The new Evans store on Oxford Street is different to what went before. John Ryan takes a look.

Mention the name Arcadia and the normal reaction among those in the know will be to utter approving noises about how strong Topshop and Topman look at the moment.

Yet among the other brands in the fashion group’s stable is Evans, which rarely gets anything like the exposure enjoyed by its younger and more fashion-forward relatives.

Now, perhaps, there is a reason for celebrating the plus-size fashion retailer’s offer with the opening of its store at the far west end of Oxford Street. There has been a branch of Evans at Marble Arch for years, but it was on the northern side of the street and that site is being converted into a Topshop at present. Evans, meanwhile, has relocated across the street and is now in even closer proximity to Primark.

And it is completely different from what went before. The new store has a very high, glazed front and inside it feels roomy. The temptation to add a mezzanine has been resisted and the result is a store where one of the features is its internal height, allowing long, printed banners with mood shots to be suspended from the ceiling.

The internal pillars have been stripped back to the raw concrete and the cash desk is also rough and ready in appearance. All of which means that the interior is quite unlike what might be expected of a branch of Evans. The feeling is rather closer to Topshop than to other parts of the Arcadia brand portfolio.

This is a flagship and it is clear that the best design foot has been put forward, but in terms of a new beginning for the brand, this is a line in the sand. If the look and feel can be exported elsewhere, then Evans may be transformed. The store opened just over three weeks ago.