Backstage: reopened and revisited

As a result of the disruption caused to businesses by lockdown, shops and restaurants have had to rethink and revamp their business model. Heather Morris, the owner of Backstage decided to do away with the hair salon side of her business, to concentrate on the clothing. And she's not just selling off the peg merchandise, but is now making much of it in store.

The front of the store is still the smart boutique selling elegant clothing, and jewellery displayed in Art Deco cabinets, one of which used to be in The Ritz , but in place of the salon stations towards the back, is a cutting table and several vintage sewing machines.

"Setting up a studio to produce clothes within the shop has been a long-held dream of mine", Heather tells me. So her collection of vintage fabrics and sewing machines have now found new purpose. The idea is partly to get away from the wastefulness of 'fast' fashion, and to produce beautifully crafted items that are an art form rather than a disposable commodity. Colourful Liberty prints are turned into beautiful, Japanese inspired Obi belts, as well as more conventional garments.

Heather's stylish store has already been a Westow Street fixture for nearly a decade, and I hope that this forward looking revamp gives it many more years ahead.

A Liberty print Obi belt tied around a vintage Jigsaw mannequin designed by Nigel Coates

The Studio

Heather at work with one of her vintage machines.

Backstage

47a Westow Street

Lowie

With rumours of a Herne Hill deli opening a branch on the Triangle, it seems independent South London micro chains are thriving. There's the long established Blackbird, now with branches in Peckham, Herne Hill and Balham; also Beer Rebellion and the newly arrived Craft Palace, both establishing themselves across South London; and of course the hugely popular Brown & Green cafes. And now we can add clothing store Lowie which opened a couple of months ago, on the site vacated by Glitter and Twisted.
Lowie was started by Australian, Bronwyn Lowenthal 15 years ago, originally as a market stall at Portobello and Spitalfields. She then began wholesaling, and also trying out retail with pop-ups in Covent Garden and Westfield, White City. That was followed by a further pop-up in Herne Hill. There, she kept extending her lease until it became her first permanent store. As she says, the pop-ups really helped with confidence building, and spreading the word about the brand. No doubt her degree in Retail Management and Fashion Marketing helped, along with a more recent MBA, also helped. Originally from Hobart, Tasmania, she worked in Australia for Westfield shopping centres in the marketing department, before coming to the UK in 1999.
The new store is bright and spacious, and is a simple, unfussy backdrop for her colourful merchandise, which is a mix of her own label clothing, alongside other clothing brands, skincare ranges, accessories, and gift items, but all essentially things that Bronwyn likes, and things that are fun. After the success of the Herne Hill store, she felt the shop's style was perfectly suited to the character of Crystal Palace, which she enjoyed visiting, particularly for the antiques and vintage, but which she had noticed, was distinctly lacking in the womenswear department. Now that's been remedied, who knows which other businesses might follow?

Bronwyn Lowenthal

Lowie

25 Westow Street

Allbone & Trimit

Life in the 21st century just keeps getting faster. From internet connections to intercity travel, from fast food to instant fashion on the high street, we are obsessed with speed. And hand in hand with speed, goes novelty. The demand for the new is insatiable. As has been often stated, this is becoming increasingly unsustainable, particularly with the vast increase in wealth and demand in countries from China to Brazil. There are signs however, that people are considering alternatives to the mass consumerism we have all grown so used to. In the food industry for example, organisations such as the Slow Food Movement, are promoting the idea of locally sourced produce, and seasonal eating, ie: not eating strawberries in November, when they will either be far from local, or grown intensively in artificial conditions. Meanwhile in the fashion world, vintage clothing, a very old form of recycling, has become a huge trend, and is the very antithesis of cheap disposable fashion so prevalent on the high street. Made to measure is another area that one might have assumed, with the exception of Savile Row, had died out generations past. Although it may sound like an extravagant option, a garment made this way can last for years, is likely to become a permanent part of a wardrobe, and is probably much better made than off-the-peg equivalents. 

In Cooper's Yard, which we have visited before, Catherine Shaw has been running her bespoke dress making business since 2005. Wittily named Allbone & Trimit, Catherine wanted a name that was memorable, but also with an air of solidity and permanence, perhaps evoking the name of a trusted old firm of solicitors. Catherine arrived in South London from Manchester, when she enrolled on the theatre design course at Croydon College of Art. After graduating, she immediately embarked on a career in costume design, working for various theatre companies including the English National Opera and the Australian Opera. As a sideline, Catherine began making wedding dresses for friends and colleagues, and to this day, wedding dresses have become one of her staples. But don't go to Catherine if your desire is for the conventional and white. Her creations are usually anything but white, and are designed to be adaptable so as to be a permanent part of a woman's wardrobe rather than a one day wonder. Individuality is key to Catherine's business. Rather than slavishly following trends, inspiration for a new garment may come from a found scrap of fabric or researching historical precedent.

Catherine working on an outfit for the grandmother of a bride.

Containers of fabric cuttings. Once they have no further use, scraps are sent to schools, and even to recycling facilities where they are converted into compost.

The inspiration board includes Catherine's parents' and grandparents' wedding photos.

Happily the day of the shoot coincided with a particularly interesting client fitting. The dress in question was a historical recreation, one of a pair Catherine was making for Robyn Bramzell and Kate Foy-Taysum of Bramfoy's - Purveyors of Living History. The girls provide colourful guided tours of London in the guise of 18th century ladies of somewhat ill repute.

Robyn Bramzell being laced into her corset.

As a member of the Chamber of Commerce, and a big supporter of the various local campaigns, Catherine is another Crystal Palace enthusiast, whose life and creativity is woven into the very fabric of the Triangle.

Allbone & Trimit

The Overspill

4 Cooper's Yard

07764 196284