"Do something first. Then talk about it"

I just watched a Style Forum Special on Tom Ford twice. Having spent the first time crawling around on the floor lusting after Tom “three baths a day” Ford, the second time through I was actually able to focus on what the man was saying. And he’s pretty bloody on it.

 

Tom Ford - the man, the creator, the brand - has always been up there with Perrier on my list of most favourite brands ever. But the purchase of a Tom Ford lipstick cemented his position at the top. I’m becoming far too long in the tooth to get evangelical about branding, and Selfridges in the Sales is enough to murder anyone’s sense of “brand experience”. So I wasn’t holding out much hope when I elbowed my way through to the concession. But there, laid out like gilt-edged weaponry, was the most incredible, brand-led packaging I’ve ever seen. The bustling crowd faded away, the orange-tinted sales assistant disappeared, and the bright shopping lights dimmed to a sexy flicker - I was in Tom Ford world.

In the film, Tom explains where the brand story emanates from. He says, “You have to look inside yourself… You start to develop a vocabulary that is a personality. And the brand then takes on a personality based on your personality”. And man, is it one dashing personality - sultry, meticulous, and unarguably gorgeous. It’s a brand personality so astoundingly charming, so memorable, that it has to power to filter down through the couture collection, through the pret-a-porter collection, through the accessories, through the cosmetics and, finally, through to packaging. Never before have I seen a cardboard lipstick box so loaded with meaning, suggestion and story.

It’s not just rock hard branding that infuses Tom Ford products, stores and packaging with that heady scent of je ne sais quoi, however. Dissecting his working practices, Tom reveals, “The clues for everything that's going to come next are here now. And either you're a sleuth and you're thinking about it cerebrally or you feel it. There are no right or wrong answers - it's intuitive”. This “intuition” was there when he transformed Gucci in the nineties, and YSL in the noughties, and it’s here now too in the thousand-doller suits and in this little lipstick box. Knife-sharp lines in a world of soft curves, real attitude in a sea of subtlety.

 

To shop and to buy from this day forward...

Maybe it's because my parents got the bus to their wedding, or maybe it's because my childhood game was more likely to involve eating mud than playing dress up, but for some reason the whole big White Wedding idea has never particularly grabbed me.

Until now.

Apparently Selfridges has got a wedding license! As the girl who just last Wednesday found herself being unceremoniously pushed from the store at closing time, the thought of combining the love of my life with... the guy I want to marry is pretty exciting. A cousin of a friend did just that some years ago and here's the picture to prove it.



Thanks to Selina and Matthew for use of their image.

Yet more chocolates...

After my annual pilgrimage to Selfridges to buy smoked salmon and cream cheese, my new packaging heroes are Artisan du Chocolat. With the opening of a new concession just as you get to the Food Hall, Artisan appear to have seriously upped their game in terms of product development. All the loose chocolates - in every flavour from tobacco to sesame - were encased behind glass that ran the length of the concession. While the pre-packed chocolates were done so intriguingly and with a whimsical sense of humour that did not leave the realms of the incredibly chic. I loved the 'drink me' hot chocolate flakes, bottled in old-fashioned apothecary jars.



In referencing the Chanel No.5 packaging for their salted caramels, Artisan are knowingly borrowing a timeless design heritage, not to mention all the visual associations of luxury, femininity, and exclusivity. Were this flagrant referencing to run across the entire Artisan range, it would lose its credibility and stand only on the strength of the brand it evokes, but in using it sparingly, Artisan have succeeded in making it wittily their own.

And finally, (sorry it's probably got something to do with it being the season of goodwill and all that), top marks for their catalogue, which is sleek, modern, and clearly shows all the chocolates in their best light. Fabulous!

Wondering why....

Back in September, huge excitement was generated over the news that Selfridges was unveiling The Wonder Room. The concept behind the Wonder Room was to challenge the meaning of 'exclusivity' with unique and diverse pieces from around the world. And, certainly at first viewing it seemed to offer just that... squidgy, rubber buddhas rubbed shoulders with Ali's training jacket, while the Hermes winged saddle bag snuggled up to designer vibrators. So far so exclusive.



It's been nearly eight months now, however, and I've yet to see anything new or wondrous added to their collection other than some £80 notebooks and a back wall devoted to designer sunglasses. It's a shame because, with a little research and devotion, Selfridges could really lead the way in offering one-off items. If you're in Selfridges dropping several grand on a handbag, would you really stop to think of wasting a few hundred on a John Derian decoupage plate, a 'C'mere' Hand Hook, or even some star spot from Etsy? And for those of us in there just to browse, what could be more aspirational than something that is both expensive and relatively unique, or more exciting that seeing something not found anywhere else in London?