It’s a sign of the times that one of the most innovative new stores to appear this year in the UK isn’t actually permanent.

It’s a sign of the times that one of the most innovative new stores to appear this year in the UK isn’t actually permanent.

Located in Spitalfields, one of those trendy parts of East London where people flock for the privilege of paying £3.00 for a coffee and the same again for a small cake, this is a pop-up shop. It’s been open since August and sells only one commodity, Dr Marten boots – the footwear originally adopted by skinheads and then by the grungy fashion brigade.

And Spitalfields is the perfect place for temporary retail phenomena.

This small area, centred upon a market where, even in these cash-strapped times, it’s quite difficult to move for people at the weekend, is to this decade what Covent Garden used to be in the 1980s and early 90s.

It’s where young-affluent London goes to relax and to try and get a sense of the alternative. And in spite of the fact that there are branches of Office, All Saints and White Stuff in the area, the great bulk of what’s on show comes from the independent sector — another feature that appeals to the shoppers who travel across the city to visit this retail enclave.

The Dr Martens store is right in the middle of the covered market and does exactly what has become de rigeur for a pop-up with bare concrete walls and warehouse style fixtures.

But it takes what has increasingly become a recognisable and almost hackneyed style and does it better.

This store, for instance takes the naked incandescent light-bulbs, originally used in groups to form a chandelier by Dutch design collective Droog, and strings them in lines around the store to light the product.

Then there are the mid-shop  palettes covered with sheets, filled with product and, somewhat inexplicably, also housing chairs that have been shrink wrapped in white plastic. And perhaps the major showstopper is the yellow (on brand for Doc Martens) translucent plastic-cum-cellophane that descends from ceiling to floor to create an inner sanctum, adding an air of mystery to the area it contains for those peering through the windows from outside.

The point is, although this all looks fantastic and really does make you want to walk in and buy a pair of arty bovver boots, none of it has cost very much. Fashion retailers’ design and property departments could do a lot worse than taking the tube to East London to check this one out.