Anthropologie has opened its third UK shop just last week at 39 – 41 George Street.
Recognised for seeking out architecturally distinct spaces for its stores, Anthropologie has tapped into Edinburgh’s rich landscape—in particular, its natural hills and hollows—when designing its George Street location. The main staircase, crafted from reclaimed timber, rises from the lower level, up through the mezzanine and across both wall and floor. Fitting rooms take their cues from local flora, encircled by a garden and flanked by a wall of quarried stone. Exquisite Spanish tiles pattern the mezzanine, where customers can bask in the vista of both city and store.
The windows and displays of the Edinburgh shop, like all other Anthropologie locations, are created by a full-time team of visual artists. Art occupies an important role at Anthropologie: it serves as a touchstone for the brand, informing everything from buying to design to visual display.
A spokesman for the company said:-“In addition to employing artists at our home office and at each store location, our regard for art inspires us to share the talent of emerging and established artists with our customers. We offer small collections of product created in collaboration with artists, hold gallery exhibitions of original, one-of-a-kind work in our King’s Road, London and Rockefeller Center, New York locations, and commission installations for our online venue, the Anthropologist (theanthropologist.net).
To commemorate its opening, our Edinburgh shop will host a special exhibition by photographer and Scotland native David Eustace. Originally commissioned for the Anthropologist, In Search of Eustace is a study of familial love, for which he documented a three-week, 1300-mile road trip from Los Angeles, CA to Eustace, TX with his 16-year old daughter Rachael. We also asked the photographer to help us, through a new installation for the Anthropologist debuting 14th June, to introduce all of our customers to the powerful beauty of the country’s Highlands.”
Feeling and operating like an independent boutique, Anthropologie refreshes its merchandise frequently. Its clothing, accessories and home décor exhibit a range of influences, from vintage to global, and are discovered worldwide as buyers scour the globe to uncover what they consider the most unique, most compelling product.
Local designers and artisans are central to Anthropologie’s product offerings. Edinburgh will be no exception, as it will sell the organically themed, handmade jewellery of Catherine Zoraida, and will feature the work of graphic artist John Patrick Byrne.
A portion of sales from the private opening event on 14th June, as well as their customer day on 19th June, have been donated to With Kids, a charity that provides a range of individual, social and practical support to children and families. With Kids also received all proceeds from a live auction at the private opening event, featuring items donated by a host of local artists, including David Eustace, Domenica More Gordon and Lindsay Gardiner.
Founded in 1992, Anthropologie currently operates 152 stores worldwide. The brand launched its mail-order catalogue and website in 1998; eleven years later, its first international stores opened in Canada and UK. Led by global co-presidents Wendy McDevitt and Wendy Wurtzburger, the company is owned by Urban Outfitters, Inc. (URBN), which also owns retail brands Urban Outfitters, BHLDN, Free People, Terrain, and Leifsdottir.
