Lee, one of the denim world’s older names is seeking to reassert its primacy within this sub-sector with this overhaul of its flagship Carnaby Street store.

Lee, one of the denim world’s older names is seeking to reassert its primacy within this sub-sector with this overhaul of its flagship Carnaby Street store. Completed in March, shoppers entering the two-floor - men’s on ground and women’s in the basement - 1,720 sq ft store will be confronted by Lee’s denim library: a wall of blues and blacks intended to communicate the brand’s range of fits and finishes.

The new look store also marks the implementation of the ‘Lee Black System’ - a mixture of black MDF and natural wood finishes as well as some vintage elements. The store-fit is planned to age naturally and in keeping with the Lee logo, the dominant colour is black, combined with shades of grey.

However, the real point about this store is its relative simplicity. It is very easy with a category like denim - where differences in fit, wash and fabric weight can make a vast difference to whether an item sells or not - to over complicate.

But on the ground floor the use of whiteboards, set against the perimeter and used as a backdrop for single pairs of jeans, means getting to grips with what you are looking at is straightforward.

Couple this with the vintage pieces, such as the fawn leather Eames-like chair in the women’s fitting rooms downstairs, and you have a store that is functional but that also appeals on an aesthetic level.

The ‘Black System’ that has been used in this store will also be taken to Lee’s Paris flagship later this year. It will be interesting to see how the Carnaby Street store measures up against the Levi’s flagship on Regent Street.

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