sincere I had questioned what it was however assumed it was one thing employees used (a small carry for purses maybe?) so did not pay it an excessive amount of consideration. Because it seems, in each Polène retailer, clients are invited to create one thing from leather-based off-cuts to remove as a memento.
The memento tray-making course of
London clients get to make a small leather-based tray utilizing a hefty trying machine, made in Switzerland apparently, that heats up a chunk of leather-based after which moulds it right into a small kidney-shaped tray. In Paris, I am advised, you get to make a keyring (reality be advised, I’d have most well-liked a keying) however I additionally appreciated the thought of the tray. The truth of the tray, I appreciated much less. It was principally a chunk of dented leather-based (albeit very good leather-based) that now sits on my desk with a lip balm in it. I did not really want a tray for my lipbalm however I’ve bought one now and I assume that could be a bonus.
There’s additionally a personalisation machine for making use of initials to your purchases, however I did not attempt that. Possibly if I had a keyring, I’d have.
In Conclusion
J’adore. All of it. I am going again and I will purchase one thing else. However I do not J’adore it sufficient to queue.
