LONDON — New York may increasingly resemble a retail desert, with Barneys in seemingly never-ending liquidation sales and Opening Ceremony closing its stores.
But here the ultimate multibrand boutique, Browns, is still going strong at 50. Sprawling along South Molton Street in a series of connected townhouses, the boutique was run by Joan Burstein (commonly called Mrs. B) and her family until it was acquired by the luxury e-platform Farfetch in 2015.
Known as the first place to stock styles by the likes of John Galliano and Alexander McQueen, the store has maintained its reputation for supporting new talent by, for example, collaborating on a capsule collection in 2018 with the London-based American designer Michael Halpern.
To celebrate its anniversary, Browns plans to close its current location this summer and move to a four-floor site at 39 Brook Street.
The new 9,580-square-foot store is to have space for rotating collections, pop-ups and a restaurant. (Its neighbors will be the swanky Claridge’s hotel and Handel & Hendrix in London, a museum that encompasses the home of the 18th-century composer Georg Frideric Handel and an apartment where Jimi Hendrix lived in the late 1960s.)
But before that shift, fashion-world fans of Browns recalled why it mattered. And why it still does. (The interviews have been edited and condensed.)
Laudomia Pucci, deputy chairwoman and image director, Emilio Pucci
“The store had its own personality. It didn’t look like a supermodern store. It had its own charm and I thought that was nice, because it was the charm of the family and the personality of the family.”
Osman Yousefzada, a London-based designer who founded his Osman label in 2008
“Mrs. B was a retailer at the end of the day and a lot of it was really about getting stuff that no one really had, and bringing it to London. She opened a series of shops for Ralph Lauren before anyone had it.”
Simone Rocha, a London designer who sold her fall 2012 collection, her first solo show, to Browns. She is a daughter of the designer John Rocha.
“When I used to go to my father’s shows, I would always walk up to Browns and especially Browns Labels For Less, which is no longer there, because I was a teenager — probably looking for knitwear and shoes. It always had this prestige, but in a way that it wasn’t a department store. Browns was the quintessential English boutique at the time.”
Ms. Pucci, on a visit to Browns
“A few years back, maybe 10 years, I walked into the shop and saw some fun dolls made of fabric and rags. They were quirky and all different one from another. You weren’t sure what they were for. It was Mrs. B going out of her way to do something different, something that you like, doing it in an amusing way, She wasn’t for the obvious choices.”
Erdem Moralioglu, the London-based Canadian designer who began his Erdem label in 2005
“She had a way of looking at the collection and looking at every single piece and being so kind of methodical.”
Ashish Gupta, founder of the Ashish label. His designs were first sold in Browns in 2001.
“I made the wedding dress for Caroline Burstein, Mrs. B’s daughter, and the mother-of-the bride’s dress for Mrs. B. She was pretty specific about what she wanted. She knew what she wanted in her personal life and business life.”
Ms. Pucci, on discussing a new collection with Mrs. Burstein
“But she really took the time to express her thoughts and keep me on board and to encourage me to do better. She had a terrific sense of humor, which is very English in a way. She was asking me to do more work in a terribly amusing way. She was giggling, so I was laughing, too, in the end. I’ve not come across someone who could give constructive comments in such a clever way.”
Mark Fast, creative director and founder of the London knitwear label that bears his name
“I went to the Browns 40th anniversary dinner at Regent Lofts and Penthouses in May 2010. Lots of people were there. Sitting to my left was Mrs. B. Beside her was Sir Philip Green. Across from him was Oscar de la Renta. Then there was Hussein Chalayan and the other side of me was Sonia Rykiel’s daughter, Nathalie. Mrs. B spoke with everyone and made everyone feel welcome. She was like the queen. She stood up at one point and everyone gave her a round of applause and standing ovation.”
Mr. Gupta, on inspiration
“I came out at the end of my spring/summer 2017 show wearing a T-shirt that said ‘immigrant.’ It was just after the Brexit vote had happened. A Browns buyer rang up wanting the T-shirt. I didn’t think of doing it for sales because I just thought it would be a political statement but we ended up making about 200 T-shirts for them.”
Ida Petersson, Browns’ men’s and women’s wear buying director, who joined the company in 2016
“There is more at stake today than in the past because the industry is so much bigger today even than it was five years ago. If you don’t take risks or think outside the box, your company is never going to move on but you’ve got to play to win and take risks. Particularly if you stand for new designers. If you start to look at other people you lose momentum.”
Marine Serre, the French designer who won the 2017 LVMH Prize
“I don’t think you go to Browns if you just want the last trendy brand. You really want to go there, I feel, when you like garments and you like fashion.”
Mr. Gupta, on the key to Browns’ success
”It’s having your finger on the pulse, isn’t it? It’s kind of knowing what people will want before they know they want it.”
