US womenswear and homewares retailer Anthropologie is launching its first footwear department in Europe in its Kings Road store, London.

A dedicated 18sq m shoe space will open in the store in March. The retailer, sister brand of Urban Outfitters, will expand its shoe offering online at the same time.

The footwear department will have its own street entrance, although it can also be accessed through the Anthopologie store, and is designed to feel like a sitting room with rugs and custom upholstered furniture.

Over 80 styles of shoe will be sold at the Kings Road store including designers Surface to Air, Robert Clergerie and Chie Mihara.

Anthropologie global co-president Wendy Wurtzburger said: “We hope the shoe assortment will be one of the more passion provoking parts of the experience, introducing her [the Anthropologie customer] to a varied and extraordinary array of designers and styles.”

The retailer said it was unsure if it would open a shoe department in its other UK store, on London’s Regent Street.